Sediba fossil casts debut in London

Exact fossil replicas of two of the most complete skeletons of early human relatives ever found are being presented to the Natural History Museum in London from 16 November 2011. These replicas, from the University of the Witwatersrand, and the Government of the Republic of South Africa, will be exhibited for the benefit of the public at the Museum. It is one of a several sets of casts that will, in the next few weeks, be handed over to public institutions and universities (including Cambridge and Oxford) in the United Kingdom and Europe for teaching and educational purposes for the benefit of the British and European public.

The 1.9-million year old fossils, discovered in the Cradle of Humankind by Professor Lee Berger and his team from the Wits Institute for Human Evolution, made headlines in 99 countries around the world when they were announced in 2010 and continue to attract international attention. They have certainly kindled a new interest in the palaeo-sciences, the Cradle of Humankind, and South Africa in recent years.  

“This gift gives us an opportunity to show these spectacular finds to the public and for researchers and students to study them,” says Dr Michael Dixon, Director of the Natural History Museum. A skull of one of the casts goes on display today to showcase the new acquisition. This will be the first public exhibition of this early human-like species in the UK.

Professor Francis Thackeray, Director of the Wits Institute for Human Evolution in Johannesburg, comments: “The Au. sediba fossils confirm a view that that there is not necessarily a clear boundary between Australopithecus and Homo.“

For the last 30 years, attention has focused on East Africa as the place where the first humans (genus Homo) evolved, with a possible transition from Australopithecus to Homo erectus, via the intermediate species Homo habilis occurring around 2 million years ago. In that view, the South African australopithecines were side-branches in human evolution, leading only to extinction. New and detailed descriptions of the skeletons of these two individuals were released in September 2011, and returned the spotlight to South Africa as the possible location for the postulated transition from Australopithecus to Homo.

“Australopithecus sediba has a critical role in shaping our understanding about the route of human evolution,” says Professor Chris Stringer, Research Leader in Human Origins at the Natural History Museum, London. “With its ape-sized brain, ape-like body shape, and the form of the shoulders and arms Au. sediba resembles its presumed local ancestor Australopithecus africanus. Yet the hands show more human proportions, suggesting greater dexterity. And the shape of the front of the brain cavity, the face, teeth, pelvis and legs also show more human characteristics. sediba is the most human-like australopithecine yet discovered, providing valuable clues to the evolutionary changes that led to the genus Homo.”

He continues: “It remains possible that australopithecines in different parts of Africa were taking up tool making, meat eating and travelling longer distances overground, which could have driven the parallel evolution of human-like features. Given that even more material is being excavated, we will undoubtedly learn a lot more from the Cradle of Humankind about the evolutionary processes that led to the first humans.”

To view video, images and find out more about the discovery of Australopithecus sediba, visit www.wits.ac.za/sediba. Read more about the handover at www.nhm.ac.uk