New Hominin Species Found in South Africa

In one of the most dramatic fossil finds of recent decades, scientists have found partial skeletons of a boy and a woman, both in surprisingly good condition, that represent a new hominin species named Australopithecus sediba.

The specimens had relatively small teeth and a face like Homo, the genus that includes modern humans, but a brain size more typical of known Australopithecus species. The individuals lived 1.78 to 1.95 million years ago, during a period when Australopithecines and early species of Homo were contemporaries.

Lee Berger and his colleagues of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, who discovered the fossils, suggest that this species descended from Australopithecus africanus, but is ancestral to Homo erectus, which in turn is widely believed to be the ancestor of Homo sapiens [Dugger2010, Wong 2010b].

However, other paleontologists are not so sure. Meave Leakey of the National Museums of Kenya, for example, does not think that this species is ancestral to Homo or has anything to do with Homo. Additional studies will be required to resolve the issue [Wong2010b].

These finds are certain to cause even more consternation among creationists, who firmly deny that anyone has ever found any “missing links” between ape and man (see Prehuman fossils). Creationist writers typically respond to new discoveries of hominin fossils by labeling them as either “ape” or “human.” This is shown in the following table, which is based on a similar table (including references) available here: Table.

The utter disagreement in this table as to whether fossils are “ape” or “human” is moot testimony to the fact that there is no clear delineation — all are related in a family tree. As biologist Kenneth Miller observes, “Ironically, validation of our common ancestry with other primates comes directly from those who are most critical of the idea.” [Miller2008, pg. 95].

One has to admire the creationists for their determination. But theirs is truly a hopeless cause. Any remaining reasonable doubt regarding the age of the earth was extinguished at least 50 years ago with the development of radiometric dating (see Ages and Reliability). And any reasonable doubt regarding common ancestry of primates and humans was extinguished at least 25 years ago with the analysis of protein sequence and DNA data (see DNA). Thus we can only hope one day that creationists will join with scientists in forging a new synthesis of science and religion, one that recognizes the meaning and value of religion, yet is realistic about the scientific evidence.

References:

1. [Dugger2010] Celia W. Dugger and John Noble Wilford, “New Hominid Species Discovered in South Africa,” New York Times, 8 Apr 2010, available at Online article.
2. [Miller2008] Kenneth R. Miller, Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul, Viking, New York, 2008.
3. [Wong2010b] Kate Wong, “Spectacular South African Skeletons Reveal New Species from Murky Period of Human Evolution,” Scientific American, 8 Apr 2010, available at Online article.