Ancient human skeleton is 'most complete'

• Tweet

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, July 16 (UPI) -- A large rock in South Africa contains significant parts of a skeleton of an early human ancestor, possibly the "most complete" ever discovered, scientists say.

The skeleton is believed to be that of Australopithecus sediba, dubbed "Karabo," discovered at the Malapa Site in the so-called Cradle of Humankind in 2009, the University of the Witwatersrand reported.

"We have discovered parts of a jaw and critical aspects of the body including what appear to be a complete femur (thigh bone), ribs, vertebrae and other important limb elements, some never before seen in such completeness in the human fossil record," paleoanthropologist Lee Berger said. "This discovery will almost certainly make Karabo the most complete early human ancestor skeleton ever discovered."

The remains are invisible to the casual observer as they are entrenched in a large rock about a yard in diameter, researchers said.

Berger and his wife Jackie Smilg, a hospital radiologist conducting her doctorate research on the CT scanning of fossil material embedded in rock, scanned the large rock in a state-of-the-art CT scanner.

"We are obviously quite excited as it appears that we now have some of the most critical and complete remains of the skeleton, albeit encased in solid rock," Berger said.