Remains thought to be ancient human species

The researchers believe Australopithecus sediba could be a direct ancestor to homo erectus, the predecessor of modern humans.

The two partial skeletons of an adult female and child were found in miners' debris in South Africa's Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in 2008 by Professor Lee Berger from the University of the Witwatersrand.

The fossils are around 1.95 million years old, placing the species at a transition point in our evolutionary story from small brained bipedal apes to larger brained human ancestors.

Dr Andy Herries, archaeological scientist from the School of Medical Sciences at the University of New South Wales, Australia, was part of the team which dated the remains.

"Until recently it was impossible to get precise dates for the South African cave sites, but with the development of new techniques we are beginning to understand the relationships of the various species of early human to each other," he said.

Sediba has traits of both the earlier species, Australopithecus africanus, and a later species, Homo erectus leading some to claim it as the "missing link" between apes and humans, although the term is usually shunned by modern scientists as misleading given the slow gradual process of evolution.