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Google finds missing link

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 09 Apr 2010

Google's Earth and Maps products had a part to play in the discovery of two partial hominid skeletons in SA, says the international search giant.

Scientists yesterday revealed the two fossils had been discovered in the Cradle of Humankind. Speculation has it that they represent the missing link in the early development of humans.

Professor Lee Berger, from Witwatersrand University, and the discoverer of the two new skeletons, essentially used Google Maps and Google Earth to plot out 130 known cave sites, already explored by Berger and his team, and used the remaining space to uncover 500 unexplored areas in the Cradle, says Google.

“With the help of the navigation facility and high-resolution satellite imagery in Google Earth, Professor Berger went on to find almost 500 previously unidentified caves and fossil sites, even though the area is one of the most explored in Africa,” says Michael Jones, chief technology advocate at Google.

One of the sites detailed by Google Earth was where Berger and his team made the discovery of a possible new species, Australopithecus sediba. The bones already show the species walked upright and shared many of the traits of the early homo species, or humans.

“We're absolutely thrilled about this announcement, and delighted that our free mapping tools, such as Google Earth and Google Maps, continue to enable both individuals and distinguished scientists to explore and learn about their world,” adds Jones.

The fossils are of an adult female and a child estimated to be around 14 years old. The bones are speculated to be about 1.95 million years old, a time which sits in the middle of human transformation from ape to man.

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