What happened?
Scientists working in Africa have discovered a Stone Age skull that could be a link between the extinct Homo erectus species and modern humans.
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Who discovered the prehistoric skull?
Researchers discovered the skull five weeks ago, 20 February 2006 at Gawis in Ethiopia's northeastern Afar region (map of Ethiopia). The area is rich in fossil and archaeological deposits 
ranging from 10,000 years to 5.6 million years in age.
An international group known as the Gona Paleoanthropological Research Project began field research in the area in 1999.
Asahmed Humet, a local Afar tribesman working with project, found the early-human cranium in a small gully at the base of a steep slope of sediments.
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Why is the discovery of the prehistoric skull a crucial discovery?
"This skull shows the continuity of the evolutionary record, so in that sense it is a link between Homo erectus and modern humans," said Scott Simpson, a paleontologist from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio.
Homo erectus is thought to be an
ancestor of modern Homo sapiens. H. erectus first appeared in Africa and lived from about 1.9 to 0.8 million years ago. Homo erectus, which many believe was an ancestor of modern Homo sapiens, is thought to have died out 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
Scientists working in Africa have discovered a Stone Age skull that could be a link between the extinct Homo erectus species and modern humans.
-----------------------------------------
Who discovered the prehistoric skull?
Researchers discovered the skull five weeks ago, 20 February 2006 at Gawis in Ethiopia's northeastern Afar region (map of Ethiopia). The area is rich in fossil and archaeological deposits 
ranging from 10,000 years to 5.6 million years in age.An international group known as the Gona Paleoanthropological Research Project began field research in the area in 1999.
Asahmed Humet, a local Afar tribesman working with project, found the early-human cranium in a small gully at the base of a steep slope of sediments.
------------------------------------------
Why is the discovery of the prehistoric skull a crucial discovery?
"This skull shows the continuity of the evolutionary record, so in that sense it is a link between Homo erectus and modern humans," said Scott Simpson, a paleontologist from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio.Homo erectus is thought to be an
ancestor of modern Homo sapiens. H. erectus first appeared in Africa and lived from about 1.9 to 0.8 million years ago. Homo erectus, which many believe was an ancestor of modern Homo sapiens, is thought to have died out 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.------------------------------------------
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