The earliest-known human ancestors to migrate from Africa possessed a surprising mix of human-like and primitive features, according to scientists who studied remains dug up at a fossil-rich site in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
Writing in the journal Nature, the scientists described remains of three adultsand one adolescent dating from about 1.77 million years ago, excavated at Dmanisi, about 88km southwest of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
The remains shed light on a little-understood but critical period in human evolution - the transition from the more ape-like creatures known as australopithecines to the genus Homo, of which modern humans are a member.
The spines and lower limbs found at the Dmanisi site appear very much like modern humans, suggesting these individuals, which walked fully upright, were highly capable of long-distance treks, the researchers said.
But other aspects of the skeletons had more archaic characteristics. The arms were more like australopithecines than people, and the primitive skulls encased relatively small brains. Their simple stone tools were also less advanced than one might have expected, the researchers said.
They described the remains as "a surprising mosaic" of primitive and modern features.
