People: Jervois Skull

An ancient slab of bone, shaped and curved like a cupped hand, gave Australian anatomists imaginative play last week. The bone was found recently near the Jervois Mountains in southern Australia. The bone is the top of a female's skull. The hind part of the relic indicates that, from the rear, she looked like an ape with head canted slightly forward. She had very powerful neck muscles. Her walk was slouchy, but nonetheless habitually upright. Thus her hands were free and more nimble than an ape's. She probably could braid twigs, early step in...

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