http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34192447Remains of 15 partial skeletons of a new hominid species,
Homo naledi, were just described from a cave system in South Africa. This species is similar to
Homo sapiens in a number of ways (especially the small teeth which are very humanlike), but many details of the arms, shoulders, and hips, the small braincase (about the size of a gorilla's), and pronounced brow ridge indicate it was more primitive, a potential link between the australopithecines and the genus
Homo. These were definitely fully bipedal as well.
The site has not been narrowed down very well with regards to a date, which is the most important part in my opinion, but reportedly it could be up to 3 million years old, or slightly younger than
Australopithecus afarensis.
Also intriguing is that the remains may have been deliberately placed in the cave, which the researchers cite as evidence of possible "ritual behavior."
It's good that we've got this many remains of the new species, and it could shed a lot of light on the origins of the genus
Homo. Between these,
Ardipithecus, and
Australopithecus afarensis, the picture is really starting to fill in.