When Old Skull Is All There Is...Hey...Dig It

Georgians Claim to Unearth Ancient Skull - Yahoo! News

By MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI, Associated Press Writer
TBILISI, Georgia - Archaeologists in the former Soviet republic of Georgia have unearthed a skull they say is 1.8 million years old — part of a find that holds the oldest traces of humankind's closest ancestors ever found in Europe.
The skull from an early member of the genus Homo was found Aug. 6 and unearthed Sunday in Dmanisi, an area about 60 miles southeast of the capital, Tbilisi, said David Lortkipanidze, director of the Georgian National Museum, who took part in the dig.
In total, five bones or fragments believed to be about the same age have been found in the area, including a jawbone discovered in 1991, Lortkipanidze said by telephone. The skull, depicted in the accompanying picture from an artists rendering of how the sub-human most likely looked, however, was in the best condition of the five, and was sent to the museum for further study.