Australopithecus sediba, hominin fossils found in Mapala Cave in South Africa, have long been thought to be the distant ancestor of humans. Over time this became controversial when it was discovered that these bones were 800,000 years younger than the first Homo.
After years of debate, a new study, co-authored by Zeresenay Alemseged, PhD, the Donald M. Pritzker Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy shows that the fossils are most likely not linked to humans. In Science Daily Alemseged is quoted, "Given the timing, geography and morphology, these three pieces of evidence make us think afarensisis a better candidate than sediba. One can disagree about morphology and the different features of a fossil, but the level of confidence we can put in the mathematical and statistical analyses of the chronological data in this paper makes our argument a very strong one."
Read more about his study and research at Ancient Origins.