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I'm a PhD student researching the role of the archaeological dead in contemporary British society. Think of this as a scrapbook of all the interesting links, snippets of information and random bits and bobs I come across pertaining to death, dying and the dead. Enjoy?!

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    Old news: In world first, 1.9million-year-old skeletons ‘may still have skin on them’ Two skeletons dating back nearly two million years appear to have a coating of skin on their bones in a world-first that would offer scientists a unique insight into the lifestyles - and DNA - of our ancestors. They are two of the most complete skeletons of early human relatives ever found and were donated to the Natural History Museum in London today by the University of the Witwatersrand and the Government of the Republic of South Africa. The 1.9-million-year-old fossils from Malapa Cave in South Africa have the scientific name Australopithecus sediba and have been studied by Professor Lee Berger of the Institute for Human Evolution at Wits University.

    Old news: In world first, 1.9million-year-old skeletons ‘may still have skin on them’

    Two skeletons dating back nearly two million years appear to have a coating of skin on their bones in a world-first that would offer scientists a unique insight into the lifestyles - and DNA - of our ancestors.

    They are two of the most complete skeletons of early human relatives ever found and were donated to the Natural History Museum in London today by the University of the Witwatersrand and the Government of the Republic of South Africa.

    The 1.9-million-year-old fossils from Malapa Cave in South Africa have the scientific name Australopithecus sediba and have been studied by Professor Lee Berger of the Institute for Human Evolution at Wits University.

    Smile from 2m years ago: Revealed, the face of the ‘missing link’ between ape and man A curious smile playing on his face, the eyes and mouth are unmistakably human while the cheekbones and jutting brow say wild animal. Meet Karabo, probably our earliest ancestor and the ‘missing link’ between man and ape – ‘seen’ for the first time thanks to this incredible portrait. Created by paleo-artist John Gurche, it is based on the remarkably well-preserved skeleton of a boy aged around 13, found in a cave in South Africa. Karabo – which means ‘the answer’ and is somewhat more catchy than his official name of Australopithecus sediba – stood 4ft 4in and lived nearly two million years ago. When he was discovered in 2008, the greatest shock for researchers was his human-like hand. Lee Berger, professor of evolutionary biology at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, said: ‘We’ve never seen that before. ‘It really is undeniable when you lay it in your hand that it’s not a chimp. It looks like a hand capable of making tools. He shares more with humans than anything else ever discovered but is still so primitive and that’s exciting.’

    Smile from 2m years ago: Revealed, the face of the ‘missing link’ between ape and man

    A curious smile playing on his face, the eyes and mouth are unmistakably human while the cheekbones and jutting brow say wild animal.

    Meet Karabo, probably our earliest ancestor and the ‘missing link’ between man and ape – ‘seen’ for the first time thanks to this incredible portrait.

    Created by paleo-artist John Gurche, it is based on the remarkably well-preserved skeleton of a boy aged around 13, found in a cave in South Africa.

    Karabo – which means ‘the answer’ and is somewhat more catchy than his official name of Australopithecus sediba – stood 4ft 4in and lived nearly two million years ago.

    When he was discovered in 2008, the greatest shock for researchers was his human-like hand.

    Lee Berger, professor of evolutionary biology at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, said: ‘We’ve never seen that before.

    ‘It really is undeniable when you lay it in your hand that it’s not a chimp. It looks like a hand capable of making tools. He shares more with humans than anything else ever discovered but is still so primitive and that’s exciting.’