New species of human relative discovered

A new member of the family tree has been discovered, as scientists in South Africa claim they have found a 'new species of human relative'.

The discovery is the single largest fossil hominin find made on the African continent and it is expected to shake up the evolutionary tree.

The remains of Homo Naledi were discovered in the Cradle of Humankind, about 40 kilometres (24 miles) west of Johannesburg, in a chamber some 90 metres from the cave entrance.

The species appears to have deliberately placed the bodies of its dead in the remote cave, the type of behaviour previously thought to be limited to humans. 

According to paleoanthropologist John Hawks, the creature may be an early member of the evolutionary group including humans and our closest extinct relatives, but it is not thought to be a direct ancestor of current-day humans beings.

Professor Lee Berger with Homo Naledi skull

Professor Lee Berger, of South Africa's Wits University, who led the team that made the discovery, said: "What we have is a tall hominid, between 1.45 and 1.5 metres tall, was very skinny, had powerful joint muscles and had a brain about the size of my fist."

This find has excited researchers, who believe there may be hundreds or even thousands more fossilised remains waiting to be unearthed in the cave.

You can read more about this story on the BBC Website.

'Missing Records' restored to IrishGenealogy

Click here to search Irish Civil Records

There has been no acknowledgement or explanation by the Irish state-run website for what happened (see yesterday's blogpost), but it seems that the site has reverted back to normal and all the missing Civil Records have now been restored to Irishgenealogy.ie.  

Over 1 million records disappear from IrishGenealogy

There are some strange goings on over at IrishGenealogy.ie, as all but 825 of the marriage records from the period 1845 to about 1875 have disappeared from Civil Records Indexes on the state-run website. There also just 3075 pre-1900 death records remaining. The birth records seem to be unaffected.

Surely this is just some kind of error, but at the moment there is no polite message on the website to offer an explantation for what has happened to the missing records.

(Thanks to Claire Santry at Irish Genealogy News for this information).

FreeBMD Database updated

The FreeBMD Database has been updated on Monday 7th September 2015 and currently contains 249,116,513 distinct records (317,452,057 total records). 

Click here to search the FreeBMD Database

FreeBMD is an ongoing project, the aim of which is to transcribe the Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, and to provide free Internet access to the transcribed records

Ancient DNA cracks puzzle of Basque origins

DNA from ancient remains seems to have solved the puzzle of one of Europe's most enigmatic people: the Basques. 

The distinct language and genetic make-up of the Basque people in northern Spain and southern France has puzzled anthropologists for decades.

The new study also goes some way to explaining some of the differences between the Basques and their neighbours in France and Spain. - Read the full story on the BBC website.

75% Off FindMyPast 12 Months World Subscription

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You can sign up for this package and pay in US dollars even if you are located elsewhere. This code can also be used to renew your current 12 Months World Subscription with the 75% discount.

Help Peter celebrate his 65th birthday

Help Peter Calver to celebrate his upcoming 65th birthday by boosting the LostCousins membership level to the magical 100,000 mark. 

There are 650 one-year subscriptions - 10 for each of Peter's 65 years - to give away to the first 650 members who join LostCousins using the offer code 65TH (you will need to enter this at the bottom of the registration page).

Once the one-year subscriptions have gone, the same offer code will provide a free 3 month subscription to EVERY new member who joins before midnight on 30th September - so all new members joining between now and the end of the month will benefit.