1.   And bacteria, besides being the simplest form of life we know, are also among the oldest fossils we have discovered.

2.   Another striking discovery was the oldest fossil of an important group of flowering plants known as monocots and including grass, wheat and orchids.

3.   Because the oldest known hominid fossils were found in eastern and southern Africa it had been widely assumed that this region is the cradle of humanity.

4.   Like that ancient fish, it is a living relic, yet its roots stretch deeper than the oldest fossils.

5.   Oldest fossil extends range of hominoid life.

6.   The Science paper describes some embryos and the oldest known fossils of sponges.

7.   The previously oldest hominid fossils found in South Africa have been of the apemen of Makapansgat in Northern province, which were estimated at three million years old.