Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire.  Two scientific teams have presented fossil discoveries with controversial evolutionary implications for two ancient species traditionally regarded as direct ancestors of Homo sapiens.

A 1.8-million-year-old upper jaw discovered in eastern Africa solidifies the position of Homo habilis as the oldest known member of the Homo genus, say anthropologist Robert J. Blumenschine of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., and his colleagues. Reported in the Feb. 21