This list includes fossils that are important for either their scientific or historic interest, or because they are often mentioned by creationists. One sometimes reads that all hominid fossils could fit in a coffin, or on a table, or a billiard table. That is a misleading image, as there are now thousands of hominid fossils. They are however mostly fragmentary, often consisting of single bones or isolated teeth. Complete skulls and skeletons are rare.
The list is sorted by species, going from older to more recent species. Within each species, finds are sorted by the order of their discovery. Each species has a type specimen which was used to define it.
Each entry will consist of a specimen number if known (or the site name, if many fossils were found in one place), any nicknames in quotes, and a species name. The species name will be followed by a '?' if suspect. If the fossil was originally placed in a different species, that name will also be given.
The following terminology is used. A skull refers to all the bones of the head. A cranium is a skull minus the lower jaw. A braincase is the cranium minus the face and upper jaw. A skullcap is the top portion of the braincase.
Abbreviations: ER East (Lake) Rudolf, Kenya WT West (Lake) Turkana, Kenya KP Kanapoi, Kenya SK Swartkrans, South Africa Sts,Stw Sterkfontein, South Africa TM Transvaal Museum, South Africa OH Olduvai Hominid, Tanzania AL Afar Locality, Ethiopia ARA-VP Aramis Vertebrate Paleontology, Ethiopia BOU-VP Bouri Vertebrate Paleontology, Ethiopia TM Toros-Menalla, Chad
TM
266-01-060-1, "Toumai", Sahelanthropus
tchadensis
Discovered by Ahounta Djimdoumalbaye in 2001 in Chad, in the southern Sahara
desert. Estimated age is between 6 and 7 million years. This is a mostly complete
cranium with a small brain (between 320 and 380 cc). (Brunet et al. 2002, Wood
2002) It has many primitive apelike features, such as the small brainsize, along
with others, such as the brow ridges and small canine teeth, which are characteristic
of later hominids.
"ARA-VP, Sites 1, 6 & 7", Ardipithecus
ramidus
Discovered by a team led by Tim White, Berhane Asfaw and Gen Suwa (1994) in
1992 and 1993 at Aramis in Ethiopia. Estimated age is 4.4 million years. The
find consisted of fossils from 17 individuals. Most remains are teeth, but there
is also a partial lower jaw of a child, a partial cranium base, and partial
arm bone from 2 individuals.
ARA-VP-6/1 consists of 10 teeth from a single individual.
ARA-VP-7/2 consists of parts of all three bones from the left arm of a single
individual, with a mixture of hominid and ape features.
KP 271, "Kanapoi
Hominid", Australopithecus anamensis
Discovered by Bryan Patterson in 1965 at Kanapoi in Kenya (Patterson and Howells
1967). This is a lower left humerus which is about 4.0 million years old.
KP 29281, Australopithecus
anamensis
Discovered by Peter Nzube in 1994 at Kanapoi in Kenya (Leakey et al. 1995).
This is a lower jaw with all its teeth which is about 4.0 million years old.
KP 29285, Australopithecus
anamensis
Discovered by Kamoya Kimeu in 1994 at Kanapoi in Kenya. This is a tibia, missing
the middle portion of the bone, which is about 4.1 million years old. It is
the oldest known evidence for hominid bipedalism.
AL 129-1, Australopithecus
afarensis
Discovered by Donald Johanson in 1973 at Hadar in Ethiopia (Johanson and Edey
1981; Johanson and Taieb 1976). Estimated age is about 3.4 million years. This
find consisted of portions of both legs, including a complete right knee joint
which is almost a miniature of a human knee, but apparently belongs to an adult.
AL 288-1, "Lucy", Australopithecus
afarensis
Discovered by Donald Johanson and Tom Gray in 1974 at Hadar in Ethiopia (Johanson
and Edey 1981; Johanson and Taieb 1976). Its age is about 3.2 million years.
Lucy was an adult female of about 25 years. About 40% of her skeleton was found,
and her pelvis, femur (the upper leg bone) and tibia show her to have been bipedal.
She was about 107 cm (3'6") tall (small for her species) and about 28 kg (62
lbs) in weight.
AL 333 Site,
"The First Family", Australopithecus afarensis?
Discovered in 1975 by Donald Johanson's team at Hadar in Ethiopia (Johanson
and Edey 1981). Its age is about 3.2 million years. This find consisted of remains
of at least 13 individuals of all ages. The size of these specimens varies considerably.
Scientists debate whether the specimens belong to one species, two or even three.
Johanson believes they belong to a single species in which males were considerably
larger than females. Others believe that the larger specimens belong to a primitive
species of Homo.
"Laetoli footprints",
Australopithecus afarensis?
Discovered in 1978 by Paul Abell at Laetoli in Tanzania. Estimated age is 3.7
million years. The trail consists of the fossilized footprints of two or three
bipedal hominids. Their size and stride length indicate that they were about
140 cm (4'8") and 120 cm (4'0") tall. Many scientists claim that the footprints
are effectively identical to those of modern humans (Tattersall 1993; Feder
and Park 1989), while others claim the big toes diverged slightly (like apes)
and that the toe lengths are longer than humans but shorter than in apes (Burenhult
1993). The prints are tentatively assigned to A. afarensis, because no
other hominid species is known from that time, although some scientists disagree
with that classification.
AL 444-2, Australopithecus
afarensis
Discovered by Bill Kimbel and Yoel Rak in 1991 at Hadar in Ethiopia (Kimbel
et al. 1994). Estimated age is 3 million years. This is a 70% complete skull
of a large adult male, easily the most complete afarensis skull known,
with a brain size of 550 cc. According to its finders, it strengthens the case
that all the First Family fossils were members of the same species, because
the differences between AL 444-2 and the smaller skulls in the collection are
consistent with other sexually dimorphic hominoids.
KNM-WT 40000, Kenyanthropus platyops
Discovered by Justus Erus in 1999 at Lomekwi in Kenya (Leakey et al. 2001, Lieberman
2001). Estimated age is about 3.5 million years. This is a mostly complete,
but heavily distorted, cranium with a large, flat face and small teeth. The
brain size is similar to that of australopithecines. This fossil has considerable
similarities with, and is possibly related to, the habiline fossil .
"Taung Child", Australopithecus africanus
Discovered by Raymond Dart in 1924 at Taung in South Africa (Dart 1925). The
find consisted of a full face, teeth and jaws, and an endocranial cast of the
brain. It is between 2 and 3 million years old, but it and most other South
African fossils are found in cave deposits that are difficult to date. The teeth
of this skull showed it to be from an infant about 5 or 6 years old (it is now
believed that australopithecines matured faster than humans, and that the Taung
child was about 3). The brain size was 410 cc, and would have been around 440
cc as an adult. The large rounded brain, canine teeth which were small and not
apelike, and the position of the foramen magnum(*) convinced Dart that this
was a bipedal human ancestor, which he named Australopithecus africanus
(African southern ape). Although the discovery became famous, Dart's interpretation
was rejected by the scientific community until the mid-1940's, following the
discovery of other similar fossils.
(*) Anatomical digression: the foramen magnum is the hole in the skull through which the spinal cord passes. In apes, it is towards the back of the skull, because of their quadrupedal posture. In humans it is at the bottom of the skull because our head is balanced on top of a vertical column. In australopithecines it is also placed forward from the ape position, although not always as far forward as in humans.
TM 1512, Australopithecus africanus
(was Plesianthropus transvaalensis)
Discovered by Robert Broom in 1936 at Sterkfontein in South Africa (Broom 1936).
The second australopithecine fossil found, it consisted of parts of the face,
upper jaw and braincase.
Sts 5, "Mrs Ples", Australopithecus
africanus
Discovered by Robert Broom in 1947 at Sterkfontein in South Africa. It is a
very well preserved cranium of an adult. It has usually been thought to be female,
but there has been a recent claim that it is male. It is the best specimen of
africanus. It is about 2.5 million years old, with a brain size of about
485 cc. (It has recently been claimed that the fossils Sts 5 and Sts 14 (see
next entry) were from the same individual)
Sts 14, Australopithecus africanus
Discovered by Robert Broom and J.T. Robinson in 1947 at Sterkfontein (Broom
and Robinson 1947). Estimated age is about 2.5 million years. This find consisted
of a nearly complete vertebral column, pelvis, some rib fragments, and part
of a femur of a very small adult. The pelvis is more human than apelike, and
is strong evidence that africanus was bipedal (Brace et al. 1979), although
it may not have had the strong striding gait of modern humans (Burenhult 1993).
BOU-VP-12/130,
Australopithecus garhi
Discovered by Yohannes Haile-Selassie in 1997 at Bouri in Ethiopia (Asfaw et
al. 1999). This is a partial skull including an upper jaw with teeth which is
about 2.5 million years old.
Stw 573, "Little
Foot", Australopithecus
Discovered by Ron Clarke between 1994 and 1997 at Sterkfontein in South Africa.
Estimated age is 3.3 million years. This fossil consists, so far, of many bones
from the foot, leg, hand and arm, and a complete skull. More bones are thought
to be still embedded in rock. (Clarke and Tobias 1995, Clarke 1998, Clarke 1999)
KNM-WT 17000,
"The Black Skull", Australopithecus aethiopicus
Discovered by Alan Walker in 1985 near West Turkana in Kenya. Estimated age
is 2.5 million years. This find is an intact, almost complete cranium. The brain
size is very small for a hominid, about 410 cc, and the skull has a puzzling
mixture of primitive and advanced features. (Leakey and Lewin 1992)
TM 1517, Australopithecus
robustus (was Paranthropus
robustus)
Discovered by a schoolboy, Gert Terblanche, in 1938 at Kromdraai in South Africa
(Broom 1938). It consisted of skull fragments, including five teeth, and a few
skeletal fragments. This was the first specimen of robustus.
SK 48, Australopithecus robustus
(was Paranthropus crassidens)
Discovered by Mr. Fourie in 1950 at Swartkrans in South Africa (Johanson and
Edgar 1996). It is a cranium, probably belonging to an adult female, and 1.5-2.0
million years old. It is the most complete skull of robustus.
DNH 7, "Eurydice", Australopithecus
robustus
Discovered by André Keyser in 1994 at the Drimolen cave in South Africa.
Estimated age is between 1.5 and 2.0 million years. This is an almost complete
skull and lower jaw of a female, one of the most complete hominid skulls ever
found, and the first significant fossil of a female robustus. A fossil
of a male robustus lower jaw, nicknamed Orpheus (DNH 8), was found a
few inches away from it. (Keyser 2000)
OH 5, "Zinjanthropus", "Nutcracker
Man", Australopithecus boisei
Discovered by Mary Leakey in 1959 at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania (Leakey 1959).
Estimated age is 1.8 million years. It is an almost complete cranium, with a
brain size is about 530 cc. This was the first specimen of this species. Louis
Leakey briefly considered this a human ancestor, but the claim was dropped when
Homo habilis was found soon afterwards.
KNM-ER 406, Australopithecus
boisei
Discovered by Richard Leakey in 1969 near Lake Turkana in Kenya. This find was
a complete, intact cranium lacking only the teeth (Lewin 1987). Estimated age
is about 1.7 million years. The brain size is about 510 cc.
KNM-ER 732, Australopithecus boisei
Discovered by Richard Leakey in 1970 near Lake Turkana in Kenya. The cranium
is similar to that of OH 5, but is smaller and has other differences such as
the lack of a sagittal crest. The estimated age is about 1.7 million years.
The brain size is about 500 cc. Most experts believe this is a case of sexual
dimorphism, with the female being smaller than the male.
KGA10-525,
Australopithecus boisei
Discovered by A. Amzaye in 1993 at Konso in Ethiopia (Suwa et al. 1997). This
fossil consists of much of a skull, including a lower jaw. The estimated age
is 1.4 million years. The brain size is estimated to be about 545 cc. Although
it has many features specific to boisei, it also lies outside the previously
known range of variation of that species in many ways, suggesting that boisei
(and maybe other hominid species) may have been more variable than is often
thought (Delson 1997).
Homo
habilis
Discovered by the Leakeys in the early 1960's at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.
A number of fragmentary specimens were found (Leakey et al. 1964).
OH 7, "Jonny's
Child", found by Jonathon Leakey in 1960 (Leakey 1961), consisted of a lower
jaw and two cranial fragments of a child, and a few hand bones. Estimated age
is 1.8 million years, and the brain size was about 680 cc.
OH 8: found in 1960, consisted of
a set of foot bones, complete except for the back of the heel and the toes.
Estimated age is about 1.8 million years. They have a mixture of human and ape
traits, but are consistent with bipedal locomotion. (Aiello and Dean 1990)
OH 13, "Cindy":
found in 1963, consisted of a lower jaw and teeth, bits of the upper jaw and
a cranial fragment. Estimated age is 1.6 million years, and the brain size was
about 650 cc.
OH 16, "George": found in 1963, consisted
of teeth and some very fragmentary parts of the skull. (George was unfortunately
trampled by Masai cattle before he was found, and much of the skull was lost.)
Estimated age is 1.7 million years, and the brain size was about 640 cc.
OH 24, "Twiggy", Homo
habilis
Discovered by Peter Nzube in 1968 at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. It consisted
of an fairly complete but very badly crushed cranium and seven teeth. It is
about 1.85 million years old and has a brain size of about 590 cc.
KNM-ER 1470, Homo
habilis (or Homo rudolfensis?)
Discovered by Bernard Ngeneo in 1972 at Koobi Fora in Kenya (Leakey 1973). Estimated
age is 1.9 million years. This is the most complete habilis skull known.
Its brain size is 750 cc, large for habilis. It was originally dated
at nearly 3 million years old, a figure that caused much confusion as at the
time it was older than any known australopithecines, from whom habilis
had supposedly descended. A lively debate over the dating of 1470 ensued (Lewin
1987; Johanson and Edey 1981; Lubenow 1992). The skull is surprisingly modern
in some respects. The braincase is much larger and less robust than any australopithecine
skull, and is also without the large brow ridges typical of Homo erectus.
It is however very large and robust in the face. A number of leg bones were
found within a couple of kilometers, and are thought to probably belong to the
same species. The most complete, KNM-ER 1481, consisted of a complete left femur,
both ends of a left tibia and the lower end of a left fibula (the smaller of
the two lower leg bones). These are quite similar to the bones of modern humans.
(Creationist arguments)
KNM-ER 1805,
"The Mystery Skull", Homo habilis??
Discovered by Paul Abell in 1973 at Koobi Fora in Kenya (Leakey 1974). Estimated
age is 1.85 million years. This find consisted of much of a heavily built cranium
containing many teeth. Its brain size is about 600 cc. Some features, such as
the sagittal crest, are typical of A. boisei, but the teeth are too small
for that species. (Willis 1989; Day 1986) Various workers have assigned it to
almost every conceivable species, but many studies have attributed it to Homo
habilis (e.g. Wood 1991). A recent cladistic study has placed it outside
of Homo and most similar to robust australopithecines, though different
from any named species. (Prat 2002)
KNM-ER 1813, Homo habilis?
Discovered by Kamoya Kimeu in 1973 at Koobi Fora in Kenya (Leakey 1974). This
specimen is similar to 1470, but is much smaller, with a brain size of 510 cc.
Estimated age is 1.8-1.9 million years. Some scientists believe this a case
of sexual dimorphism, others believe that the brain architecture is different
and that 1813 is another species of Homo, and others believe it is an
australopithecine. Like the previous skull, 1805, this one is in the "Suspense
Account". (Willis 1989)
Stw 53, Homo habilis?
Discovered by Alun Hughes in 1976 at Sterkfontein in South Africa (Hughes and
Tobias 1977). Estimated age is 1.5 to 2 million years. It consisted of a number
of cranium fragments including teeth. Many stone tools were found in the same
layer.
OH 62, "Dik-dik
hominid", Homo habilis
Discovered by Tim White in 1986 at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania (Johanson and Shreeve
1989; Johanson et al. 1987). Estimated age is 1.8 million years. The find consisted
of portions of skull, arm, leg bones and teeth. Almost all the features of the
skull closely resemble habilis fossils such as OH 24, ER 1813 and ER
1470, rather than the australopithecines. But the estimated height is very small,
maybe about 105 cm (3'5"), and the arms are very long in proportion to the legs.
These are australopithecine traits, and in fact the skeletal bones are very
similar to those of Lucy. This find is significant because it is the only fossil
in which limb bones have been securely assigned to habilis. Because of
the small size, this was almost certainly a female. As with the australopithecines,
males would have been considerably larger.
OH 65,
Homo habilis
Discovered in 1995 at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. This fossil consisted of a
complete upper jaw and part of the lower face, dated at 1.8 million years. Because
of its similarities to the fossil ER 1470, its finders have suggested that OH
65 may lead to a reclassification of the habiline fossils. (Blumenschine et
al. 2003, Tobias 2003)
Trinil 2, "Java Man", "Pithecanthropus
I", Homo erectus (was Pithecanthropus erectus)
Discovered by Eugene Dubois in 1891 near Trinil on the Indonesian island of
Java. Its age is uncertain, but thought to be about 700,000 years. This find
consisted of a flat, very thick skullcap, and a few teeth (which may belong
to orang-utans). The following year a femur was found about 12 meters away (Theunissen
1989). The brain size is about 940 cc. The femur is fully modern, and many scientists
now believe that it belongs to a modern human.
"Peking
Man Site", Homo erectus (was Sinanthropus pekinensis)
Between 1929 and 1937, 14 partial craniums, 11 lower jaws, many teeth, some
skeletal bones and large numbers of stone tools were discovered in the Lower
Cave at Locality 1 of the Peking Man site at Zhoukoudian (formerly Choukoutien),
near Beijing (formerly Peking), in China. Their age is estimated to be between
500,000 and 300,000 years old. (A number of fossils of modern humans were also
discovered in the Upper Cave at the same site in 1933.) The most complete fossils,
all of which were braincases or skullcaps, are:
Skull III, discovered at Locus E
in 1929 is an adolescent or juvenile with a brain size of 915 cc.
Skull II, discovered at Locus D in
1929 but only recognized in 1930, is an adult or adolescent with a brain size
of 1030 cc.
Skulls X, XI and XII (sometimes called
LI, LII and LIII) were discovered at Locus L in 1936. They are thought to belong
to an adult man, an adult woman and a young adult, with brain sizes of 1225
cc, 1015 cc and 1030 cc respectively. (Weidenreich 1937)
Skull V: two cranial fragments were discovered in 1966 which fit with (casts of) two other fragments found in 1934 and 1936 to form much of a skullcap with a brain size of 1140 cc. These pieces were found at a higher level, and appear to be more modern than the other skullcaps. (Jia and Huang 1990)
Most of the study on these fossils was done by Davidson Black until his death in 1934. Franz Weidenreich replaced him and studied the fossils until leaving China in 1941. The original fossils disappeared in 1941 while being shipped to the United States for safety during World War II, but excellent casts and descriptions remain. Since the war, other erectus fossils have been found at this site and others in China.
Sangiran
2, "Pithecanthropus II", Homo
erectus
Discovered by G.H.R. von Koenigswald in 1937 at Sangiran on the Indonesian island
of Java. This fossil is a braincase that is very similar to the first Java Man
skull cap, but more complete and smaller, with a brain size of only about 815
cc.
OH 9, "Chellean
Man", Homo erectus
Discovered by Louis Leakey in 1960 at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania (Leakey 1961).
Estimated age is 1.5 million years. It consisted of a partial braincase with
massive browridges and a brain size of 1065 cc.
OH 12, "Pinhead",
Homo erectus
Discovered by Margaret Cropper in 1962 at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. It is similar
to but less complete than OH 9, and smaller, with an estimated brain size of
only 750 cc. It is estimated to be between 800,000 and 1200,000 years old. Anton
(2004) has found a few more pieces of this skull, but it remains very fragmentary.
Sangiran 17, "Pithecanthropus VIII", Homo
erectus
Discovered by Sastrohamidjojo Sartono in 1969 at Sangiran on Java. This consists
of a fairly complete cranium, with a brain size of about 1000 cc. It is the
most complete erectus fossil from Java. This skull is very robust, with
a slightly projecting face and huge flaring cheekbones. It has been thought
to be about 800,000 years old, but a recent dating has given a much older figure
of nearly 1.7 million years. If the older date is correct, it means Homo
erectus migrated out of Africa much earlier than previously thought.
KNM-ER 3733, Homo
erectus (or Homo ergaster)
Discovered by Bernard Ngeneo in 1975 at Koobi Fora in Kenya. Estimated age is
1.7 million years. This superb find consisted of an almost complete cranium.
The brain size is about 850 cc, and the whole skull is similar to the Peking
Man fossils. The discovery of this fossil in the same stratum as ER 406 (A.
boisei) delivered the coup de grace to the single species hypothesis: the
idea that there has never been more than one hominid species at any point in
history. (Leakey and Walker 1976)
KNM-WT 15000, "Turkana
Boy", Homo erectus (or Homo ergaster)
Discovered by Kamoya Kimeu in 1984 at Nariokotome near Lake Turkana in Kenya
(Brown et al. 1985; Leakey and Lewin 1992; Walker and Leakey 1993; Walker and
Shipman 1996). This is an almost complete skeleton of an 11 or 12 year old boy,
the only major omissions being the hands and feet. (Some scientists believe
erectus matured faster than modern humans, and that he was really about
9 years old (Leakey and Lewin 1992).) It is the most complete known specimen
of erectus, and also one of the oldest, at 1.6 million years. The brain
size was 880 cc, and it is estimated that it would have been 910 cc at adulthood.
The boy was 160 cm (5'3") tall, and would have been about 185 cm (6'1") as an
adult. This is surprisingly tall, indicating that many erectus may have
been as large as modern humans. Except for the skull, the skeleton is very similar
to that of modern boys, although there are a number of small differences. The
most striking is that the holes in his vertebrae, through which the spinal cord
goes, have only about half the cross-sectional area found in modern humans.
One suggested explanation for this is that the boy lacked the fine motor control
we have in the thorax to control speech, implying that he wasn't nearly as fluent
a speaker as modern humans are (Walker and Shipman 1996).
D2700,
Homo georgicus
Discovered in 2001 at Dmanisi in Georgia. Estimated age is 1.8 million years.
It consisted of a mostly complete skull, including a lower jaw (D2735) belonging
to the same individual. (Vekua et al. 2002, Balter and Gibbons 2002) At around
600 cc, this is the smallest and most primitive hominid skull ever discovered
outside of Africa. This skull and two others discovered nearby form a near-perfect
transition between H. habilis and ergaster.
ATD6-69, Homo
antecessor?
Discovered at Atapuerca in Spain. This is a partial face of a child who was
probably about 10 to 11.5 years old. This fossil is over 780,000 years old.
(Bermudez de Castro et al. 1997)
"Heidelberg
Man", "Mauer Jaw", Homo sapiens (archaic) (also Homo heidelbergensis)
Discovered by gravel pit workers in 1907 near Heidelberg in Germany. Estimated
age is between 400,000 and 700,000 years. This find consisted of a lower jaw
with a receding chin and all its teeth. The jaw is extremely large and robust,
like that of Homo erectus, but the teeth are at the small end of the
erectus range. It is often classified as Homo heidelbergensis,
but has also sometimes been considered to be a European Homo erectus.
"Rhodesian Man", "Kabwe",
Homo sapiens (archaic) (was Homo rhodesiensis)
Discovered by a laborer in 1921 at Broken Hill in Northern Rhodesia (now Kabwe
in Zambia) (Woodward 1921). This was a complete cranium that was very robust,
with large brow ridges and a receding forehead. Estimated age is between 200,000
and 125,000 years. The brain size was about 1280 cc. (Creationist arguments)
Arago
XXI, "Tautavel Man", Homo sapiens (archaic) (also Homo heidelbergensis)
Discovered at Arago in southern France in 1971 by Henry de Lumley. Estimated
age is 400,000 years. The fossil consists of a fairly complete face, with 5
molar teeth and part of the braincase. The brain size was about 1150 cc. The
skull contains a mixture of features from archaic Homo sapiens and Homo
erectus, to which it is sometimes assigned.
Petralona
1, Homo sapiens (archaic)
Discovered by villagers at Petralona in Greece in 1960. Estimated age is 250,000-500,000
years. It could alternatively be considered to be a late Homo erectus,
and also has some Neandertal characteristics. The brain size is 1220 cc, high
for erectus but low for sapiens, and the face is large with particularly
wide jaws. (Day 1986)
Atapuerca 5, Homo sapiens
(archaic)
Discovered in the Sima de los Huesos ("Pit of Bones") at the Atapuerca cave
site in northern Spain in 1992 and 1993 by Juan-Luis Arsuaga. It is about 300,000
years old, with a brain size of 1125 cc. The face is broad with a huge nasal
opening, and resembles Neandertals in some traits but not in others. This is
the most complete pre-modern skull in the entire hominid fossil record. (Arsuaga
et al. 1993; Johanson and Edgar 1996)
Feldhofer, Neanderthal
1, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
Discovered by Johann Fuhlrott in 1856 in a small cave at Feldhofer in the Neander
Valley in Germany. The find consisted of a skullcap, thigh bones, part of a
pelvis, some ribs, and some arm and shoulder bones. The lower left arm had been
broken in life, and as a result the bones of the left arm were smaller than
those of the right. Fuhlrott recognized it as a primitive human, but the German
establishment headed by Rudolf Virchow rejected this view, incorrectly claiming
that it was a pathological modern human. (Trinkaus and Shipman 1992) In 1999,
the original site was rediscovered, and more bones from the same specimen were
recovered.
(There were actually two earlier Neandertal finds. A partial cranium of a 2.5 year old child found in 1829 in Belgium was not recognized until 1936. An adult cranium found on Gibraltar in 1848 gathered dust in a museum until it was recognized as a Neandertal in 1864.)
"Spy 1 and
2", Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
Discovered by Marcel de Puydt and Max Lohest in 1886 at the Grotto of Spy (pronounced
Spee) d'Orneau in Belgium. Estimated age is about 60,000 years. This find consisted
of two almost complete skeletons. The excellent descriptions of the skeletons
established that they were very old, and largely discredited the idea that the
Neandertal physique was a pathological condition, but also erroneously concluded
that Neandertal Man walked with bent knees.
"Krapina Site",
Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
Discovered by Dragutin Gorjanovic-Kramberger in 1899 near Krapina in Croatia.
This site yielded significant remains from two to three dozen individuals, and
teeth and jaw fragments from dozens more. When Gorjanovic published on his finds
in 1906, it confirmed for once and for all that Neandertals were not pathological
modern humans.
"Old
Man", Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
Discovered by Amedee and Jean Bouyssonie in 1908 near La-Chapelle-aux-Saints
in France. It is about 50,000 years old, with a brain size of 1620 cc. This
nearly complete skeleton was reconstructed by Marcellin Boule, who wrote a definitive
and highly influential paper on it which managed to be totally wrong in many
of its conclusions. It exaggerated the apelike characteristics of the fossil,
popularizing the stereotype, which would last for decades, of a stooping ape-man
shuffling along on bent knees. This specimen was between about 30 and 40 when
he died, but had a healed broken rib, severe arthritis of the hip, lower neck,
back and shoulders, and had lost most of his molar teeth. The fact that he survived
as long as he did indicates that Neandertals must have had a complex social
structure.
"Shanidar
Site", Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
Ralph Solecki discovered 9 Neandertal skeletons between 1953 and 1960 at the
Shanidar cave in Iraq. They are thought to be between 70,000 and 40,000 years
old. One of them, Shanidar 4, had apparently been buried with offerings of flowers
(although this interpretation has been disputed). In 1971 Solecki wrote a book,
"Shanidar, the First Flower People", reversing the earlier stereotypes
of semi-human brutes. Another skeleton, Shanidar 1, was partially blind, one-armed
and crippled. His survival also is evidence of a complex social structure.
"Saint-Cesaire
Neandertal", Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
Discovered by Francois Leveque in 1979 near the village of Saint-Cesaire in
France. It consisted of a badly crushed skeleton. The skull was mostly complete,
with only the back of the cranium missing. It is dated at about 35,000 years
old, and is one of the latest Neandertals known. This find was of special interest
because it was found with tools that had previously been assumed to belong to
the Cro-Magnon culture, instead of the usual Neandertal tool kit.
LB1, "Hobbit", Homo floresiensis
Discovered by an Australian/Indonesian team in 2003 at the Liang Bua cave on
the Indonesian island of Flores. This find consisted of an almost complete skull
and a partial skeleton consisting of leg bones, parts of the pelvis, hands and
feet, and some other fragments. LB1 was an adult, probably female, about 1 meter
(3'3") tall with an extremely small brain size of 417cc. The skull has human-like
teeth with a receding forehead and no chin. The fossil is 18,000 years old and
was found with stone tools. This species is thought to be a dwarf form of Homo
erectus. (Brown et al. 2004, Morwood et al. 2004, Lahr and Foley 2004)
"Cro-Magnon Site", Homo
sapiens sapiens (modern)
Discovered by workmen in 1868 at Cro-Magnon in France. Estimated age is 30,000
years. The site yielded skeletons of 5 buried individuals, along with stone
tools, carved reindeer antlers, ivory pendants, and shells. The Cro-Magnons
lived in Europe between 35,000 and 10,000 years ago. They are virtually identical
to modern man, being tall and muscular and slightly more robust than most modern
humans. They were skilled hunters, toolmakers and artists famous for the cave
art at places such as Lascaux, Chauvet, and Altamira.
There are a number of clear trends (which were neither continuous nor uniform) from early australopithecines to recent humans: increasing brain size, increasing body size, increasing use of and sophistication in tools, decreasing tooth size, decreasing skeletal robustness. There are no clear dividing lines between some of the later gracile australopithecines and some of the early Homo, between erectus and archaic sapiens, or archaic sapiens and modern sapiens.
Despite this, there is little consensus on what our family tree is. Everyone accepts that the robust australopithecines (aethiopicus, robustus and boisei) are not ancestral to us, being a side branch that left no descendants. Whether H. habilis is descended from A. afarensis, africanus, both of them, or neither of them, is still a matter of debate. It is possible that none of the known australopithecines is our ancestor.
A number of new genera and species have been discovered within the last decade (Ar. ramidus, Au. amanensis, Au. bahrelghazali, Au. garhi, Orrorin, Kenyanthropus, Sahelanthropus) and no consensus has yet formed on how they are related to each other or to humans. It is generally accepted that Homo erectus is descended from Homo habilis (or, at least, some of the fossils often assigned to habilis), but the relationship between erectus, sapiens and the Neandertals is still unclear. Neandertal affinities can be detected in some specimens of both archaic and modern sapiens.
This page is part of the Fossil Hominids FAQ at the talk.origins Archive.