Kabwe cranium

Kabwe cranium

also called  Broken Hill cranium 
 fossilized skull of an extinct human species (genus Homo) found near the town of Kabwe, Zambia (formerly Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia), in 1921. It was the first discovered remains of premodern Homo in Africa and until the early 1970s was considered to be 30,000 to 40,000 years old—only one-tenth its true age. The nearly complete cranium was found in association with a jaw fragment, a sacrum, and portions of pelvis and limb bones. The fossils, popularly known as Rhodesian man and at first given the taxonomic name H. rhodesiensis, convinced some scholars that African Homo lagged behind Eurasian Homo in acquiring modern anatomy. Despite past disagreement about the classification of these specimens, they are now usually attributed to the archaic human species H. heidelbergensis (Homo heidelbergensis), along with other specimens such as those from Bodo (Ethiopia), Ndutu (Tanzania), Heidelberg (Germany), and Petralona (Petralona skull) (Greece).

      The Kabwe skull has archaic features, being massive and flattened in profile with browridges that are very large and continuous across the nasal bridge. There are a large ridge across the rear of the skull and a very large palate. Even so, the cranial capacity of 1,280 cc (78 cubic inches) is nearly as large as that of modern humans. The limb bones are robust but otherwise indistinguishable from those of modern humans. The pelvis is also modern, though it has a buttress on the blade similar to those seen on H. erectus. The age of the remains is difficult to establish, but animal fossils also found at the site imply a date of 500,000 to 300,000 years ago. Unlike sites of comparable age in this region, the tool collection lacks Acheulean (Acheulean industry) hand axes, although some were found in an excavation 280 km (170 miles) away.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Kabwe Cranium — Homo rhodesiensis Zeitraum Pleistozän ca. 300.000 bis 125.000 Jahre Fossilfundorte Sambia Systematik Altweltaffen (Catarrhini) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kabwe skull — Infobox fossil catalog number = Broken Hill 1 common name = Kabwe cranium or Broken Hill man species = Homo rhodesiensis or Homo heidelbergensis age = place discovered = Kabwe, Zambia date discovered = 1921 discovered by = Tom ZwiglaarKabwe skull …   Wikipedia

  • Kabwe — Infobox Settlement official name = PAGENAME other name = native name = nickname = settlement type = motto = imagesize = image caption = flag size = image seal size = image shield = shield size = image blank emblem = blank emblem type = blank… …   Wikipedia

  • Kabwe — /kahb way/, n. a city in central Zambia: oldest mining town; cave site where the fossil skull of Rhodesian man was found. 143,635. Formerly, Broken Hill. * * * ▪ Zambia formerly  Broken Hill,         town, central Zambia. It is an important… …   Universalium

  • Homo erectus — /hoh moh i rek teuhs/ 1. an extinct species of the human lineage, formerly known as Pithecanthropus erectus, having upright stature and a well evolved postcranial skeleton, but with a smallish brain, low forehead, and protruding face. See illus.… …   Universalium

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  • Petralona skull — ▪ hominin fossil       an ancient human cranium discovered in 1960 in a cave near Thessaloníki, northeastern Greece. The age of this skull has been difficult to establish. At first it was believed to be contemporary with Neanderthals, perhaps no… …   Universalium

  • Ndutu — ▪ anthropological and archaeological site, Tanzania       site in northern Tanzania known for a 400,000 year old human cranium and associated Stone Age tools discovered there in 1973. The skull displays traits of both Homo erectus and H. sapiens… …   Universalium

  • Родезийский человек — † Родезийский человек Череп …   Википедия

  • Heidelberg jaw — a human lower jaw of early middle Pleistocene age found in 1907 near Heidelberg, Germany. [1910 15] * * * ▪ hominid fossil also called  Mauer jaw        enigmatic human mandible, thought to be about 500,000 years old, found in 1907 in the great… …   Universalium

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