| Homo rhodesiensis Temporal range: Pleistocene |
|
|---|---|
| Skull found in 1921 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | Hominidae |
| Tribe: | Hominini |
| Genus: | Homo |
| Species: | H. rhodesiensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Homo rhodesiensis Woodward, 1921 |
|
Homo rhodesiensis (Rhodesian man) is a hominin species described from the fossil Kabwe skull. Other morphologically-comparable remains have been found from the same, or earlier, time period in southern Africa (Hopefield or Saldanha), East Africa (Bodo, Ndutu, Eyasi, Ileret) and North Africa (Salé, Rabat, Dar-es-Soltane, Djbel Irhoud, Sidi Aberrahaman, Tighenif). These remains were dated between 300,000 and 125,000 years old.
Another specimen[1] "the hominid from Lake Ndutu" may approach 400,000 years old, and Clarke in 1976 classified it as Homo erectus. Undirect cranial capacity estimate is 1100 ml. Also supratoral sulcus morphology and presence of protuberance as suggested by Philip Rightmire : give the Nudutu occiput an appearance which is also unlike that of Homo Erectus but Stinger 1986 pointed that thickened iliac pillar is typical for Homo erectus.[2]
In Africa, there is a distinct difference in the Acheulian tools made before and after 600,000 years ago with the older group being thicker and less symmetric and the younger being more extensively trimmed. This may be connected with the appearance (some 300,000 years later) of Homo rhodesiensis in the archaeological record at this time who may have contributed this more sophisticated approach.
Rupert Murrill has studied the relations between Archanthropus skull of Petralona (Chalcidice, Greece) and Rhodesian Man. Most current experts believe Rhodesian Man to be within the group of Homo heidelbergensis though other designations such as Homo sapiens arcaicus and Homo sapiens rhodesiensis have also been proposed. According to Tim White, it is probable that Homo rhodesiensis was the ancestor of Homo sapiens idaltu (Herto Man), which would be itself at the origin of Homo sapiens sapiens. No direct linkage of the species can so far be determined.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||