Boxgrove Man

Tibia from Boxgrove

The Boxgrove Man is a Homo heidelbergensis fossil that was discovered in West Sussex, England in 1993 by archaeologist Mark Roberts and his team of the Institute of Archeology at University College London.[1] Only the tibia was found of the Boxgrove Man and so not much is known about his history.

Boxgrove's life

This particular fossil of an approximately 40 year old dates back to the Middle Pleistocene era (ca. 500 ka BP).[2] The tibia of Boxgrove Man is very sturdy indicating that it is a heavyset male around 6 ft tall. The exceptional strength suggests a cold adapted body proportions paralleling those of the Neanderthals.[3] Due to this height it is believed that Boxgrove Man migrated from a tropical grassland environment as height is an evolutionary advantage of living in warm climates.[4] It is clear that Boxgrove Man had the ability to hunt or at least scavenge with stone tools as the team discovered hundreds of Acheulean flint tools at the site.

Wildlife found at the site

Present at the site where Boxgrove Man was discovered were the remains of now extinct species of rhinoceros, bears and voles. It is most likely that Boxgrove Man hunted these animals for sustenance with the aid of the stone tools also discovered at this site. There is clear evidence on the animal remains that they were butchered but it cannot be proven that Boxgrove Man actually hunted these animals or scavenged them. There is also evidence on Boxgrove Man’s tibia that he was scavenged as well. Teeth marks suggests he was either cannibalized by his fellow H. heidelbergensis brothers or was a meal for a scavenging animal.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hawkes, Nigel (May 24, 1994). Rise of Boxgrove Man.
  2. ↑ Streeter et al. 2001, Margret. "Histomorphometric age assessment of the Boxgrove 1 tibial diaphysis". Journal of Human Evolution. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Stringer, C.B.; Trinkaus, E.; Roberts, M.B. (May 1998). "The Middle Pleistocene human tibia from Boxgrove". Journal of Human Evolution 34 (5): 509–547. doi:10.1006/jhev.1998.0215. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  4. ↑ Keys, David (June 22, 1994). "Boxgrove Man reveals his Stone Age Secrets". The Independent.
  5. ↑ A History of Britain, Richard Dargie (2007), p. 8–9