Florisbad Skull
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| Common name | Florisbad Skull |
|---|---|
| Species |
Archaic Homo sapiens or Homo heidelbergensis possibly Homo helmei |
| Age | 259,000 yrs. old |
| Place discovered | Florisbad archaeological and paleontological site, South Africa |
| Date discovered | 1932 |
| Discovered by | Prof. T.F. Dreyer |
The Florisbad Skull was originally discovered by T. F. Dreyer at the Florisbad site. Dreyer classified it as Homo helmei to mark its distinctiveness from Homo sapiens fossils. It is now generally either described as "archaic H. sapiens" or assigned to H. heidelbergensis. It may, however, be an intermediate form between H. heidelbergensis and H. sapiens, in which case retention of the H. helmei classification could be appropriate.
See also
References
- Brink, J.S. 1988. The taphonomy and palaeoecology of the Florisbad spring Fauna. Palaeoecology of Africa 19: 169–179. Culna, September 1997.
- Brink, J.S. 1987. The archaeo-zoology of Florisbad, Orange Free State. Memoirs van die Nasionale Museum 24: 1–151.
- Grün, R., Brink, J.S., Spooner, N.A., Taylor, L., Stringer, C.B., Franciscus, R.B. & Murray, A. 1996. Direct dating of the Florisbad hominid. Nature 382: 500–501.
Coordinates: 44°59′N 1°43′E / 44.983°N 1.717°E
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