Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Arboleh (talk | contribs) at 19:43, 6 November 2018 (Cleaned up biased and racist claims.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Herto Man Temporal range: Pleistocene (Lower Paleolithic), 0.16 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Homo sapiens idaltu skull
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Simiiformes
Family:	Hominidae
Subfamily:	Homininae
Tribe:	Hominini
Genus:	Homo
Species:	H. sapiens
Subspecies:	H. s. idaltu
Trinomial name
Homo sapiens idaltu White et al., 2003

Homo sapiens idaltu (Template:Lang-aa; "elder" or "first born"), also called Herto Man, is the name given to a number of hominin fossils found in 1997 in Herto Bouri, Ethiopia. They date to around 160,000 years ago.

Paleoanthropologists determined that the skeletal finds belong to an extinct subspecies of Homo sapiens who lived in Pleistocene Africa. In the narrow definition of H. sapiens, the subspecies H. s. idaltu falls under the umbrella of Anatomically modern humans. The recognition of H. s. idaltu as a valid subspecies of the anatomically modern human lineage would justify the description of contemporary humans with the subspecies name H. s. sapiens. Because of their early dating and unique physical characteristics, they represent the immediate ancestors of anatomically modern humans, as suggested by the Out-of-Africa theory.

Discovery

The fossilized remains of Homo sapiens idaltu were discovered at Herto Bouri near the Middle Awash site of Ethiopia's Afar Triangle in 1997 by Tim White, but were first unveiled in 2003. Herto Bouri is a region of Ethiopia under volcanic layers. According to radioisotope dating, the layers are between 154,000 and 160,000 years old. Three well preserved crania are accounted for, the best preserved being from an adult male (BOU-VP-16/1) having a brain capacity of 1,450 cm (88 cu in). The other crania include another partial adult male and a six-year-old child.

Morphology and taxonomy

The Omo fossils differ from those of chronologically later forms of early Homo sapiens, their morphology has features that show resemblances to African fossils, such as huge and robust skulls, yet have a globular shape of the brain-case and the facial features typical of H. sapiens.

Anthropologist Chris Stringer argued in a 2003 article in the journal Nature that "the skulls may not be distinctive enough to warrant a new subspecies name".

These specimens represent the direct ancestors of modern Homo sapiens sapiens which, according to the "recent African origin (RAO)" or "out of Africa" model, developed shortly after this period (Khoisan mitochondrial divergence dated not later than 110,000 BCE) in Eastern Africa. "The many morphological features shared by the Herto crania and AMHS, to the exclusion of penecontemporaneous Neanderthals, provide additional fossil data excluding Neanderthals from a significant contribution to the ancestry of modern humans."

A 2005 potassium-argon dating of volcanic tuff associated with the Omo remains showed them to date from around 195,000 years ago. At the time of the dating, this made these fossils the earliest known remains of anatomically modern humans, older than the idaltu specimens. In 2013, comparative craniometric analysis of the Herto Homo idaltu skull with ancient and recent crania from other parts of Africa found that the specimen was morphologically closest to the Pleistocene Rabat fossil and Early Holocene Kef Oum Touiza skeleton.

See also

• Archaic humans
• Timeline of human evolution
• Life timeline
• List of fossil sites
• List of human evolution fossils
• Nature timeline

References

1. ^ White, Tim D.; Asfaw, B.; DeGusta, D.; Gilbert, H.; Richards, G. D.; Suwa, G.; Howell, F. C. (2003), "Pleistocene Homo sapiens from Middle Awash, Ethiopia", Nature, 423 (6491): 742–747, Bibcode:2003Natur.423..742W, doi:10.1038/nature01669, PMID 12802332
2. "160,000-year-old fossilized skulls uncovered in Ethiopia are oldest anatomically modern humans". UC Berkeley. June 11, 2003. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
3. Robert Sanders, 160,000-year-old fossilized skulls uncovered in Ethiopia are oldest anatomically modern humans, | 11 June 2003
4. "Meet the Contenders for Earliest Modern Human". Smithsonian. January 11, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
5. White, TD; Asfaw, B; DeGusta, D; et al. (June 2003). "Pleistocene Homo sapiens from Middle Awash, Ethiopia". Nature. 423 (6941): 742–7. Bibcode:2003Natur.423..742W. doi:10.1038/nature01669. PMID 12802332. Retrieved June 7, 2016. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |last4= (help)
6. "HOMO SAPIENS IDALTU". Bradshaw foundation. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
7. Stringer, Chris (June 12, 2003). "Human evolution: Out of Ethiopia". Nature. 423 (6941): 693–695. Bibcode:2003Natur.423..692S. doi:10.1038/423692a. PMID 12802315. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
8. "Herto skulls (Homo sapiens idaltu)". talkorigins org. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
9. McDougall, I.; Brown, F. H.; Fleagle, J. G. (2005), "Stratigraphic placement and age of modern humans from Kibish, Ethiopia", Nature, 433 (7027): 733–736, Bibcode:2005Natur.433..733M, doi:10.1038/nature03258, PMID 15716951

External links

• Origins - Exploring the Fossil Record - Homo sapiens idaltu Bradshaw Foundation
• Missing link in human evolution found in Africa (abc.net.au 12 June 2003)
• Oldest Homo Sapiens Fossils Found, Experts Say (National Geographic News)
• Chris Stringer (Natural History Museum) Human origins; new fossil human finds in Ethiopia. 12 June 2003
• BBC report and image of the reconstructed skull discovered at Herto
• Homo sapiens idaltu - Nature Journal Article
• Fossil Hominids - Middle Awash Research Project
• Human Timeline (Interactive) – Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History (August 2016).
• 160,000-year-old fossilized skulls uncovered in Ethiopia are oldest anatomically modern humans, Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley, 11 June 2003.

• Homo sapiens fossils
• Prehistoric Ethiopia
• Fossil taxa described in 2003
• Subspecies