Boskop Man
Encyclopedia
Boskop Man is a type of hominid based on a skull discovered in 1913 in South Africa whose existence and interpretation is controversial. Originally, the skull was claimed to be 30 percent larger than that of modern humans and they were taken to have lived in southern Africa between 30,000 and 10,000 years ago. Their purported existence plays a prominent role in a book by Gary Lynch and Richard Granger.
for examination; many related skulls were subsequently discovered by other prominent paleontologists of the time, including Robert Broom
, Alexander Galloway, William Pycraft, Sidney Haughton, Raymond Dart
, and others.
However, the term "Boskop Man" is no longer used by anthropologists, and their supposedly unusual characteristics are considered to be a misinterpretation.
Boskop Man was not a species, but a variation of anatomically modern humans; there are well-studied skulls from Boskop, South Africa, as well as from Skuhl, Qazeh, Fish Hoek, Border Cave
, Brno, Tuinplaas, and other locations, which are near the high end of human skull sizes.
The original skull was incomplete consisting of frontal and parietal bones, with a partial occiput, one temporal and a fragment of mandible. John Hawks
notes that "The skull is a large one, with an estimated endocranial volume of 1800 ml. But it is hardly complete, and arguments about its overall size -- exacerbated by its thickness, which confuses estimates based on regression from external measurements -- have ranged from 1700 to 2000 ml. It is large, but well within the range of sizes found in recent males."
A paper read to the International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences in 1956 and later published in the journal Man
observed that:
Discover magazine gave Lynch and Granger' book a "fairly positive review" and reprinted an excerpt. John Hawks says "The portrayal of "Boskops" in the Discover excerpt is so out of line with anthropology of the last forty years, that I am amazed the magazine printed it. I am unaware of any credible biological anthropologist or archaeologist who would confirm their description of the "Boskopoids," except as an obsolete category from the history of anthropology." He does note that the Web editor at Discover replied that 'the excerpt was intended to run identified as a "controversial idea, but that context didn't come across as intended."'. and that "The web page has been changed to make that context clear".
What was found
The first Boskop skull was discovered in 1913 by two Afrikaner farmers digging a drainage ditch. They offered it to Frederick William FitzSimonsFrederick William FitzSimons
Frederick William FitzSimons , was a South African naturalist noted for his research on the country's snakes and their venom, and the commercial production of anti-venom....
for examination; many related skulls were subsequently discovered by other prominent paleontologists of the time, including Robert Broom
Robert Broom
Professor Robert Broom was a Scottish South African doctor and paleontologist. He qualified as a medical practitioner in 1895 and received his DSc in 1905 from the University of Glasgow...
, Alexander Galloway, William Pycraft, Sidney Haughton, Raymond Dart
Raymond Dart
Raymond Arthur Dart was an Australian anatomist and anthropologist, best known for his involvement in the 1924 discovery of the first fossil ever found of Australopithecus africanus, an extinct hominid closely related to humans, at Taung in the North of South Africa in the province...
, and others.
However, the term "Boskop Man" is no longer used by anthropologists, and their supposedly unusual characteristics are considered to be a misinterpretation.
Boskop Man was not a species, but a variation of anatomically modern humans; there are well-studied skulls from Boskop, South Africa, as well as from Skuhl, Qazeh, Fish Hoek, Border Cave
Border Cave
Border Cave is a rock shelter on the western scarp of the Lebombo Mountains in KwaZulu-Natal near the border between South Africa and Swaziland. Border Cave has a remarkably continuous stratigraphic record of occupation spanning about 200 ka. Anatomically modern Homo sapiens skeletons together with...
, Brno, Tuinplaas, and other locations, which are near the high end of human skull sizes.
The original skull was incomplete consisting of frontal and parietal bones, with a partial occiput, one temporal and a fragment of mandible. John Hawks
John D. Hawks
John Hawks is a professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He also is the author of a widely read paleoanthropology blog.-Biography:...
notes that "The skull is a large one, with an estimated endocranial volume of 1800 ml. But it is hardly complete, and arguments about its overall size -- exacerbated by its thickness, which confuses estimates based on regression from external measurements -- have ranged from 1700 to 2000 ml. It is large, but well within the range of sizes found in recent males."
Lynch and Granger book
In April 2008, neuroscientists Gary Lynch and Richard Granger published a book on human intelligence titled Big Brain: The Origins and Future of Human Intelligence, in which Boskop fossils play a prominent role. The authors suggest that the Boskops possessed a large forebrain, which may indicate a relatively high IQ.Criticisms
Major questions have been raised about the quality and interpretation of the finds.A paper read to the International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences in 1956 and later published in the journal Man
Man (journal)
Man was a journal of anthropological research, published in London between 1901–1994 by the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. For first sixty-three volumes from its inception in 1901 up to 1963 it was issued on a monthly basis, moving to bi-monthly issue for the...
observed that:
"...an isolated cranial fragment found 40 years ago near the surface in a dubious geological horizon, unassociated with implements and fauna, ... there has been developed conjecture after conjecture, speculation on speculation ... the features exhibited by the Boskop skull and those which have been termed 'Boskopoid' are not specific to any 'new' single, African racial group, and in Africa they may be found in varying degrees in the Bushmen, Hottentots or Bush-Hotttentot admixtures."
Discover magazine gave Lynch and Granger' book a "fairly positive review" and reprinted an excerpt. John Hawks says "The portrayal of "Boskops" in the Discover excerpt is so out of line with anthropology of the last forty years, that I am amazed the magazine printed it. I am unaware of any credible biological anthropologist or archaeologist who would confirm their description of the "Boskopoids," except as an obsolete category from the history of anthropology." He does note that the Web editor at Discover replied that 'the excerpt was intended to run identified as a "controversial idea, but that context didn't come across as intended."'. and that "The web page has been changed to make that context clear".
External links
- Loren Eiseley's writing on Boskop Man: "The Man of the Future"
- Big Brain: The Origins and Future of Human Intelligence by Gary Lynch and Richard Granger
- The "amazing" Boskops by John HawksJohn D. HawksJohn Hawks is a professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He also is the author of a widely read paleoanthropology blog.-Biography:...
- Return of the "amazing" Boskops John HawksJohn D. HawksJohn Hawks is a professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He also is the author of a widely read paleoanthropology blog.-Biography:...
comments upon recent controversy - What Happened to the Hominids Who Were Smarter Than Us?