Homo sapiens idaltu
Encyclopedia
Homo sapiens idaltu is an extinct subspecies
of Homo sapiens that lived almost 160,000 years ago
in Pleistocene
Africa
. is from the Saho-Afar
word meaning "elder or first born".
The fossil
ized remains of H. s. idaltu were discovered at Herto Bouri in 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. By using radioisotope dating, the layers date 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 1450 cm³ (88.4 cu in). The other crania include another partial adult male and a six year old child.
These fossils differ from those of chronologically later forms of early H. sapiens such as Cro-Magnon
found in Europe
and other parts of the world in that their morphology
has many archaic features not typical of H. sapiens (although modern human skulls do differ across the globe).
Despite the archaic features, these specimens were argued to represent the direct ancestors of modern Homo sapiens sapiens
which, according to the "recent African origin (RAO)" or "out of Africa" theory, 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 penecontemporanous 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 about 195,000 years ago, making them older than the idaltu fossils and the earliest known remains of anatomically modern humans
.
An exact description was made, by its discoverers, of Homo sapiens idaltu:
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of Homo sapiens that lived almost 160,000 years ago
Lower Paleolithic
The Lower Paleolithic is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 2.5 million years ago when the first evidence of craft and use of stone tools by hominids appears in the current archaeological record, until around 300,000 years ago, spanning the...
in Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. is from the Saho-Afar
Afar language
Afar is a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. It is believed to have 1.5 million speakers, the Afar. The basic word order in Afar, like in other East Cushitic languages, is subject–object–verb. Its speakers have a literacy rate of between one and three per cent...
word meaning "elder or first born".
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
ized remains of H. s. idaltu were discovered at Herto Bouri in the Middle Awash
Middle Awash
The Middle Awash is an archaeological site along the Awash River in Ethiopia's Afar Depression. A number of Pleistocene and late Miocene hominid remains have been found at the site, along with some of the oldest known Olduwan stone artifacts and patches of fire-baked clay, disputed evidence of the...
site of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
's Afar Triangle in 1997 by Tim White, but were first unveiled in 2003. Herto Bouri is a region of Ethiopia under volcanic layers. By using radioisotope dating, the layers date 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 1450 cm³ (88.4 cu in). The other crania include another partial adult male and a six year old child.
These fossils differ from those of chronologically later forms of early H. sapiens such as Cro-Magnon
Cro-Magnon
The Cro-Magnon were the first early modern humans of the European Upper Paleolithic. The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiometrically dated to 35,000 years before present....
found in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and other parts of the world in that their morphology
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
has many archaic features not typical of H. sapiens (although modern human skulls do differ across the globe).
Despite the archaic features, these specimens were argued to represent the direct ancestors of modern Homo sapiens sapiens
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
which, according to the "recent African origin (RAO)" or "out of Africa" theory, developed shortly after this period (Khoisan
Khoisan
Khoisan is a unifying name for two ethnic groups of Southern Africa, who share physical and putative linguistic characteristics distinct from the Bantu majority of the region. Culturally, the Khoisan are divided into the foraging San and the pastoral Khoi...
mitochondrial divergence dated not later than 110,000 BCE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
) in Eastern Africa. "The many morphological features shared by the Herto crania and AMHS, to the exclusion of penecontemporanous Neanderthals, provide additional fossil data excluding Neanderthals from a significant contribution to the ancestry of modern humans."
A 2005 potassium-argon dating
Potassium-argon dating
Potassium–argon dating or K–Ar dating is a radiometric dating method used in geochronology and archeology. It is based on measurement of the product of the radioactive decay of an isotope of potassium into argon . Potassium is a common element found in many materials, such as micas, clay minerals,...
of volcanic tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
associated with the Omo remains
Omo remains
The Omo remains are a collection of hominid bones discovered between 1967 and 1974 at the Kibish sites near the Omo River, Omo National Park in south-western Ethiopia. The bones were recovered by a scientific team from the Kenya National Museums directed by Richard Leakey and others...
showed them to date from about 195,000 years ago, making them older than the idaltu fossils and the earliest known remains of anatomically modern humans
Anatomically modern humans
The term anatomically modern humans in paleoanthropology refers to early individuals of Homo sapiens with an appearance consistent with the range of phenotypes in modern humans....
.
An exact description was made, by its discoverers, of Homo sapiens idaltu:
See also
- List of fossil sites
- List of human evolution fossils
- Archaic Homo sapiensArchaic Homo sapiensArchaic Homo sapiens is a loosely defined term used to describe a number of varieties of Homo, as opposed to anatomically modern humans , in the period beginning 500,000 years ago....
External links
- 160,000-year-old fossilized skulls uncovered in Ethiopia are oldest anatomically modern humans, Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley, 11 June 2003.
- 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 MuseumNatural History MuseumThe Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
) Human origins; new fossil human finds in Ethiopia. 12 June 2003 - BBC report and image of the reconstructed skull discovered at Herto