Homo heidelbergensis
| Homo heidelbergensis
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| H. heidelbergensis Kabwe Cranium H. heidelbergensis Kabwe Cranium
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| †Homo heidelbergensis Schoetensack, 1908 |
Homo heidelbergensis ("Heidelberg Man") is the name given to what is generally but not universally considered to be an extinct species of the genus Homo that lived from about 800,000 years ago until perhaps 300,000 years ago. It is considered to predate both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens in Europe (Smithsonian 2007a).
There are many fossils found that appear to be intermediate between Homo ergaster/Homo erectus and Homo sapiens. Problematic specimens with mixtures of "erectus-like" traits and "modern" traits were placed for years in the category "archaic Homo sapiens" (Smithsonian 2007b). When H. ergaster/H. erectus disappeared in Africa, larger brained and more massively boned individuals appeared to have replaced them (Smithsonian 2007a). One species separated from these archaic fossils was H. heidelbergensis.
The first H. heidelbergensis remains (a nearly complete mandible) were found in Mauer near Heidelberg, Germany in 1907. A year later Otto Schoetensak named it Homo heidelbergensis, but without clear justification since he did not describe a unique anatomical feature (Kreger 2005). Subsequent fossils ascribed to this species were found in France and Petralona, Greece in Europe, and at sites in Bodo, Ethiopia; Saldanha, South Africa; Ndutu, Tanzania; and Kabwe, Zimbabwe (Kreger 2005, Smithsonian 2007a).
There are at least three basic views regarding the fossils attributed to Homo heidelbergensis: (1) it is a species that gave rise to both Neanderthals in Europe and H. sapiens in Africa; (2) the European and African fossils are different and the African fossils belong in a different species and is the one that gave rise to H. sapiens; and (3) H. erectus was the direct ancestor of H. sapiens and the African fossils should remain in the category of "archaic H. sapiens" (Smithsonian 2007a).
Kreger (2005) notes that "many researchers argue that "heidelbergensis is invalid"
Findings
and the direct ancestor of Homo neanderthalensis in Europe. According to the "Recent Out of Africa" theory, similar "Archaic Homo sapiens" found in Africa (ie. Homo rhodesiensis and Homo sapiens idaltu), existing in Africa as a part of the operation of the Saharan pump, and not the European forms of Homo heidelbergensis, are thought to be direct ancestors of modern Homo sapiens. Homo antecessor is likely a direct ancestor living 750,000 years ago evolving into Homo heidelbergensis appearing in the fossil record living roughly 600,000 to 250,000 years ago through various areas of Europe.
Neanderthal's ancestors, Homo erectus or Homo heidelbergensis
There has almost always been a great deal of discussion concerning the taxonomy of Homo erectus, and it relates to the question whether or not H. erectus is a geographically widespread species (found in Africa, Europe, and Asia), or is it a classic Asian lineage that evolved from less cranially derived African H. ergaster. Kreger (2005) notes that some also split into three groups: "Asian and later African material remaining as erectus (with erectus not contributing to modern humans), early African material as ergaster, and European material as heidelbergensis." * Kreger, C. D. 2005. Homo erectus: Introduction. Archaeology.info. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. 2007a. Homo erectus. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
Homo heidelbergensis remains were found in Mauer near Heidelberg, Germany and then later in Arago, France and Petralona, Greece. The best evidence found for these hominins date between 400,000 and 500,000 years ago.
H. heidelbergensis stone tool technology was considerably close to that of the Acheulean tools used by Homo erectus. The first fossil discovery of this species was made on October 21, 1907 and came from Mauer where the workman Daniel Hartmann spotted a jaw in a sandpit. The jaw was in good condition except for the missing premolar teeth, which were eventually found near the jaw. The workman gave it to professor Otto Schoetensack from the University of Heidelberg, who identified and named the fossil.
Most current experts believe Rhodesian Man, found in Africa, to be within the group Homo heidelbergensis.
Morphology and interpretations
Both H. antecessor and H. heidelbergensis are likely descended from the morphologically very similar Homo ergaster from Africa. But because H. heidelbergensis had a larger brain-case — with a typical cranial volume of 1100-1400 cc overlapping the 1350 cc average of modern humans — and had more advanced tools and behavior, it has been given a separate species classification. The species was tall, 1.8 m (6 ft.) on average, and more muscular than modern humans.
Furthermore, the morphology of the outer and middle ear of Neanderthal ancestors, Homo heidelbergensis, found in Spain, suggests they had an auditory sensitivity similar to modern humans and very different from chimpanzees. Therefore, they were not only able to produce a wide range of sounds, they were also able to differentiate between these sounds (Martinez et al. 2004).
Evidence of hunting
Cut marks found on wild deer, elephants, rhinos and horses demonstrate that they were butchered, some of the animals weighed as much as 1,500 lb or possibly larger. During this era, now-extinct wild animals such as mammoths, European lions and Irish elk roamed the European continent.
Social behavior
In theory recent findings in Atapuerca also suggest that H. heidelbergensis may have been the first species of the Homo genus to bury their dead, but that is contested at this time. Some experts believe that H. heidelbergensis, like its descendant H. neanderthalensis acquired a primitive form of language. No forms of art or sophisticated artifacts other than stone tools have been uncovered, although red ochre, a mineral that can be used to create a red pigment which is useful as a paint, has been found at Terra Amata excavations in the south of France.
Notable fossils
- Mauer 1
- Arago 21
- Steinheim Skull
- Ciampate del Diavolo
- Boxgrove
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- SAUER, A. (1985): Erläuterungen zur Geol. Karte 1 : 25 000 Baden-Württ., Blatt 6618 Heidelberg-Süd (früher Blatt Neckargemünd) 110 S., Stuttgart
- SCHOETENSACK, O. (1908): Der Unterkiefer des Homo heidelbergensis aus den Sanden von Mauer bei Heidelberg. Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann
- WEINERT, H. (1937): Dem Unterkiefer von Mauer zur 30-jährigen Wiederkehr seiner Entdeckung, Z. f. Morphol. u. Anthropol. Bd.XXXVII, Heft 1, S.102-113
External links
Sahelanthropus tchadensis • Orrorin tugenensis • Ardipithecus
Australopithecus: A. anamensis • A. afarensis • A. bahrelghazali • A. africanus • A. garhi
Paranthropus: P. aethiopicus • P. boisei • P. robustus
Kenyanthropus platyops
Homo: H. habilis • H. rudolfensis • H. georgicus • H. ergaster • H. erectus (H. e. lantianensis • H. e. palaeojavanicus • H. e. pekinensis • H. e. soloensis) • H. cepranensis • H. antecessor • H. heidelbergensis • H. neanderthalensis • H. rhodesiensis • H. floresiensis • Homo sapiens (H. s. idaltu • H. s. sapiens)
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