''Homo bodoensis'' is the species name for extinct
archaic humans
A number of varieties of ''Homo'' are grouped into the broad category of archaic humans in the period that precedes and is contemporary to the emergence of the earliest early modern humans (''Homo sapiens'') around 300 ka. Omo-Kibish I (Omo I) f ...
that lived during the
Chibanian
The Chibanian, widely known by its previous designation of Middle Pleistocene, is an Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale or a Stage (stratigraphy), stage in chronostratigraphy, being a division of the Pleistocene Epoch withi ...
(770–126
ka) in Africa. It relies on the fossil specimen known as
Bodo cranium, which was discovered in 1976 from the
Awash River
The Awash (sometimes spelled Awaash; Oromo: ''Awaash'', Amharic: አዋሽ, Afar: ''We'ayot'', Somali: ''Webiga Dir'') is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia and empties into a chain of ...
in Ethiopia and is estimated to have lived around 500,000 years ago. Following the comparative analysis of the fossil with those of other ''
Homo
''Homo'' () is the genus that emerged in the (otherwise extinct) genus ''Australopithecus'' that encompasses the extant species ''Homo sapiens'' ( modern humans), plus several extinct species classified as either ancestral to or closely relate ...
'' falling on the same geological age, the name was formally introduced in 2021.
Based on the confusing usage of
scientific names
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
for different
hominin
The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos) and in standard usage excludes the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas).
The t ...
specimens of the Chibanian, a research team led by
Mirjana Roksandic at the
University of Winnipeg
The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...
, Canada, proposed in ''
Evolutionary Anthropology
Evolutionary anthropology, the interdisciplinary study of the evolution of human physiology and human behaviour and of the relation between hominids and non-hominid primates, builds on natural science and on social science. Various fields and ...
'' that ''H. bodoensis'' should be used as an umbrella name for all species of the same age in Africa, including ''
H. rhodesiensis
''Homo rhodesiensis'' is the species name proposed by Arthur Smith Woodward (1921) to classify Kabwe 1 (the "Kabwe skull" or "Broken Hill skull", also "Rhodesian Man"), a Middle Stone Age fossil recovered from a cave at Broken Hill, or Kabwe, ...
'' and ''
H. heidelbergensis
''Homo heidelbergensis'' (also ''H. sapiens heidelbergensis''), sometimes called Heidelbergs, is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human which existed during the Middle Pleistocene. It was subsumed as a subspecies of '' H. erectus'' in ...
.'' But not all scientists agree. British
paleoanthropologist Chris Stringer
Christopher Brian Stringer (born 1947) is a British physical anthropologist noted for his work on human evolution.
Biography
Growing up in a working-class family in the East End of London, Stringer's interest in anthropology began in primar ...
argued that the name cannot replace ''
H. rhodesiensis
''Homo rhodesiensis'' is the species name proposed by Arthur Smith Woodward (1921) to classify Kabwe 1 (the "Kabwe skull" or "Broken Hill skull", also "Rhodesian Man"), a Middle Stone Age fossil recovered from a cave at Broken Hill, or Kabwe, ...
'' to which Bodo cranium is assigned since ''H. rhodesiensis'' (described by
Arthur Smith Woodward
Sir Arthur Smith Woodward, FRS (23 May 1864 – 2 September 1944) was an English palaeontologist, known as a world expert in fossil fish. He also described the Piltdown Man fossils, which were later determined to be fraudulent. He is not relate ...
in 1921) had been formally accepted.
Naming
The name of the genus ''Homo'' is derived from , for human. The specific epithet ''bodoensis'' refers to the site Bodo D'ar in the
Afar Depression
The Afar Triangle (also called the Afar Depression) is a geological depression caused by the Afar Triple Junction, which is part of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. The region has disclosed fossil specimens of the very earliest hominins; tha ...
(
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
), where the
type specimen
In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...
Bodo cranium (Bodo 1) was discovered in 1976. ''Homo bodoensis'' therefore means "human from Bodo".
Bodo cranium
The Bodo cranium
is a fossil of an extinct type of
hominin
The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos) and in standard usage excludes the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas).
The t ...
species. It was found by members of an expedition led by
Jon Kalb
Jon Kalb August 17, 1941 (Houston, Texas) - October 27, 2017 (Austin, Texas) was a research geologist with the Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory (Texas Memorial Museum), University of Texas at Austin. He received a pre-doctoral fellowship from t ...
in 1976.
The Rift Valley Research Mission conducted a number of surveys that led to the findings of Acheulean tools and animal fossils, as well as the Bodo Cranium. The initial discovery was by Alemayhew Asfaw and Charles Smart, who found a lower face. Two weeks later, Paul Whitehead and Craig Wood found the upper portion of the face. Pieces of the cranium were discovered along the surface of one of the dry branches of the Awash River in Ethiopia.
The cranium, artifacts, and other animal fossils were found over a relatively large area of medium sand, and only a few of the tools were found near the cranium.
The skull is 600,000 years old
and is now the type specimen of ''
Homo bodoensis
''Homo bodoensis'' is the species name for extinct archaic humans that lived during the Chibanian (770–126 ka) in Africa. It relies on the fossil specimen known as Bodo cranium, which was discovered in 1976 from the Awash River in Ethiopia ...
''.
(formerly ''
Homo heidelbergensis
''Homo heidelbergensis'' (also ''H. sapiens heidelbergensis''), sometimes called Heidelbergs, is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human which existed during the Middle Pleistocene. It was subsumed as a subspecies of ''H. erectus'' in ...
'' / ''
Homo rhodesiensis
''Homo rhodesiensis'' is the species name proposed by Arthur Smith Woodward (1921) to classify Kabwe 1 (the "Kabwe skull" or "Broken Hill skull", also "Rhodesian Man"), a Middle Stone Age fossil recovered from a cave at Broken Hill, or Kabwe, No ...
'').
Observation
This specimen has an unusually large
cranial capacity
The size of the brain is a frequent topic of study within the fields of anatomy, biological anthropology, animal science and evolution. Brain size is sometimes measured by weight and sometimes by volume (via MRI scans or by skull volume). Neur ...
for its age that is estimated at around 1250 cc (in the range between ~1,200–1,325 cc)
within the (lower) range of modern ''Homo sapiens''.
The cranium includes the face, much of the
frontal bone
The frontal bone is a bone in the human skull. The bone consists of two portions.''Gray's Anatomy'' (1918) These are the vertically oriented squamous part, and the horizontally oriented orbital part, making up the bony part of the forehead, par ...
, parts of the midvault and the base anterior to the
foramen magnum
The foramen magnum ( la, great hole) is a large, oval-shaped opening in the occipital bone of the skull. It is one of the several oval or circular openings (foramina) in the base of the skull. The spinal cord, an extension of the medulla oblon ...
. The cranial length, width and height are 21 cm (8.3 in), 15.87 cm (6.2 in) and 19.05 cm (7.5 in) respectively. Researchers have suggested that Bodo
butcher
A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesal ...
ed animals because
Acheulean
Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French ''acheuléen'' after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated ...
hand axe
A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history, yet there is no academic consensus on what they were used for. It is made from stone, usually flint or che ...
s and
cleaver
A cleaver is a large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is largely used as a kitchen or butcher knife and is mostly intended for splitting up large pieces of soft bones and slashing through ...
s, along with animal bones, were found at the site. Cuts on the Bodo cranium show the earliest evidence of removal of flesh immediately after the death of an individual using a stone tool.
The findings of symmetrical cut marks with specific patterns and directionality on the cranium serve as strong evidence that de-fleshing was done purposefully for mortuary practices and represents the earliest evidence of non-utilitarian mortuary practices.
The cut marks were located "laterally among the maxilla" causing speculation among researchers that the specific reason for de-fleshing was to remove the mandible.
Morphology
The front of the Bodo cranium is very broad and supports large supraorbital structures. The supraorbital torus projects and is heavily constructed, especially in the central parts of the cranium. The Glabella is rounded and projects strongly. Like Homo erectus, the braincase is low and archaic in appearance. The vault bones are also thick like Homo erectus specimens. Due to the large cranial capacity, there is a wider midvault which includes signs of
parietal bossing as well as a high contour of the
temporal squama. The parietal length can’t be accurately determined because that section of the specimen is incomplete. Though the mastoid is missing, insights regarding the specimen can be determined using fragments from the individual collected at the scene in 1981. The cranium’s parietal walls expand relative to the bitemporal width in a way that is characteristic of modern humans. The squamosal suture has a high arch which is present in modern human craniums as well.
Evolutionary Significance
The cranium has an unusual appearance, which has led to debates over its taxonomy. It displays both primitive and derived features, such as a cranial capacity more similar to modern humans and a projecting supraorbital torus more like ''Homo erectus''.
Bodo and other
Mid-Pleistocene hominin fossils appear to represent a lineage between ''Homo erectus'' and
anatomically modern humans
Early modern human (EMH) or anatomically modern human (AMH) are terms used to distinguish ''Homo sapiens'' (the only extant Hominina species) that are anatomically consistent with the range of phenotypes seen in contemporary humans from extin ...
, although its exact location in the human evolutionary tree is still uncertain. Due to the similarities to both Homo erectus and modern humans, it has been postulated that the Bodo cranium, as well as other members of
Homo heidelbergensis
''Homo heidelbergensis'' (also ''H. sapiens heidelbergensis''), sometimes called Heidelbergs, is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human which existed during the Middle Pleistocene. It was subsumed as a subspecies of ''H. erectus'' in ...
were part of a group of hominins that evolved distinct from Homo erectus early in the Middle Pleistocene. Despite the similarities, there is still a question of where exactly
Homo heidelbergensis
''Homo heidelbergensis'' (also ''H. sapiens heidelbergensis''), sometimes called Heidelbergs, is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human which existed during the Middle Pleistocene. It was subsumed as a subspecies of ''H. erectus'' in ...
evolved. The increased
encephalization
Encephalization quotient (EQ), encephalization level (EL), or just encephalization is a relative brain size measure that is defined as the ratio between observed to predicted brain mass for an animal of a given size, based on nonlinear regressi ...
seen in fossils like the Bodo cranium is thought to have been a driving force in the
speciation
Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species. The biologist Orator F. Cook coined the term in 1906 for cladogenesis, the splitting of lineages, as opposed to anagenesis, phyletic evolution within ...
of anatomically modern humans.
Similarities Between Bodo Cranium and Kabwe Cranium
Both the Bodo cranium and the
Kabwe cranium
Kabwe 1 (also called the Broken Hill skull, Rhodesian Man) is a Middle Paleolithic fossil assigned by Arthur Smith Woodward in 1921 as the type specimen for ''Homo rhodesiensis'', now mostly considered a synonym of ''Homo heidelbergensis''.Hubl ...
share a number of similarities. Both have cranial capacities similar to, but on the low end of the range of modern humans(1250cc vs 1230cc). Both craniums have a very large
supraorbital torus. These two features together suggest that they are a link between ''
Homo erectus
''Homo erectus'' (; meaning "upright man") is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago. Several human species, such as '' H. heidelbergensis'' and '' H. antecessor' ...
'' and ''
Homo sapiens
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
''. While there has been a recent push to update the Bodo Cranium classification to ''Homo bodoensis,'' it is clear that the morphology and the taxonomy are most similar to other specimens of type ''
Homo heidelbergensis
''Homo heidelbergensis'' (also ''H. sapiens heidelbergensis''), sometimes called Heidelbergs, is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human which existed during the Middle Pleistocene. It was subsumed as a subspecies of ''H. erectus'' in ...
.''
Both the Bodo and Kabwe specimens can be described as archaic because they retain certain features in common with
Homo erectus
''Homo erectus'' (; meaning "upright man") is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago. Several human species, such as '' H. heidelbergensis'' and '' H. antecessor' ...
. However, both exhibit important differences from
Homo erectus
''Homo erectus'' (; meaning "upright man") is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago. Several human species, such as '' H. heidelbergensis'' and '' H. antecessor' ...
in their anatomy, such as the contour of their parietals, the shape of their temporal bones, the
cranial base, and the
morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
* Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
* Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...
of their nose and palate. While there are many similarities, there are a few differences between the specimens, including the entire brow of the Bodo cranium, particularly the lateral segments, which are less thick than the Kabwe specimen.
Criticism
Immediately after the publication of the species name, the British
paleoanthropologist Chris Stringer
Christopher Brian Stringer (born 1947) is a British physical anthropologist noted for his work on human evolution.
Biography
Growing up in a working-class family in the East End of London, Stringer's interest in anthropology began in primar ...
- a specialist in the relationships between Neanderthals and ''Homo sapiens'' - criticized the proposed departure from ''Homo heidelbergensis'' and the introduction of a new species name in
''New Scientist''.
He does agree with the objection that too many and too different fossils of ''Homo heidelbergensis'' have been made; it is appropriate to assign only those European finds to ''Homo heidelbergensis'' that have a clear similarity to the lower jaw of Mauer, for example the lower jaw of Mala Balanica, but not fossils from Africa. According to the requirements of the
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries.
Orga ...
, a species name that has already been introduced always has priority over a later one. Therefore, the designation ''Homo rhodesiensis'' takes precedence over ''Homo bodoensis''. In this context, Stringer rejected the claim that the species name ''rhodesiensis'' honored Cecil Rhodes. In fact, it is a reference to the site in what was then
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...
. But even if one wanted to avoid the reference to Rhodesia, the name ''Homo saldanensis''
chosen for the skull roof Saldanha 1 in 1955 would have priority over ''Homo bodoensis''. Finally, Stringer also pointed out that the face of the Bodo skull had features that speak for its own evolutionary path and make it appear doubtful that it was a direct ancestor of ''Homo sapiens''.
See also
*
*
*
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q109302884
Fossil taxa described in 2021
Humans
Early species of Homo