Dmanisi -Homo erectus many faces

Science, 2002

Science, 2013

A Heady Find In the past two decades, excavations at the archaeological site at Dmanisi, Georgia, have revealed hominin fossils from the earliest Pleistocene, soon after the genus Homo first dispersed beyond Africa. Lordkipanidze et al. (p. 326 ; see the cover) now describe a fossil cranium from the site. Combined with mandibular remains that had been found earlier, this find completes the first entire hominin skull from this period.

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2014

2008

The Plio-Pleistocene site of Dmanisi (Georgia) has yielded an exceptionally well-preserved and morphologically diverse sample of cranial and postcranial remains of early Homo within a rich archeological and faunal context. This unique ensemble offers new comparative perspectives on the origin and dispersal of our own genus in Africa and Asia. Here we ask how patterns of morphological diversity within the Dmanisi paleopopulation, and between Dmanisi and African/Asian H. erectus, are related to processes of hominin phylogeography. Variation in size and shape within the Dmanisi sample is considerable and, like in modern human populations, a large proportion of it can be related to variation in basic developmental processes. This perspective has several implications for the interpretation of H.erectus sensu lato: (1)at its lower (Plio-Pleistocene) boundary, separation from early Homo (cf. habilis)becomes increasingly difficult; (2) during the Pleistocene, links between Dmanisi and East ...

October 2013, p. 326) conclude, from gross morphological comparisons and geometric-morphometric analysis of general shape, that the five hominid crania from Dmanisi in Georgia represent a single regional variant of Homo erectus. However, dental, mandibular, and cranial morphologies all suggest taxic diversity and, in particular, validate the previously named H. georgicus.

NEXUS: The Canadian Student Journal of Anthropology, 2015

Five skulls were found in Dmanisi, Georgia. D4500 (Skull 5), dated to 1.8 million years ago, is the most complete fossil associated with occupation contexts of the early Pleistocene. Its discovery has highlighted the debate concerning the plurality of species, not just at the beginning of the Homo genus, but for much of its evolution. The Skull 5 fossil presents a mixture of primitive and derived characteristics associated with Homo erectus and Homo habilis sensu lato. Based on data derived from the five Dmanisi skulls, we consider the hypothesis of a single evolving lineage of early Homo as a mode to explain the great range of variation of the Dmanisi fossils. Our work consists of evaluating the hypothesis that there was one unique species in the early Homo genus, Homo erectus sensu lato, through calculating the coefficient of variation, estimated from reference literature and the Dmanisi skulls. Our results do not suggest that all fossils of the early Homo genus represent a single species.

Journal of Human Evolution, 2017

A fifth hominin skull (cranium D4500 and mandible D2600) from Dmanisi is massively constructed, with a large face and a very small brain. Traits documented for the first time in a basal member of the Homo clade include the uniquely low ratio of endocranial volume to basicranial width, reduced vertex height, angular vault profile, smooth nasal sill coupled with a long and sloping maxillary clivus, elongated palate, and tall mandibular corpus. The convex clivus and receding symphysis of skull 5 produce a muzzle-like form similar to that of Australopithecus afarensis. While the Dmanisi cranium is very robust, differing from OH 13, OH 24, and KNM-ER 1813, it resembles Homo habilis specimens in the "squared off" outline of its maxilla in facial view, maxillary sulcus, rounded and receding zygomatic arch, and flexed zygomaticoalveolar pillar. These characters distinguish early Homo from species of Australopithecus and Paranthropus. Skull 5 is unlike Homo rudolfensis cranium KNM-ER 1470. Although it appears generally primitive, skull 5 possesses a bar-like supraorbital torus, elongated temporal squama, occipital transverse torus, and petrotympanic traits considered to be derived for Homo erectus. As a group, the Dmanisi crania and mandibles display substantial anatomical and metric variation. A key question is whether the fossils document age-related growth and sex dimorphism within a single population, or whether two (or more) distinct taxa may be present at the site. We use the coefficient of variation to compare Dmanisi with Paranthropus boisei, Homo erectus, and recent Homo sapiens, finding few signals that the Dmanisi sample is excessively variable in comparison to these reference taxa. Using cranial measurements and principal components analysis, we explore the proposal that the Dmanisi skulls can be grouped within a regionally diverse hypodigm for Homo erectus. Our results provide only weak support for this hypothesis. Finally, we consider all available morphological and paleobiological evidence in an attempt to clarify the phyletic relationship of Dmanisi to Homo species evolving >2.0 to 1.0 Ma.

Pure Insights, 2015

Over the past two decades, five different skulls have been found in the Dmanisi site located in the Republic of Georgia. These skulls are all very different in cranial features, but they are also some of the most complete and well preserved hominin skulls ever discovered. There is a major concern with these skulls, and with concern also comes controversy. We know that Homo erectus migrated from Africa into Eurasia. That is why some paleoanthropologists believe that, despite the cranial differences, the skulls found at the Dmanisi site all belong to Homo erectus. They claim that skeletal variations are common in a single species in multiple geographical locations. The opposing theory is that the remains seem to have both characteristics of Homo habilis and Homo erectus. They propose a new species called Homo georgicus, that fits between Homo habilis and Homo erectus. Using comparative analysis, I will demonstrate that the remains found at Dmanisi are in fact Homo erectus, and that the species as a whole contained many variable skeletal features throughout various populations, challenging current taxonomy and placing many species of Homo in the new Homo erectus spectrum.

Biology of Sport

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are added to the original document and are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.