Homo georgicus
Categories: Early hominids | Pleistocene
| Homo georgicus Conservation status: Fossil Pleistocene | ||||||||||||||||
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| Homo georgicus Vekua et al., 2002 |
Homo georgicus is a species that was suggested to 2002 to describe fossil hominid skulls and jaws found in Dmanisi, Georgia in 1999 and 2001, which seem intermediate between Homo habilis and H. erectus. A partial skeleton was discovered in 2001. The fossils are about 1.8 million years old.
At first, scientists thought they had found thirty or so skulls belonging to Homo ergaster, but size differences led them to consider erecting a new species, Homo georgicus, which would be the descendant of Homo habilis and ancestor of Asian Homo erectus.
At around 600 cc, the skull D2700 was the smallest and most primitive hominid skull ever discovered outside of Africa, until the discovery of Homo floresiensis, which is smaller. There is a strong sexual dimorphism, with males being significantly larger than females. Homo georgicus is the first hominid to settle in Europe, 800,000 years before Homo ergaster.
References
- A. Vekua, D. Lordkipanidze, G. P. Rightmire, J. Agusti, R. Ferring, G. Maisuradze, et al. (2002). "A new skull of early Homo from Dmanisi, Georgia". Science, 297:85–9.
External links
- Hominid species
- Skull D2700: (includes some Creationist responses)fr:Homo georgicus