À partir de Cᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
Southern Africa
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Homo sapiens rhodesiensis is a debated extinct human subspecies represented by a small group of Middle and Upper Pleistocene African fossil finds. The principal specimen comes from Kabwe in Zambia, with additional remains reported from Elandsfontein, the Cave of Hearths, and Lake Eyasi. Its chronology may extend from the later Middle Pleistocene into the earlier or later Upper Pleistocene, but dating remains contested. The fossils display a broadly modern human pattern combined with distinctive, relatively unreduced facial morphology.
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Le récit
Homo sapiens rhodesiensis is known from only a few sub-Saharan African localities, and both its age and its taxonomic relationships remain uncertain. The principal specimen was recovered at Kabwe, formerly Broken Hill, in Zambia, while other attributed remains come from Elandsfontein near Saldanha Bay, the Cave of Hearths in the Transvaal, and the shores of Lake Eyasi in Tanzania. Comparative vertebrate biostratigraphy has provided the principal chronological framework because conventional radiometric dating has often been ineffective or inappropriate.
The Kabwe discovery consists of cranial and postcranial remains representing at least three and probably four individuals. The cranium was found in 1921 during open-cast mining in a deep cave within a limestone hill. Its geological age has remained controversial because of the circumstances of recovery and disputes over the association of skeletal parts, artifacts, and animal fossils. A preliminary amino-acid racemization estimate of approximately 110,000 years, if confirmed, would place the occurrence in the initial Upper Pleistocene, although the faunal evidence has also been used to argue for an older, Middle Pleistocene age.
Elandsfontein provides important comparative evidence because its cranium closely resembles the Kabwe specimen in overall size, contours, and morphology. The site preserves a rich fauna and artifacts accumulated on a calcareous hardpan associated with shallow pans and braided channels behind a coastal dune barrier. Its vertebrate assemblage contains a high proportion of extinct large mammals, supporting a substantial Middle Pleistocene age. In contrast, the fragmentary remains from Lake Eyasi have been associated with a proposed age of about 34,000 years BP and a largely modern fauna; if both the date and the identification are accepted, the subspecies would extend well into the later Upper Pleistocene.
À partir de Cᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
Southern Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Homo sapiens rhodesiensis is a debated extinct human subspecies represented by a small group of Middle and Upper Pleistocene African fossil finds. The principal specimen comes from Kabwe in Zambia, with additional remains reported from Elandsfontein, the Cave of Hearths, and Lake Eyasi. Its chronology may extend from the later Middle Pleistocene into the earlier or later Upper Pleistocene, but dating remains contested. The fossils display a broadly modern human pattern combined with distinctive, relatively unreduced facial morphology.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Homo sapiens rhodesiensis is known from only a few sub-Saharan African localities, and both its age and its taxonomic relationships remain uncertain. The principal specimen was recovered at Kabwe, formerly Broken Hill, in Zambia, while other attributed remains come from Elandsfontein near Saldanha Bay, the Cave of Hearths in the Transvaal, and the shores of Lake Eyasi in Tanzania. Comparative vertebrate biostratigraphy has provided the principal chronological framework because conventional radiometric dating has often been ineffective or inappropriate.
The Kabwe discovery consists of cranial and postcranial remains representing at least three and probably four individuals. The cranium was found in 1921 during open-cast mining in a deep cave within a limestone hill. Its geological age has remained controversial because of the circumstances of recovery and disputes over the association of skeletal parts, artifacts, and animal fossils. A preliminary amino-acid racemization estimate of approximately 110,000 years, if confirmed, would place the occurrence in the initial Upper Pleistocene, although the faunal evidence has also been used to argue for an older, Middle Pleistocene age.
Elandsfontein provides important comparative evidence because its cranium closely resembles the Kabwe specimen in overall size, contours, and morphology. The site preserves a rich fauna and artifacts accumulated on a calcareous hardpan associated with shallow pans and braided channels behind a coastal dune barrier. Its vertebrate assemblage contains a high proportion of extinct large mammals, supporting a substantial Middle Pleistocene age. In contrast, the fragmentary remains from Lake Eyasi have been associated with a proposed age of about 34,000 years BP and a largely modern fauna; if both the date and the identification are accepted, the subspecies would extend well into the later Upper Pleistocene.
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