• DOI:10.1006/JHEV.1996.0046
• Corpus ID: 15817464

The human cranium from Bodo, Ethiopia: evidence for speciation in the Middle Pleistocene?

@article{Rightmire1996TheHC,
  title={The human cranium from Bodo, Ethiopia: evidence for speciation in the Middle Pleistocene?},
  author={Philip G. Rightmire},
  journal={Journal of Human Evolution},
  year={1996},
  volume={31},
  pages={21-39}
}

• Philip G. Rightmire
• Published 1 July 1996
• Environmental Science
• Journal of Human Evolution

Abstract The cranium found at Bodo in 1976 is derived from Middle Pleistocene deposits containing faunal remains and Acheulean artefacts. A parietal recovered later must belong to a second individual, probably representing the same taxon. The cranium includes the face, much of the frontal bone, parts of the midvault and the base anterior to the foramen magnum. It is clear that the Bodo hominids resembleHomo erectusin a number of characters. The facial skeleton is large, especially in its breadth dimensions. The braincase is low and decidedly archaic in overall appearance. Individual bones are quite thick. Behind the projecting supraorbital torus, the frontal profile is flattened. The midline keel and bregmatic eminence are characteristic ofH. erectus. Frontal narrowing is less pronounced than in crania from Olduvai and Koobi Fora but slightly greater than in some Sangiran specimens. The parietal displays a prominent angular torus. Whether the inferior part of the tympanic plate was substantially thickened cannot be checked, but in the placement of its petrous bone and the resulting crevice-like configuration of the foramen lacerum, the Bodo hominid resemblesH. erectus. Other traits seem more clearly to be synapomorphies uniting Bodo with later Middle Pleistocene populations and recent humans. Cranial capacity is substantially greater than expected forH. erectus. Among traits related to this size increase may be counted the broader midvault with signs of parietal bossing, a high contour of the temporal squama and perhaps some details of cranial base anatomy. Derived features of the frontal bone and face likely include division of the brow at mid-orbit and its attenuation laterally. The “crista nasalis” falls vertically from rhinion so as to give the nasal aperture an erect appearance, characteristic of modern humans. Another synapomorphy is the positioning of the incisive canal relative to the hard palate. Sorting the Middle Awash specimens is difficult. The cranium is incomplete, and individuals are always variable in their anatomy. Nevertheless, it seems most reasonable to group Bodo with Broken Hill and similar Middle Pleistocene specimens from Africa and Europe. This entire assemblage can be referred toHomo heidelbergensis. It is clear thatH. heidelbergensisoverlaps in time with late populations ofH. erectus. The Middle Awash hominids may be approximately contemporary with the people at Ternifine (Tighenif) and upper Bed IV at Olduvai Gorge. The Bodo deposits probably antedate even the first signs of occupation at Zhoukoudian and are far older than sites such as Longtandong (Hexian) in China. The evidence is consistent with an episode of speciation occurring in Africa or western Eurasia and subsequent dispersal ofH. heidelbergensis. This event occurred while more archaic people still inhabited much of the Far East.