Blog
Save
Email
Print
ShareHomo heidelbergensis ("Heidelberg Man") is an extinct, potentially distinct species of the genus Homo and may be the direct ancestor of Homo neanderthalensis in Europe.
See also:
According to the "Recent Out of Africa" theory, similar "Archaic Homo sapiens" found in Africa (ie.
Homo rhodesiensis and Homo sapiens idaltu), existing in Africa as a part of the operation of the Saharan pump, and not the European forms of Homo heidelbergensis, are thought to be direct ancestors of modern Homo sapiens.
Homo antecessor is likely a direct ancestor living 750,000 years ago evolving into Homo heidelbergensis appearing in the fossil record living roughly 600,000 to 250,000 years ago through various areas of Europe. Homo heidelbergensis remains were found in Mauer near Heidelberg, Germany and then later in Arago, France and Petralona, Greece.
The best evidence found for these hominins date between 400,000 and 500,000 years ago. H.
heidelbergensis stone tool technology was considerably close to that of the Acheulean tools used by Homo erectus.
The first fossil discovery of this species was made on October 21, 1907 and came from Mauer where the workman Daniel Hartmann spotted a jaw in a sandpit.
The jaw was in good condition except for the missing premolar teeth, which were eventually found near the jaw.
The workman gave it to professor Otto Schoetensack from the University of Heidelberg, who identified and named the fossil. Most current experts believe Rhodesian Man, found in Africa, to be within the group Homo heidelbergensis.
This would make African heidelbergensis the ancestor of humans while the European variety would be the ancestor of the Neanderthals.
For more information about the topic Homo heidelbergensis, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:
Homo (genus) — Homo is the genus that includes modern humans and their close relatives. The genus is estimated to be between 1.5 and 2.5 million years old. All ... > read more
Rhodesian Man — Rhodesian Man (Homo rhodesiensis) is a hominin fossil that was described from a cranium found in an iron and zinc mine in Northern Rhodesia (now ... > read more
Homo antecessor — Homo antecessor is an extinct hominin species that was discovered by E. Carbonell, J.L. Arsuaga and J.M. Bermudez de Castro. They are one of the ... > read more
Homo rudolfensis — Homo rudolfensis is a fossil hominin species originally proposed in 1986 by V. P. Alexeev for the specimen Skull 1470 (KNM ER 1470). Originally ... > read more
Homo erectus — Homo erectus ("upright man") is a hominin species that is believed to be an ancestor of modern humans (with Homo heidelbergensis usually treated as ... > read more
Homo habilis — Homo habilis ("handy man", "skillful person") is a species of the genus Homo, which lived from approximately 2.5 million to 1.8 million years ago at ... > read more
Multiregional hypothesis — The multiregional origin hypothesis of human species holds that some, or all, of the genetic variation between the contemporary human races is ... > read more
Peking Man — Peking Man (sometimes now called Beijing Man), also called Sinanthropus pekinensis (currently Homo erectus pekinensis), is an example of Homo ... > read moreRecommend this page on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:
Other bookmarking and sharing tools:
more 