Common name Bodo Date discovered 1976 | Age 600,000 years Discovered by Asfaw | |
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Species Homo heidelbergensis or Homo erectus Place discovered Bodo D'ar, Awash River valley of Ethiopia | ||
The Bodo cranium is a fossil of an extinct type of human, found by members of an expedition led by Jon Kalb in 1976 at Bodo D'ar, Awash River valley of Ethiopia. The initial discovery was by Alemayhew Asfaw and Charles Smart, a lower face. Two weeks later, Paul Whitehead and Craig Wood found the upper portion of the face. The skull is 600,000 years old and is intermediate in shape between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens, though many palaeoanthropologists have classified this as a specimen of Homo heidelbergensis. The cranium has an unusual appearance, which has led to debates over its taxonomy.
Observation
This specimen has a larger brain which is estimated at 1250 cc which is very close to brain size of Homo sapiens. The cranium includes the face, much of the frontal bone, parts of the midvault and the base anterior to the foramen magnum. The cranial length, width and height are 21 cm (8.3 in), 15.87 cm (6.2 in) and 19.05 cm (7.5 in) respectively. Researchers have suggested that Bodo butchered animals because Acheulean hand axes and cleavers, along with animal bones, were found at the site. The cranium has cut marks which indicates that immediately after the death of this individual stone tools were used to remove the flesh from the bone.