Homo heidelbergensis.
Homo heidelbergensis is a species of early
human that evolved at least 600,000 years ago. They spread across Africa, Asia and Europe hunting large animals and using simple stone tools
before disappearing 250,000 years ago (2).
How They Looked.
These early humans were physically similar
to us in many ways being on average only slightly smaller than modern man. The real difference
comes from the size and shape of the head. Facially a large forehead and low
brow ridges combined with a small chin gave an unmistakably different look. Their
elongated heads also resulted in a brain just 10% smaller than ours (1).
A reconstruction from the Natural History Museum (2) |
Not so similar right? |
How They Lived.
Evidence for the lifestyle lived by these
early humans comes from two main sources, the tools they made and the bones
they left behind. These bones however are not all humanoid. At Boxgrove near Chichester a heidelbergensis shin bone, many animal bones and stone tools have been
discovered. The evidence here indicates that Homo heidelbergensis was a skilled hunter. Cut
marks from hand axes on the bones are overlaid by the tooth marks of scavenging
carnivores. This indicates that these early 'humans' were able to kill and
butcher their prey without interruption from other dangerous predators such
and wolves (4). In order to kill and butcher their food our ancestors would have used flint handaxes such as the example below. By flaking off excess stone a razor sharp edge would be produced.
Now known as Boxgrove man, the shin bone was found at the base of a chalk cliff that would, at the time of his death, have been right on the coast, a nearby stream would have provided fresh water and attracted animals to this site (3).
A Hand axe from Boxgrove (3) |
Our Ancestors?
DNA evidence has shown that Humans and
another of our early competetors, Neanderthals, had a common ancestor based 400,000
years ago. This means that both species evolved from the same source. Many
scientists believe this ancestor could have been Homo heidelbergensis (2). However the widely dispersed population of heidelbergensis, and the differing climates of these habitats, means that Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis evolved in very distinct locations, Neanderthals in Europe and Humans in Africa (5).
By Rob Jones
5: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/neanderthal_prog_summary.shtml
Interesting. Apparently the quarry where Boxgrove Man was found has now been filled in and landscaped - I assume they looked for other remains first.
ReplyDeleteThe hand axe pic is interesting. We could look into the techniques used for working flint - and maybe eventually be skilled enough to create something similar - but we would need to be sure there is no trace of similar activities anywhere near or the fragments remaining from our work could confuse archaeologists.
Duncan
I find it interesting that a bone of theirs was found in Chichester! I also find it interesting that they were spread around Africa, Europe and Asia... maybe this was before continental drift? I would love to know if any one ever finds out if they are our ancestors.
ReplyDeleteLauren