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Discovery of the Neanderthal
In 1856 in Neander Valley, Germany, the partial remains of a human-like skull were unearthed by amateur naturalist, Johann Carl Fuhlrott. In 1864, the fossil was named a distinct form of ancient human, Homo Neanderthalensis. It is known as Neanderthal 1 as it was the first remains of an ancient human ever properly identified, and its discovery was revolutionary in the bio-historical world. -
La Ferrassie 1
In La Ferrassie archaeological site in southwestern France, Louis Capitan and Denis Peyrony discovered the most complete Neanderthal skull ever found. This discovery in 1909 has played a key role in identifying the anatomy and life of Neanderthals. -
Zhoukoudian Cave
When Otto Zdansky first excavated two early human teeth in the Zhoukoudian cave in North China, he had no idea he had begun excavation on the most preserved sight of H. erectus on Earth. The cave holds fossils from 5 million to 10,000 years old, showing the anatomy and life of the early humans who lived there, even producing evidence of their use of fire. This cave has been significant in the reconstruction of early human history, and holds some of the earliest found fossils in Asia. -
Olduvai Hominid and Radiometric Dating
In the Olduvai Gorge of Tanzania, Mary Leakey found the near-complete cranium of a very early hominid, the Paranthropus boisei. This species is the original standard of a robust cranium and served as insight into their diet based on their fully intact set of teeth. It’s understood their abnormally large teeth allowed them to eat tough food like roots and nuts. This specimen was also the first fossil to be dated using radiometric dating, and found to be 1.8 million years old. -
Oldest Homo Sapien Skull Discovered
In Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, miners came across a human skull. It was first identified as a Neanderthal skull due to its archaic features, but identified in 2007 as the skull of a Homo sapien. Most early human fossils up to this point were found along East Africa, but now they had the earliest H. sapien fossil on the opposite side of the continent. This skull encouraged excavators to dig deeper into Morocco, and pushed the assumed start of the Homo sapien species back 100,000 years. -
Turkana Boy
Discovered by Kamoya Kimeu in West Turkana Kenya in 1984 was the half-complete skeleton of a Homo erectus child. It is dated back about 1.6-1.8 million years. Turkana Boy has taught palaeontologists a lot concerning the Homo erectus such as their body size, shape, and growth rate. Its discovery also served as a suggestion that the H. ergaster was the direct ancestor to the Homo erectus. -
Discovery of Homo Floresensis
On an expedition led by Mike Morwood on Flores, Indonesia, fossils of ancient humans were found including the partial skeleton of a female and 100 more fragments from the same species. Its skull showed many archaic traits like large brow ridges, short stature, and small craniums, but were identified as only 60,000 years old. The discovery led scientists to learn more about the history of the Floresensis and their unusual archaic traits. Flores is the only place they have been known to live. -
Malapa Rising Star Cave
South Africa’s Rising Star cave is among one of the most well-preserved sites of extinct hominids. Two species: H. Naledi and Australopithecus sediba were discovered there in 2015 and 2008 respectively. Evidence of intentional burials, use of fire, and symbols carved into cave walls have been of great use to palaeontologists as they study early human life. This cave is associated with known paleoanthropoloist Lee Berger, who led both expeditions unearthing the extinct species within the cave.