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Postcranial evidence from early Homo from Dmanisi, Georgia.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Lordkipanidze, D; Jashashvili, T; Vekua, A; Ponce de León, MS; Zollikofer, CPE; Rightmire, GP; Pontzer, H; Ferring, R; Oms, O; Tappen, M ...
Published in: Nature
September 2007

The Plio-Pleistocene site of Dmanisi, Georgia, has yielded a rich fossil and archaeological record documenting an early presence of the genus Homo outside Africa. Although the craniomandibular morphology of early Homo is well known as a result of finds from Dmanisi and African localities, data about its postcranial morphology are still relatively scarce. Here we describe newly excavated postcranial material from Dmanisi comprising a partial skeleton of an adolescent individual, associated with skull D2700/D2735, and the remains from three adult individuals. This material shows that the postcranial anatomy of the Dmanisi hominins has a surprising mosaic of primitive and derived features. The primitive features include a small body size, a low encephalization quotient and absence of humeral torsion; the derived features include modern-human-like body proportions and lower limb morphology indicative of the capability for long-distance travel. Thus, the earliest known hominins to have lived outside of Africa in the temperate zones of Eurasia did not yet display the full set of derived skeletal features.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Nature

DOI

EISSN

1476-4687

ISSN

0028-0836

Publication Date

September 2007

Volume

449

Issue

7160

Start / End Page

305 / 310

Related Subject Headings

  • Skeleton
  • Locomotion
  • Leg Bones
  • Humans
  • Hominidae
  • History, Ancient
  • Georgia (Republic)
  • General Science & Technology
  • Fossils
  • Body Size
 

Citation

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Lordkipanidze, D., Jashashvili, T., Vekua, A., Ponce de León, M. S., Zollikofer, C. P. E., Rightmire, G. P., … Rook, L. (2007). Postcranial evidence from early Homo from Dmanisi, Georgia. Nature, 449(7160), 305–310. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06134
Journal cover image

Published In

Nature

DOI

EISSN

1476-4687

ISSN

0028-0836

Publication Date

September 2007

Volume

449

Issue

7160

Start / End Page

305 / 310

Related Subject Headings

  • Skeleton
  • Locomotion
  • Leg Bones
  • Humans
  • Hominidae
  • History, Ancient
  • Georgia (Republic)
  • General Science & Technology
  • Fossils
  • Body Size