The Evolution Of Homo Erectus: Comparative Anatomical Studies Of An Extinct Human Species

THE EVOLUTION OF HOMO ERECTUS COMPARATIVE ANATOMICAL STUDIES OF AN EXTINCT HUMAN SPECIES THE EVOLUTION OF HOMO ERECTUS COMPARATIVE ANATOMICAL STUDIES OF AN EXTINCT HUMAN SPECIES G. Philip Rightmire Department of Anthropology State University of New York at Binghamton CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521308809 © Cambridge University Press 1990 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1990 First paperback edition 1993 A catalogue recordfor this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data Rightmire, G. Philip. The evolution of Homo erectus: comparative anatomical studies on an extinct human species / G. Philip Rightmire. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0 521 30880 1 (hbk) ISBN 0 521 44998 7 (pbk) 1. Pithecanthropus erectus. I. Title. GN284.R54 1990 573.3—dc20 89-70814 CIP ISBN-13 978-0-521-30880-9 hardback ISBN-10 0-521-30880-1 hardback ISBN-13 978-0-521 -44998-4 paperback ISBN-10 0-521-44998-7 paperback Transferred to digital printing 2005 CONTENTS Preface 1 2 page ix Introduction i Approaches to the hominid record Character selection and anatomical terminology Measurements The hominid inventory Plan of the study 2 3 4 5 7 Homo erectus in the Far East 10 Stratigraphy and dating of the Javanese localities The Trinil cranium Trinil postcranial remains The Sangiran crania Sangiran 2 Sangiran 4 Sangiran 10 Sangiran 12 Sangiran 17 The Sangiran mandibles Sangiran ib The Sambungmachan braincase The Ngandong crania Ngandong 1 Ngandong 3 Ngandong 6 Ngandong 7 12 14 16 16 17 20 24 26 28 32 32 34 38 38 41 42 45 vi 3 4 Contents Ngandong 10 Ngandongn Ngandong 12 Sorting the fossils into lineages 48 50 50 52 Homo erectus at Olduvai Gorge 57 Stratigraphy and dating of the Olduvai deposits The Olduvai Hominid 9 braincase Preservation of the specimen The frontal bone and nasal region Lateral aspect of the cranium The occiput and cranial base The glenoid cavity The tympanic plate and petrous temporal The interior of the braincase Olduvai Hominid 12 The Olduvai mandibles Olduvai Hominid 22 Olduvai Hominid 23 Olduvai Hominid 51 Size differences and sexual dimorphism Postcranial bones from Bed IV 57 59 59 60 61 64 67 68 69 70 73 73 79 80 82 84 Discoveries from the Turkana basin and other localities in sub-Saharan Africa 86 Localities east of Lake Turkana Geological setting The East Turkana crania The KNM-ER 3733 cranium The KNM-ER 3883 cranium The KNM-ER 730 cranial fragments Additional cranial remains The East Turkana mandibles The KNM-ER 730 mandible The KNM-ER 992 mandible Additional mandibular remains The East Turkana postcranial bones Discoveries west of Lake Turkana Questions concerning sorting of the Turkana hominids The mandibles from Lake Baringo The KNM-BK 8518 jaw Homo erectus in Sou