Homo Sapiens Idaltu (jan 1, 160000 BC – jan 1, 154000 BC)

Description:

The discovery of Herto Man was especially significant at the time as it fell within a long gap in the fossil record between 300 and 100 thousand years ago, and at its description in 2003, it represented the oldest dated H. sapiens remains. In the original description paper, these 12 (at minimum) individuals were described as falling just outside the umbrella of "anatomically modern human". Thus, Herto Man was classified into a new subspecies as "H. s. idaltu" (Afar: Idaltu "elder"). It supposedly represented a transitional morph between the more archaic "H. (s.?) rhodesiensis and H. s. sapiens (that is, a stage in a chronospecies). Subsequent researchers have rejected this classification. The validity of such subspecies is difficult to justify because of the vague definitions of "species" and "subspecies", especially when discussing a chronospecies, as the exact end-morphology and start-morphology of the ancestor and descendant species are inherently unresolvable. Herto Man produced many stone tools which can fit into the vaguely defined "Transitional Acheulean", the long-lasting cultural tradition with both characteristically Acheulean (made by archaic humans) and Middle Stone Age (made by modern humans) tools. They seem to have been butchering mainly hippo, but also bovines, in a lakeside environment. The three most complete skulls (one a 6- to 7-year-old child) bear manmade cut marks and other alterations, which could be evidence of mortuary practices.

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