A 1.8 million year old hominid skull fossil was found at Dmanisi, a site in the Republic of Georgia. Scientists say they have made a discovery that may rewrite the evolutionary history of our human genus Homo.
David Lordkipanidze, director of the Georgian National Museum, who led the team, reported the discovery of the primitive skull was first found on August 5, 2005 — his birthday. “It was a very nice present,” he said.
Although the site has only been partially excavated so far, it is already providing the first opportunity for researchers to compare the physical traits of human ancestors that coincided in the same time and geological space.
Known simply as Skull #5, the fossilized head bones are most likely a male, whose brain was about one-third the size of a modern human brain. The skull has a “strange combination of features,” Dr. Ponce de Leon said. The face was relatively flat and long, with massive brows, a projecting jaw and big teeth.
The creature had a healed cheek fracture, a touch of arthritis and, by the evidence of wear, used his teeth for gripping things. He stood upright, with relatively modern arms and legs, the researchers said.
“Had the braincase and the face of Skull 5 been found as separate fossils at different sites in Africa, they might have been attributed to different species,” said study co-author Christoph Zollikofer from the Anthropological Institute and Museum in Zurich, Switzerland, in statement from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Scientific community is fascinated by Georgia skull discovery that is the most complete sample ever found for early homo population. Skull 5, which comes from an ancient human ancestor found in Dmanisi,Georgia, implies that all Homo species were once one.