Homo heidelbergensis — sometimes called Homo rhodesiensis — is an extinct species
of the genus Homo which lived in Africa, Europe and western Asia from at least 600,000 years
ago, and may date back 1,300,000 years. It survived until about 200,000 to 250,000 years
ago. Its brain was nearly as large as that of a modern Homo sapiens. It is very likely
the direct ancestor of Homo sapiens and the Neanderthals, and perhaps also the Denisovans.
First discovered near Heidelberg in Germany in 1907, it was described and named by Otto
Schoetensack.
Morphology and interpretations
Both H. antecessor and H. heidelbergensis are likely to be descended from the morphologically
very similar Homo ergaster from Africa. But because H. heidelbergensis had a larger brain-case —
with a typical cranial volume of 1100–1400 cm³ overlapping the 1350 cm³ average of modern
humans — and had more advanced tools and behavior, it has been given a separate species
classification. Male heidelbergensis averaged about 1.75 m tall and 62 kg. Females averaged
1.57 m and 51 kg. A reconstruction of 27 complete human limb bones found in Atapuerca
has helped to determine the height of H. heidelbergensis compared to Homo neanderthalensis; the conclusion
was that most H. heidelbergensis averaged about 170 cm in height and were only slightly
taller than Neanderthals. According to Lee R. Berger of the University of Witwatersrand,
numerous fossil bones indicate some populations of heidelbergensis were "giants" routinely
over 2.13 m tall and inhabited South Africa between 500,000 and 300,000 years ago.
Social behavior
Recent findings in a pit in Atapuerca of 28 human skeletons suggest that H. heidelbergensis
might have been the first species of the Homo genus to bury its dead.
Steven Mithen believes that H. heidelbergensis, like its descendant H. neanderthalensis, acquired
a pre-linguistic system of communication. No forms of art or sophisticated artifacts
other than stone tools have been uncovered, although red ochre, a mineral that can be
used to mix a red pigment which is useful as a paint, has been found at Terra Amata
excavations in the south of France. Language
The morphology of the outer and middle ear suggests they had an auditory sensitivity
similar to modern humans and very different from chimpanzees. They were probably able
to differentiate between many different sounds. Dental wear analysis suggests they were as
likely to be right-handed as modern people. H. heidelbergensis was a close relative of
Homo ergaster. H. ergaster is thought to be the first hominid to vocalize, and that as
H. heidelbergensis developed, more sophisticated culture proceeded from this point.
Evidence of hunting 500,000 year-old hafted stone points used
for hunting are reported from Kathu Pan 1 in South Africa, tested by way of use-wear
replication. This find could mean that modern humans and Neanderthals inherited the stone-tipped
spear, rather than developing the technology independently.
Divergent evolution
Because of the radiation of H. heidelbergensis out of Africa and into Europe, the two populations
were mostly isolated during the Wolstonian Stage and Ipswichian Stage, the last of the
prolonged Quaternary glacial periods. Neanderthals diverged from H. heidelbergensis probably
some 300,000 years ago in Europe, during the Wolstonian Stage; H. sapiens probably diverged
between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago in Africa. Such fossils as the Atapuerca skull and the
Kabwe skull bear witness to the two branches of the H. heidelbergensis tree.
Homo neanderthalensis retained most of the features of H. heidelbergensis after its divergent
evolution. Although shorter, Neanderthals were more robust, had large brow-ridges, a
slightly protruding face, and lack of prominent chin. With a virtually identical cranial capacity
to Cro-Magnon, they also had a larger brain than all other hominids. Homo sapiens, on
the other hand, have the smallest brows of any known hominid, are taller and more gracile,
and have a flat face with a protruding chin. H. sapiens have a larger brain than H. heidelbergensis,
and a smaller brain than H. neanderthalensis, on average. To date, H. sapiens is the only
known hominid with a high forehead, flat face, and thin, flat brows.
Some believe that H. heidelbergensis is a distinct species, and some that it is a cladistic
ancestor to other Homo forms sometimes improperly linked to distinct species in terms of populational
genetics. Some scenarios of survival include:
H. heidelbergensis > H. Neanderthalensis H. heidelbergensis > H. Denisovans
H. heidelbergensis > H. Rhodesiensis > H. Sapiens Idaltu > H. Sapiens Sapiens
Discovery
The first fossil discovery of this species was made on October 21, 1907, and came from
Mauer, Germany. Here, the workman Daniel Hartmann spotted a jaw in a sandpit. The jaw was in
good condition except for the missing premolar teeth, which were eventually found near the
jaw. The workman gave it to Professor Otto Schoetensack from the University of Heidelberg,
who identified and named the fossil. The next H. heidelbergensis remains were found
in Steinheim an der Murr, Germany; Arago, France; Petralona, Greece; Ciampate del Diavolo,
Italy; Dali, Jinniushan and Maba, China. In 1925–1926 Francis Turville-Petre unearthed
the "Galilee skull" at Mugharet el-Zuttiyeh in Israel, which was the first ancient hominid
fossil found in Western Asia. Boxgrove Man
In 1994 British scientists unearthed a lower hominin tibia bone a few miles away from the
English Channel, along with hundreds of ancient hand axes, at the Boxgrove Quarry site. This
partial leg bone is dated to between 478,000 and 524,000 years old. Several H. heidelbergensis
teeth were also found in subsequent seasons. H. heidelbergensis was the early proto-human
species that occupied both France and Great Britain at that time; both locales were connected
by a landmass during that epoch. The tibia had been gnawed by a large carnivore,
suggesting that he had been killed by a lion or wolf or that his unburied corpse had been
scavenged after death. Sima de los Huesos
Beginning in 1992, a Spanish team has located more than 5,500 human bones dated to an age
of at least 350,000 years in the Sima de los Huesos site in the Sierra de Atapuerca in
northern Spain. The pit contains fossils of perhaps 32 individuals together with remains
of Ursus deningeri and other carnivores and a biface called Excalibur. It is hypothesized
that this Acheulean axe made of red quartzite was some kind of ritual offering for a funeral.
If it is so, it would be the oldest evidence of known of funerary practices. Ninety percent
of the known H. heidelbergensis remains have been obtained from this site. The fossil pit
bones include: A complete cranium, nicknamed Miguelón, and
fragments of other crania, such as skull 4, nicknamed Agamenón and skull 6, nicknamed
Rui. A complete pelvis, nicknamed Elvis, in remembrance
of Elvis Presley. Mandibles, teeth, and many postcranial bones
Nearby sites contain the only known and controversial Homo antecessor fossils.
There is current debate among scholars whether the remains at Sima de los Huesos are those
of H. heidelbergensis or early H. neanderthalensis. Suffolk, England
In 2005 flint tools and teeth from the water vole Mimomys savini, a key dating species,
were found in the cliffs at Pakefield near Lowestoft in Suffolk. This suggests that hominins
can be dated in England to 700,000 years ago, potentially a cross between H. antecessor
and H. heidelbergensis. Schöningen, Germany
The Schöningen Spears are eight wooden throwing spears from the Palaeolithic Age, that were
found under the management of Dr. Hartmut Thieme from the Lower Saxony State Service
for Cultural Heritage between 1994 and 1998 in the open-cast lignite mine, Schöningen,
county Helmstedt, Germany, together with approx. 16,000 animal bones. More than 300,000 years
old, they are the oldest completely preserved hunting weapons in the world and they are
regarded as the first evidence of the active hunt by H. heidelbergensis. These discoveries
have permanently changed the picture of the cultural and social development of early man.
See also Altamura man
Saldanha man General:
List of fossil sites List of hominina fossils
References
Further reading Sauer, A.. Erläuterungen zur Geol. Karte
1 : 25 000 Baden-Württ. Stuttgart. Schoetensack, O.. Der Unterkiefer des Homo
heidelbergensis aus den Sanden von Mauer bei Heidelberg. Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann.
Weinert, Hans. "Dem Unterkiefer von Mauer zur 30jährigen Wiederkehr seiner Entdeckung".
Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie 37: 102–13. JSTOR 25749563.
Rice, Stanley. Encyclopedia of Evolution. Facts on File, Inc.
External links Homo heidelbergensis – The Smithsonian Institution's
Human Origins Program