Sites: East Africa: Koobi Fora; West Turkana (Nariokotome), probably Olduvai Gorge
South Africa: possibly Swartkraans & Sterkfontein.
Specimens: KNM-ER 3733, 3883, KNM-WT 15000 ("Fossil boy"), O.H. 9.
Dates: 1.9 - 1.2 Ma
Brain size: > 850 cc.
Skull: Long low cranium, large brow ridges, occipital torus, fairly heavily built face.
Teeth: Homo like; larger than in Homo sapiens, relatively small rear teeth, largish front teeth
Body size: Large, adult height up to 6 ft.
Postcrania: Robust build, narrow pelvis. Body proportions like tropical modern humans: long limbs, narrow trunk.
Tools: Probably Acheulian.
Homo erectus
Sites: Java, Indonesia: Solo River drainage, (Trinil, Ngandong, Sangiran, etc.)
China: Choukoutien (Zhougoudian)
Dates: ?1.8 Ma? to c. 800 ka
Brain size: 900-1200 cc.
Skull: Long low cranium, large brow ridges, occipital torus, thick bones of cranial vault.
Teeth: Homo like; larger than in Homo sapiens: small rear teeth, largish front teeth.
Body size: Comparable to modern humans.
Postcrania: Modern human body proportions, robust build.
Tools: Choppers & scrapers.
Archaic Homo sapiens (generalized)
Dates: Middle Pleistocene (c.500,000 -130,000 b.p.); difficult to date precisely.
Sites: Africa, Far East, India, Near East, Europe.
Skull: Thick bones of cranial vault, sloping forehead, big brow ridges, occipital torus, jaws wide, deep, heavy, no chin,
Brain size: Large (1200 - 1500 cc.)
Teeth: Proportion like modern Homo sapiens, but usually larger.
Artifacts: Acheulian or Middle Stone Age tools (called Middle Paleolithic or Mousterian in Europe).
Neanderthals (specialized archaic Homo sapiens), Homo sapiens neanderthalensis or Homo neanderthalensis
Sites: Numerous in Europe( e.g. Le Moustier, La Ferassie, La Chapelle aux Saints), Levant, (e.g. Tabun, Kebara); western Asia (e.g. Shanidar).
Dates: c. 300 ka to c. 30 ka. Last appearance: Sainte Césaire, France, 32,000 b.p.
Brain size: As large or larger than modern humans; up to 1600 cc.
Skull: Like generalized archaic Homo sapiens, but larger frontal sinus, occipital "bun," large orbits & nasal aperture, face very prognathic.
Teeth: Like generalized archaic Homo sapiens, but heavy incisive wear, retromolar space, sometimes taurodont molars (fused roots).
Body size: Comparable to modern Homo sapiens, but broad trunk, short limbs.
Postcrania: Very robust, indicating powerful musculature and very active life; many healed traumatic injuries.
Tools: Mousterian (Middle Paleolithic)
Anatomically modern Homo sapiens (Homo sapiens sapiens)
Earliest appearances:
Africa: Omo, Ethiopia, Kibish
Formaition: 130 ka. Klasies River Mouth Cave, South Africa; > 100,000 b.p.
Near East: Israel: Qafseh, Skhul caves, c. 90,000 b.p.
Europe: Bacho Kiro Cave, Hungary: c. 43,000 b.p.
Skull: High rounded brain case, no large brow ridges or occipital torus, thin bones of cranial vault, gracile jaws, chin.
Teeth: Fairly small compared to earlier hominids.
Postcrania: Lightly built skeleton overall, early specimens slightly robust.
Brain size: c. 1300 - 1500 cc.
Tools: In Africa, earliest modern Homo sapiens found with Middle Stone Age artifacts. Later Stone Age or Upper Paleolithic toolkits occur after c. 50,000 in Africa, after 40,000 in Europe.