Homo Rudolfensis

Homo rudolfensis - ancestor of man?

The Homo rudolfensis is an extinct species of the genus Homo. Homo rudolfensis owes its name to the site on Rudolfsee in Kenya. In 1972 paleoanthropologists discovered during excavations a skull of hitherto undescribed species. In the vicinity of Lake Rudolf, now known as Lake Turkana, archaeologists found in the episode further fossils of hominids. Including the Turkana Boy, probably a homo ergaster, as well as two over 18 million year old primates. These two finds are among the oldest ever discovered primate species.

Homo rudolfensis lived 2.5 to 1.9 million years ago, making it the hitherto most original species of the genus Homo. In Ethiopia and Malawi further fossils could be made, so that the distribution area should have been limited to East Africa. With a size of 130 - 150cm and a weight between 50 and 60kg the Homo rudolfensis was significantly larger and heavier than the most common Australopithecines. The brain volume of H. rudolfensis also exceeded that of Australopithecus by about one-third.

The wear of the bits of fossils found supports a plant-based diet. Tool use is not certain confirmed, since neither foundry sites, nor in the same layers of earth simple stone tools could be found. Thus, tool use is not categorically ruled out in Homo rudolfensis, but for the time being to prove counter-evidence as unlikely.

Like its probably ancestral ancestors Kenyanthropus and Australopithecus, the Homo rudolfensis prefers to inhabit forests along rivers. Because of the strong morphological similarity to Australopithecines, some anthropologists doubt the affiliation of H. rudolfensis to the genus Homo. A reliable allocation proves to be difficult due to the low number of finds.

Profile: Homo rudolfensis

Genus: Homo
Type: H. rudolfensis
Name: lat. 'Homo' = human; 'rudolfensis' refers to the site on Rudolfsee
First found: 1972 at Rudolfsee in Kenya
Period: 2.5 to 1.9 million years (Pleistocene)
Body size: 1.3 - 1.5m
Weight: 50 - 60kg
Distribution area: East Africa (
Brain volume: 700 - 750cm³
Food: mainly vegetable food
Tool use: not secured
Upright gear: Yes, but only temporarily

Summary

The extinct species Homo Rudolfensis of the genus Homo lived 2.5 to 1.5 million years ago in East Africa. Findings have so far been made in Ethiopia, Malawi and Kenya.

The Homo rudolfensis was named after the site of its first discovery, the Rudolf Lake in Kenya.

Homo rudolfensis shows many similarities with the genus Australopithecines, which is why quite a few anthropologists regard H. rudolfensis as Australopithecus.