Маба адамы: ежелгі гоминидтің табылуы

Hominin fossil

Maba Man is a pre modern hominin whose remains were discovered in 1958 in caves near the town called Maba, near Shaoguan city in the north part of Guangdong province, China.

Farmers found the ancient Maba cranium in 1958, near a Chinese village named Maba. Maba Man was labeled an intermediate in form between Homo erectus and H. sapiens; the remains are referred by many authorities to archaic H. sapiens or to an Asian extension of H. heidelbergensis. As the scientists did more research on the Maba cranium, they found that the fossils consisted of a skull cap and parts of the right upper face, with parts of the nose also still attached. The scientists saw a connection with Homo erectus because the brow ridges were pronounced, forming an arch over each eye and the bones of the brain case were low and thick. Even so, the brain was apparently larger than that of H. erectus, though precise measurement of cranial capacity is not possible, as the skull's base is incomplete. also exhibits traits representing modern humans and Neanderthals. If the reconstruction of the skull is accurate, the upper face morphology of the Maba 1 is similar to Neanderthals with a prominent nose and thick parietal bone at the bregma. The vertical frontal squama and thin vault is similar to modern humans. Although we don't have a precise measurement of cranial capacity, 1300 cc is the estimated cranial capacity assigned to Maba 1. This is in a range similar to modern humans and Neanderthals' cranial capacities. The almost completely fused main cranial sutures, less pronounced muscular crests, and the rough external surface of the skull indicate the possibility of Maba 1 being a middle aged male.

A total of 8 orders of animal fossils were found in the Lion Cave. The list includes Macaca sp., Rhinopithecus tingianus, Pongo sp., Rattus rattus, Hystrix sp., Hystrix subcristata, Cuon javanicus, Ailuropoda melanoleuca fovealis, Ursus thibetanus, Arctonyx collaris, Paguma larvata, Viberra zibetha expectata, Crocuta ultima, Felis sp., Panthera tigris, Stegodon orientalis, Palaeoloxodon namadicus, Megatapirus augustus, Rhinoceros sinensis, Tapirus sp., Sus scrofa, Sus sp., Muntiacus muntjak, Cervus unicolor, Hydropotes sp.,  Bubalus sp., Testudo tungia, Parasilurus asotus, Pelteobagrus fulvidraco, Unio sp., Corbicula sp., along with Caprinae indent, Trionychidae indet, Cyprinidae indet, Gastropoda, a small number of bird keel bones and snake spine bones.