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5 - Northwest Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2009

G. Philip Rightmire
Affiliation:
State University of New York
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Summary

The first hominid from northwest Africa showing a resemblance to Homo erectus was discovered in 1933. The find was made by workmen quarrying in the consolidated dune of Kébibat, near Rabat on the Atlantic coast of Morocco (see Fig. 28). Only parts of a fragmented vault, the left maxilla, and the lower jaw of a subadult individual were recovered. Uncertainties concerning the dating of these fossils have still not been resolved, although it is agreed that they are of later Middle Pleistocene age. Controversy over the significance of the Rabat hominid has also persisted. The bones have been linked to Homo erectus by some workers, or viewed at least as intermediate in their morphology between archaic and more modern humans. Saban (1977) suggests that the occipital bone exhibits a pattern of endocranial vascular and cerebral markings which is primitive, while the external surface lacking a transverse torus is more advanced in form. The mandible also retains numerous archaic characters, although the symphysis ‘foreshadows’ the condition seen in Homo sapiens. Evidence of this sort is interpreted to show that a northwestern African Homo lineage became progressively more modern in the later Pleistocene. Other workers including Howell (1978) prefer simply to assign the fossils to Homo sapiens. The mandible does appear to be more lightly constructed than any of the jaws discovered 20 years later at Ternifine in Algeria. The corpus displays little lateral relief, and elements of a bony chin are clearly present.

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The Evolution of Homo Erectus
Comparative Anatomical Studies of an Extinct Human Species
, pp. 119 - 137
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1990

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  • Northwest Africa
  • G. Philip Rightmire, State University of New York
  • Book: The Evolution of Homo Erectus
  • Online publication: 14 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511525674.006
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  • Northwest Africa
  • G. Philip Rightmire, State University of New York
  • Book: The Evolution of Homo Erectus
  • Online publication: 14 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511525674.006
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Northwest Africa
  • G. Philip Rightmire, State University of New York
  • Book: The Evolution of Homo Erectus
  • Online publication: 14 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511525674.006
Available formats
×