{"id":210,"date":"2017-09-13T20:21:52","date_gmt":"2017-09-13T20:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-history-of-our-tribe\/chapter\/30-homo-georgicus\/"},"modified":"2017-10-03T16:21:38","modified_gmt":"2017-10-03T16:21:38","slug":"30-homo-georgicus","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-history-of-our-tribe\/chapter\/30-homo-georgicus\/","title":{"raw":"30. Homo georgicus","rendered":"30. Homo georgicus"},"content":{"raw":"
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Homo georgicus<\/i> (1.8 mya)<\/b><\/h1>\r\n

(\u201csame\u201d \/ \u201cGeorgia\u201d)<\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_309\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]\"8.14\" Figure 30.1<\/em> Reconstruction of Homo georgicus.\u00a0<\/b>\u201cHomo georgicus<\/a>\u201d by 120 is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n
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SITES<\/b><\/h3>\r\nDmanisi, Georgia\r\n

PEOPLE<\/b><\/h3>\r\nLeo Gabunia, Yekva Abesalom,\u00a0David Lordkipanidze<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

INTRODUCTION<\/h2>\r\nLocated in the southern Caucasus region of the Republic of Georgia (see Figure 30.2), Dmanisi is the only known site for the geographic species Homo georgicus<\/i>, of the erectus<\/i> grade. Some treat it as a subspecies of Homo erectus<\/i>, H. erectus georgicus<\/i>, while others attribute it to H. erectus<\/i>.\r\n

PHYLOGENY<\/b><\/h2>\r\nH. georgicus<\/i> is dated to the same time as the earliest African material at 1.8 mya. It is thus thought to be (1) closely related to or possibly a descendent species of Homo ergaster<\/i> or (2) possibly the ancestor of H. ergaster<\/i> and Asian Homo erectus<\/i>.\r\n

DISCOVERY AND GEOGRAPHIC RANGE<\/b><\/h2>\r\nLeo Gabunia and Vekua Abesalom discovered the site and first reported on the hominin fossil material. Beginning in 1991 and continuing to the present, David Lordkipanidze and his team have recovered teeth, multiple skulls, and numerous postcranial remains. A partial skeleton that was discovered in 2001 was thought to be more primitive than other erectus<\/i>-grade material, and there was speculation that H. habilis<\/i> may have preceded H. ergaster<\/i> out of Africa, where it then evolved into an intermediate form. Since that time, researchers have come to believe it to be a more a primitive form of the erectus<\/i>\u00a0grade versus H. habilis<\/i>.\r\n\r\nThe site has an interesting history (see Figure 30.4). The area has been settled since the Bronze Age. In the 6th century, an orthodox Christian cathedral was built on the site. By the 9th century, the region was under Arab rule. Because of its location on two important trade routes, by medieval times it had become an important commercial center. It was conquered by the Seljuk Turks in the 11th century and later liberated by Georgian kings. The area was then attacked by the Turkomans in both the 14th and 15th centuries, from which it never fully recovered, in terms of its regional importance and economic development (Wikipedia contributors 2015b).\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_310\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"636\"]\"8.15\" Figure 30.2<\/em> Dmanisi site.\u00a0<\/b>\u201cGeorgieKaart met Dmanisi<\/a>\u201d by Rasbak is in the public domain.[\/caption]\r\n

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS<\/b><\/h2>\r\nH. georgicus<\/i> exhibited a mix of primitive and erectus<\/i>-like characteristics. They had small, robust skulls and habiline-like, prognathic faces (see Figure 30.3). Their upper limbs were australopith-like, while their spines and lower limbs were more modern. The cranial vault for one of the four adult skulls measured only 546 cc. Their molars were large, and tooth microwear suggests that they ate tough, fibrous plant foods and thus had a low-quality diet. Their canines were surprisingly long.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_311\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"257\"]\"8.16\" Figure 30.3\u00a0<\/em>Cast of Homo georgicus.\u00a0<\/b>\u201cHomo Georgicus IMG 2921<\/a>\u201d by Rama is in the public domain.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n
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Review of Primitive Characteristics<\/h3>\r\n