A new hominin from the Basal Member of the Hadar Formation, Dikika, Ethiopia, and its geological context

Zeresenay Alemseged; Jonathan G Wynn; William H Kimbel; Denné Reed; Denis Geraads; René Bobe

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.06.001

A new hominin from the Basal Member of the Hadar Formation, Dikika, Ethiopia, and its geological context

J Hum Evol. 2005 Oct;49(4):499-514. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.06.001.

Authors

Zeresenay Alemseged¹, Jonathan G Wynn, William H Kimbel, Denné Reed, Denis Geraads, René Bobe

Affiliation

¹ Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany. [email protected]

PMID: 16026815
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.06.001

Abstract

In this paper we report for the first time hominin remains from the Basal Member of the Hadar Formation at Dikika, in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia, dating to greater than 3.4 Ma. The new fossil, DIK-2-1, is a fragment of a left mandible and associated dentition. The mandible is attributed to Australopithecus afarensis. However, the new fossil exhibits some metric and morphological features that have not previously been seen in the A. afarensis hypodigm, increasing the already impressive degree of variation in the mandibular sample of the species.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Animals
Dental Occlusion
Dentition, Permanent
Ethiopia
Fossils*
Geologic Sediments
Hominidae / anatomy & histology
Hominidae / classification*
Humans
Male
Mandible / anatomy & histology
Paleodontology*
Skull / anatomy & histology