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Kabwe 1
14°27′36″S 28°25′34″E / 14.460°S 28.426°E
Kabwe 1, also known as Broken Hill Man or Rhodesian Man, is a nearly complete archaic human skull discovered in 1921 at the Kabwe mine, Zambia (at the time, Broken Hill mine, Northern Rhodesia). It dates to around 300,000 years ago, possibly contemporaneous with modern humans and Homo naledi. It was the first archaic human fossil discovered in Africa. Kabwe 1 was found near an exceptionally well-preserved tibia, as well as a femoral fragment and potentially other bones whose provenance is uncertain. The fossils were sent to the British Museum, where English palaeontologist Sir Arthur Smith Woodward described them as a new species: Homo rhodesiensis. Kabwe 1 is now generally classified as H. heidelbergensis. Zambia is negotiating with the UK for repatriation of the fossil.
Kabwe 1 is characterised by a massive brow ridge (supraorbital torus), a low and long forehead, a prominence at the back of the skull, thickened bone, and a proportionally narrow lower face. The tibia may have belonged to an individual who was about 179–184 cm (5 ft 10 in – 6 ft 0 in) and 64–81 kg (141–179 lb) in life, making it one of the largest known archaic humans. Kabwe 1 presents severe tooth decay, possibly caused by overloading of the teeth, age, and lead poisoning, which may have become septic and ultimately lead to the death of the individual.
Kabwe 1 is associated with Middle Stone Age tools made of quartz, possibly of the Lupemban culture. Kabwe 1 may have inhabited a cavern and butchered mainly large hoofed mammals. The Kabwe site probably featured miombo woodlands and dambos, like in recent times.
In 1902, engineer T. D. Davey discovered a major lead-zinc deposit in Northern Rhodesia and named it Broken Hill, possibly in reference to the Australian lead-zinc Broken Hill ore deposit. He claimed the six kopjes (hills) in the area, and mining commenced in 1904 under the authority of the Broken Hill Mining Company. In 1906, when mining reached full-scale production, excavators dug into what is now known as the "Bone Cavern" in No. 1 Kopje, yielding animal bones and stone tools. On June 17, 1921, Swiss miner Tom Zwiglaar documented a human skull at the back of the cavern when his "black boy" struck it with a pickaxe. Miners mistook a mineralised calcitic deposit as mummified skin. More fossils were reported the next year, and Czech-American anthropologist Aleš Hrdlička discovered more in 1925.
Like other fossils discovered at the site, the managing director of the company — Ross Macartney — sent the human remains to the British Museum. The first account of the skull's discovery was published in 1921 by the assistant electrometallurgist W. E. Harris in The Illustrated London News. That same year, English palaeontologist Sir Arthur Smith Woodward made a short preliminary report, and the skeleton was described by English osteologist William Plane Pycraft in 1928.
This was the first archaic human ever discovered in Africa, and at this point in time, many scientists had not expected to find such a specimen in this part of the world. The discovery elicited much scientific attention.
Before mining operations, No. 1 Kopje was 15–18 m (50–60 ft) high with a depression in the middle. The Bone Cavern was at ground level, and the water table was about 9 m (30 ft) below. Mining activity has since destroyed the site. When it was open, the cavern may have been 40–50 m (120–150 ft) east to west and inhabited intermittently by humans and hyenas.
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Kabwe 1
14°27′36″S 28°25′34″E / 14.460°S 28.426°E
Kabwe 1, also known as Broken Hill Man or Rhodesian Man, is a nearly complete archaic human skull discovered in 1921 at the Kabwe mine, Zambia (at the time, Broken Hill mine, Northern Rhodesia). It dates to around 300,000 years ago, possibly contemporaneous with modern humans and Homo naledi. It was the first archaic human fossil discovered in Africa. Kabwe 1 was found near an exceptionally well-preserved tibia, as well as a femoral fragment and potentially other bones whose provenance is uncertain. The fossils were sent to the British Museum, where English palaeontologist Sir Arthur Smith Woodward described them as a new species: Homo rhodesiensis. Kabwe 1 is now generally classified as H. heidelbergensis. Zambia is negotiating with the UK for repatriation of the fossil.
Kabwe 1 is characterised by a massive brow ridge (supraorbital torus), a low and long forehead, a prominence at the back of the skull, thickened bone, and a proportionally narrow lower face. The tibia may have belonged to an individual who was about 179–184 cm (5 ft 10 in – 6 ft 0 in) and 64–81 kg (141–179 lb) in life, making it one of the largest known archaic humans. Kabwe 1 presents severe tooth decay, possibly caused by overloading of the teeth, age, and lead poisoning, which may have become septic and ultimately lead to the death of the individual.
Kabwe 1 is associated with Middle Stone Age tools made of quartz, possibly of the Lupemban culture. Kabwe 1 may have inhabited a cavern and butchered mainly large hoofed mammals. The Kabwe site probably featured miombo woodlands and dambos, like in recent times.
In 1902, engineer T. D. Davey discovered a major lead-zinc deposit in Northern Rhodesia and named it Broken Hill, possibly in reference to the Australian lead-zinc Broken Hill ore deposit. He claimed the six kopjes (hills) in the area, and mining commenced in 1904 under the authority of the Broken Hill Mining Company. In 1906, when mining reached full-scale production, excavators dug into what is now known as the "Bone Cavern" in No. 1 Kopje, yielding animal bones and stone tools. On June 17, 1921, Swiss miner Tom Zwiglaar documented a human skull at the back of the cavern when his "black boy" struck it with a pickaxe. Miners mistook a mineralised calcitic deposit as mummified skin. More fossils were reported the next year, and Czech-American anthropologist Aleš Hrdlička discovered more in 1925.
Like other fossils discovered at the site, the managing director of the company — Ross Macartney — sent the human remains to the British Museum. The first account of the skull's discovery was published in 1921 by the assistant electrometallurgist W. E. Harris in The Illustrated London News. That same year, English palaeontologist Sir Arthur Smith Woodward made a short preliminary report, and the skeleton was described by English osteologist William Plane Pycraft in 1928.
This was the first archaic human ever discovered in Africa, and at this point in time, many scientists had not expected to find such a specimen in this part of the world. The discovery elicited much scientific attention.
Before mining operations, No. 1 Kopje was 15–18 m (50–60 ft) high with a depression in the middle. The Bone Cavern was at ground level, and the water table was about 9 m (30 ft) below. Mining activity has since destroyed the site. When it was open, the cavern may have been 40–50 m (120–150 ft) east to west and inhabited intermittently by humans and hyenas.