Homo ergaster

Taxobox | name = "Homo ergaster"
fossil_range = Pleistocene

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image_width = 230px
image_caption = Skull KNM-ER 3733 discovered by Bernard Ngeneo in 1975 (Kenya)
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Primates
familia = Hominidae
tribus = Hominini
genus = "Homo"
species = "H. ergaster"
binomial = †"Homo ergaster"
binomial_authority = Groves & Mazak, 1975

"Homo ergaster" ("working man") is an extinct hominid species (or subspecies, according to some authorities) which lived throughout eastern and southern Africa between 1.9 to 1.4 million years ago with the advent of the lower Pleistocene and the cooling of the global climate."H. ergaster" is sometimes categorized as a subspecies of "Homo erectus". "H. ergaster" may be distinguished from "H. erectus" by its thinner skull bones and lack of an obvious sulcus. Derived features include reduced sexual dimorphism; a smaller, more orthognathic (straight jawed) face; a smaller dental arcade; and a larger (700 and 850 cm³) cranial capacity. It is estimated that "H. ergaster" stood at 1.9 m (6ft3) tall with relatively less sexual dimorphism in comparison to earlier hominins. Remains have been found in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa.

The most complete "Homo ergaster" skeleton known was discovered at Lake Turkana, Kenya in 1984. Paleanthropologists Richard Leakey, Kamoya Kimeu and Tim White dubbed the 1.6 million year old specimen as KNM-WT 15000 (nicknamed "Turkana Boy").

The type specimen of "H. ergaster" is KNM ER 992 [KNM-ER 992 is short for: Kenya National Museum (where it is housed); East Rudolf (where it was found); and 992 (the museum acquisition number)] ; the species was named by Groves and Mazak in 1975.

The species name originates from the Greek "ergaster" meaning "Workman". This name was chosen due to the discovery of various tools such as hand-axes and cleavers near the skeletal remains of "H. ergaster". This is one of the reasons that it is sometimes set apart distinctly from other human ancestors. Its use of advanced (rather than simple) tools was unique to this species; "H. ergaster" tool use belongs to the Acheulean industry. "H. ergaster" first began using these tools 1.6 million years ago. Charred animal bones in fossil deposits and traces of camps suggest that the species made creative use of fire. Another notable characteristic of H. ergaster is that it was the first hominid to have the same body proportions (longer legs and shorter arms) as modern "H. sapiens". [Standford,C.,Allen,J.S.,and Anton, S.C. "Biological Anthropology". Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,New Jersey, 2006]

Notable fossils

* KNM ER 3733
* Turkana boy - also classified as Homo erectus
* KNM ER 992

ee also

* List of fossil sites "(with link directory)"
* List of hominina (hominid) fossils "(with images)"
* Telanthropus capensis

References

* Tattersall, Ian and Schwartz, Jeffrey. "Extinct Humans". Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado and Cumnor Hill, Oxford, 2000. ISBN 0-8133-3482-9 (hc)

External links

* [http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/homoergaster.htm Archaeology Info]
* [http://www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/humanorigins/ha/erg.html Smithsonian]

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