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The Boskop Man is an anatomically modern human fossil of the Middle Stone Age (Late Pleistocene) discovered in 1913 in South Africa.^[1] The fossil was at first described as Homo capensis and considered a separate human species by Broom (1918),^[2] but by the 1970s this "Boskopoid" type was widely recognized as representative of the modern Khoisan populations.^[3]

Discovery

Most theories regarding a "Boskopoid" type were based on the eponymous Boskop cranium, which was found in 1913 by two Afrikaner farmers. They offered it to Frederick William FitzSimons for examination and further research. Many similar skulls were subsequently discovered by paleontologists such as Robert Broom, William Pycraft and Raymond Dart.

The original skull was incomplete consisting of frontal and parietal bones, with a partial occiput, one temporal and a fragment of mandible.

Fossils of similar type are known from Tsitsikamma (1921), Matjes River (1934), Fish Hoek and Springbok Flats,^[4] Skhul, Qafzeh, Border Cave, Brno, Tuinplaas, and other locations.^[5]

Cranial capacity

The Boskop Man fossils are notable for their unusually large cranial capacities, with reported cranial-capacity ranges between 1,700 and 2,000 cm³.^[6] It has been concluded that whenever archaeologists uncovered Hottentot skulls that possessed an especially large cranial capacity, they likely labeled them as Boskopoid skulls and as such, the Boskopoid skull type was simply an artifact of their biases.^[7] For instance, when James Henderson Sutherland Gear identified skulls recovered from Tsitsikamma as Boskopoid, he simply compared them with the original Boskop Man skull without comparing them with any modern African skulls and as a result, failed to realize they were Hottentot skulls.^[8]

In the book Big Brain: The Origins and Future of Human Intelligence (2008) by neurologists Gary Lynch and Richard Granger, it was claimed the large brain size in Boskop individuals might be indicative of particularly high general intelligence. Anthropologist John Hawks harshly criticized the depiction of the Boskop fossils in the book and in the book's review article in Discover magazine.^[6]^[9]^[10]

Fraudulent photograph

An image has circulated across the Internet which is purported to be of a Boskopoid skull. However, this image in actuality depicts the skull of a hydrocephalus patient.^[11]

References

^ Jeffrey H. Schwartz, Ian Tattersall, The Human Fossil Record, Craniodental Morphology of Genus Homo (Africa and Asia) (2005), p. 40.
^ FitzSimons, FW (1915). "Palaeolithic man in South Africa". Nature. 95 (2388): 615–616. Bibcode:1915Natur..95..615F. doi:10.1038/095615c0. S2CID 3955081.Haughton S, Thomson RB, Peringuey L (1917). "Preliminary note on the ancient human skull remains from the Transvaal". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 6 (1): 1–14. Bibcode:1917TRSSA...6....1H. doi:10.1080/00359191709520168.Broom, R (1918). "The Evidence Afforded by the Boskop Skull of a New Species of Primitive Man (Homo capensis)". Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History. 23: 65–79.Dart, R (1923). "Boskop remains from the south-east African coast". Nature. 112 (2817): 623–625. Bibcode:1923Natur.112..623D. doi:10.1038/112623a0.Dart, R (1940). "Recent discoveries bearing on human history in southern Africa". Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 70 (1): 13–27. doi:10.2307/2844198. JSTOR 2844198.
^ formerly called Hottentots and Bushmen: "...an isolated cranial fragment found 40 years ago near the surface in a dubious geological horizon, unassociated with implements and fauna, ... there has been developed conjecture after conjecture, speculation on speculation ... the features exhibited by the Boskop skull and those which have been termed 'Boskopoid' are not specific to any 'new' single, African racial group, and in Africa they may be found in varying degrees in the Bushmen, Hottentots or Bush-Hottentot admixtures." Singer R. 1958. The Boskop 'Race' Problem. Man. 58:173-178. JSTOR 2795854. Tobias (1985): "Galloway (1937) [...] elevated Boskop to a “fundamental human racial strain.” However, the research of L.H. Wells (1950, 1952, 1969); Ronald Singer (1958[)...] Tobias (1959, 1961); Don Brothwell (1963[)...] Hertha de Villiers (1963, 1968) [...] and G. Philip Rightmire (1970, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1978) [...] undermined this concept and may be considered to have given the quietus to it."
^ Galloway, A (1937). "The Characteristics of the Skull of the Boskop Physical Type". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 23: 31–47. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330230105.
^ Schwartz, Jeffrey H.; Tattersall, Ian; Holloway, Ralph L.; Broadfield, Douglas C.; Yuan, Michael S. (2003). The Human Fossil Record. ISBN 978-0-471-67864-9.
^ ^a ^b "The skull is a large one, with an estimated endocranial volume of 1800 ml. But it is hardly complete, and arguments about its overall size -- exacerbated by its thickness, which confuses estimates based on regression from external measurements -- have ranged from 1700 to 2000 ml. It is large, but well within the range of sizes found in recent males." The "amazing" Boskops Return of the "amazing" Boskops "The portrayal of 'Boskops' in the Discover excerpt is so out of line with anthropology of the last forty years, that I am amazed the magazine printed it. I am unaware of any credible biological anthropologist or archaeologist who would confirm their description of the 'Boskopoids,' except as an obsolete category from the history of anthropology." He does note that the web editor at Discover replied that "the excerpt was intended to run identified as a 'controversial idea, but that context didn't come across as intended.'", and that "[t]he web page has been changed to make that context clear".
^ Singer, Ronald (1958). The Boskop 'Race' Problem. Man Volume 58.
^ Gear, James Henderson Sutherland (1926). A Further Report on the Boskopoid Remains from Zitzikama. South African Journal of Science Volume 23.
^ Gary Lynch, Richard Granger, What Happened to the Hominids Who Were Smarter Than Us? (excerpt from Big Brain 2008), Discover, 28 December 2009.
^ "What Happened to the Hominids Who May Have Been Smarter Than Us?". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
^ A Study of the Relations of the Brain to the Size of the Head Biometrika Volume 4

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+{{Short description|Hominin fossil}}
-The '''Boskop Man''' is an [[anatomically modern human]] fossil discovered in the early 20th century in Southern Africa. Initially thought to be a unique type of [[hominid]], it has been dated to between 30,000 and 10,000 [[Before Present|BP]].
+The '''Boskop Man''' is an [[anatomically modern human]] fossil of the [[Middle Stone Age]] ([[Late Pleistocene]]) discovered in 1913 in South Africa.<ref>Jeffrey H. Schwartz, Ian Tattersall, ''The Human Fossil Record, Craniodental Morphology of Genus Homo (Africa and Asia)'' (2005), [https://books.google.com/books?id=EPKGnF7oZXgC&pg=PA40 p. 40].</ref> The fossil was at first described as ''Homo capensis'' and considered a separate human species by Broom (1918),<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1038/095615c0 | last1 = FitzSimons | first1 = FW |  year = 1915 | title = Palaeolithic man in South Africa | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1429601| journal = Nature | volume = 95 | issue = 2388| pages = 615–616 | bibcode = 1915Natur..95..615F | s2cid = 3955081 }}{{cite journal | doi = 10.1080/00359191709520168 | last1 = Haughton | first1 = S |name-list-style=vanc | last2 = Thomson | year = 1917 | first2 = R. B. | last3 = Peringuey | first3 = L. | title = Preliminary note on the ancient human skull remains from the Transvaal | url =https://zenodo.org/record/1430391 | journal = Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa | volume = 6 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–14 | bibcode = 1917TRSSA...6....1H }}{{cite journal | last1 = Broom | first1 = R |  year = 1918 | title = The Evidence Afforded by the Boskop Skull of a New Species of Primitive Man (''Homo capensis'') | journal = Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History | volume = 23 | pages = 65–79 }}{{cite journal | doi = 10.1038/112623a0 | last1 = Dart | first1 = R |  year = 1923 | title = Boskop remains from the south-east African coast | journal = Nature | volume = 112 | issue = 2817| pages = 623–625 | bibcode = 1923Natur.112..623D | doi-access = free }}{{cite journal | doi = 10.2307/2844198 | last1 = Dart | first1 = R |  year = 1940 | title = Recent discoveries bearing on human history in southern Africa | jstor = 2844198| journal = Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland | volume = 70 | issue = 1| pages = 13–27 }}</ref> but by the 1970s this "Boskopoid" type was widely recognized as representative of the modern [[Khoisan]] populations.<ref>formerly called [[Hottentot (racial term)|Hottentots]] and [[Bushmen]]: "...an isolated cranial fragment found 40 years ago near the surface in a dubious geological horizon, unassociated with implements and fauna, ... there has been developed conjecture after conjecture, speculation on speculation ... the features exhibited by the Boskop skull and those which have been termed 'Boskopoid' are not specific to any 'new' single, African racial group, and in Africa they may be found in varying degrees in the Bushmen, Hottentots or Bush-Hottentot admixtures." Singer R. 1958. The Boskop 'Race' Problem. Man. 58:173-178. {{JSTOR|2795854}}. Tobias (1985): "Galloway (1937) [...] elevated Boskop to a “fundamental human racial strain.” However, the research of L.H. Wells (1950, 1952, 1969); Ronald Singer (1958[)...] Tobias (1959, 1961); Don Brothwell (1963[)...] Hertha de Villiers (1963, 1968) [...] and G. Philip Rightmire (1970, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1978) [...] undermined this concept and may be considered to have given the quietus to it."</ref>
-Anthropologists no longer use the term ''Boskop Man'',<ref name="Hawks1"/> and consider the supposedly unusual characteristics of this type a misinterpretation.<ref name="Hawks1">[http://johnhawks.net/weblog/reviews/brain/paleo/lynch-granger-big-brain-boskops-2008.html  The "amazing" Boskops]</ref><ref name="Hawks2">[http://johnhawks.net/weblog/reviews/brain/paleo/return-amazing-boskops-lynch-granger-2009.html Return of the "amazing" Boskops]</ref> Boskop Man was not a species, but a variation of [[anatomically modern human]]s;<ref name="Hawks1"/> there are well-studied skulls from [[Boskop]], South Africa, as well as from [[Skhul remains|Skuhl]], Qazeh, Fish Hoek, [[Border Cave]], Brno, Tuinplaas, and other locations,<ref name="Schwartz">{{cite book|last1=Schwartz |first1=Jeffrey H. |last2=Tattersall |first2=Ian |last3=Holloway |first3=Ralph L. |last4=Broadfield |first4=Douglas C. |last5=Yuan |first5=Michael S. |title=The Human Fossil Record |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-471-67864-9}}</ref> which are near the high end of human skull sizes.
 ==Discovery==
-Most theories regarding the Boskop type were based on the first labelled Boskop cranium, which was found in 1913 by two [[Afrikaner]] farmers. They offered it to [[Frederick William FitzSimons]] for examination and further research. Many similar skulls were subsequently discovered by [[paleontologists]] such as [[Robert Broom]], [[William Pycraft]] and [[Raymond Dart]].
+Most theories regarding a "Boskopoid" type were based on the eponymous Boskop cranium, which was found in 1913 by two [[Afrikaner]] farmers. They offered it to [[Frederick William FitzSimons]] for examination and further research. Many similar skulls were subsequently discovered by [[paleontologists]] such as [[Robert Broom]], [[William Pycraft]] and [[Raymond Dart]].
-The original skull was incomplete consisting of frontal and parietal bones, with a partial occiput, one temporal and a fragment of mandible. [[John D. Hawks|John Hawks]] notes that "The skull is a large one, with an estimated endocranial volume of 1800 ml. But it is hardly complete, and arguments about its overall size -- exacerbated by its thickness, which confuses estimates based on regression from external measurements -- have ranged from 1700 to 2000 ml. It is large, but well within the range of sizes found in recent males."<ref name="Hawks1"/>
+The original skull was incomplete consisting of frontal and parietal bones, with a partial occiput, one temporal and a fragment of mandible.
-==Research==
-In April 2008, [[neuroscientists]] [[Gary Lynch (neuroscientist)|Gary Lynch]] and [[Richard Granger (neuroscientist)|Richard Granger]] published a book on human intelligence titled ''Big Brain: The Origins and Future of Human Intelligence'', in which Boskop fossils play a prominent role. The authors conclude that the head of a Boskop would have been some 30 percent larger than that of modern humans, giving them a large forebrain, which in turn may indicate a relatively high [[IQ]].
+Fossils of similar type are known from Tsitsikamma (1921), Matjes River (1934), [[Fish Hoek]] and Springbok Flats,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Galloway | first1 = A |  year = 1937 | title = The Characteristics of the Skull of the Boskop Physical Type | journal = American Journal of Physical Anthropology | volume = 23 | pages = 31–47 | doi = 10.1002/ajpa.1330230105 }}</ref>
-A paper read to the International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences in 1956 and later published in the journal [[Man (journal)|Man]] observed that:
+[[Skhul remains|Skhul]], [[Qafzeh Cave|Qafzeh]], [[Border Cave]], [[Brno]], Tuinplaas, and other locations.<ref name="Schwartz">{{cite book|last1=Schwartz |first1=Jeffrey H. |last2=Tattersall |first2=Ian |last3=Holloway |first3=Ralph L. |last4=Broadfield |first4=Douglas C. |last5=Yuan |first5=Michael S. |title=The Human Fossil Record |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-471-67864-9}}</ref>
-<blockquote>
-"...an isolated cranial fragment found 40 years ago near the surface in a dubious geological horizon, unassociated with implements and fauna, ... there has been developed conjecture after conjecture, speculation on speculation ... the features exhibited by the Boskop skull and those which have been termed 'Boskopoid' are not specific to any 'new' single, African racial group, and in Africa they may be found in varying degrees in the Bushmen, Hottentots or Bush-Hottentot admixtures."<ref>Singer R. 1958. The Boskop 'Race' Problem. Man. 58:173-178. {{JSTOR|2795854}}</ref>
-</blockquote>
+==Cranial capacity==
-[[Discover magazine]] gave Lynch and Granger's book a "fairly positive review"<ref name="Hawks2"/> and reprinted an excerpt. John Hawks says "The portrayal of "Boskops" in the Discover excerpt is so out of line with anthropology of the last forty years, that I am amazed the magazine printed it. I am unaware of any credible biological anthropologist or archaeologist who would confirm their description of the 'Boskopoids,' except as an obsolete category from the history of anthropology."<ref name="Hawks2"/> He does note that the Web editor at Discover replied that 'the excerpt was intended to run identified as a "controversial idea, but that context didn't come across as intended."', and that "[t]he web page has been changed to make that context clear".<ref name="Hawks2"/>
+The Boskop Man fossils are notable for their unusually large [[cranial capacity|cranial capacities]], with reported cranial-capacity ranges between 1,700 and 2,000 cm<sup>3</sup>.<ref name="Hawks">"The skull is a large one, with an estimated endocranial volume of 1800 ml. But it is hardly complete, and arguments about its overall size -- exacerbated by its thickness, which confuses estimates based on regression from external measurements -- have ranged from 1700 to 2000 ml. It is large, but well within the range of sizes found in recent males." [http://johnhawks.net/weblog/reviews/brain/paleo/lynch-granger-big-brain-boskops-2008.html  The "amazing" Boskops] [http://johnhawks.net/weblog/reviews/brain/paleo/return-amazing-boskops-lynch-granger-2009.html Return of the "amazing" Boskops] "The portrayal of 'Boskops' in the Discover excerpt is so out of line with anthropology of the last forty years, that I am amazed the magazine printed it. I am unaware of any credible biological anthropologist or archaeologist who would confirm their description of the 'Boskopoids,' except as an obsolete category from the history of anthropology."  He does note that the web editor at ''Discover'' replied that "the excerpt was intended to run identified as a 'controversial idea, but that context didn't come across as intended.{{' "}}, and that "[t]he web page has been changed to make that context clear".</ref> It has been concluded that whenever archaeologists uncovered Hottentot skulls that possessed an especially large cranial capacity, they likely labeled them as Boskopoid skulls and as such, the Boskopoid skull type was simply an artifact of their biases.<ref>Singer, Ronald (1958). The Boskop 'Race' Problem. ''Man'' Volume 58.</ref> For instance, when James Henderson  Sutherland Gear identified skulls recovered from Tsitsikamma as Boskopoid, he simply compared them  with the original Boskop Man skull without comparing them with any modern African skulls and as a result, failed to realize they were Hottentot skulls.<ref>Gear, James Henderson Sutherland (1926). A Further Report on the Boskopoid Remains from Zitzikama. ''[[South African Journal of Science]]'' Volume 23.</ref>
+In the book ''Big Brain: The Origins and Future of Human Intelligence'' (2008) by neurologists [[Gary Lynch (neuroscientist)|Gary Lynch]] and  Richard Granger, it was claimed the large brain size in Boskop individuals might be indicative of particularly high [[general intelligence]]. Anthropologist [[John D. Hawks|John Hawks]] harshly criticized the depiction of the Boskop fossils in the book and in the book's review article in ''[[Discover (magazine)|Discover]]'' magazine.<ref name="Hawks"/><ref>Gary Lynch, Richard Granger, [http://discovermagazine.com/2009/the-brain-2/28-what-happened-to-hominids-who-were-smarter-than-us/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C= What Happened to the Hominids Who Were Smarter Than Us?] (excerpt from ''Big Brain'' 2008), ''Discover'', 28 December 2009.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=What Happened to the Hominids Who May Have Been Smarter Than Us?|url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/what-happened-to-the-hominids-who-may-have-been-smarter-than-us|access-date=2021-08-16|website=Discover Magazine|language=en}}</ref>
+==Fraudulent photograph==
+An image has circulated across the Internet which is purported to be of a Boskopoid skull. However, this image in actuality depicts the skull of a [[hydrocephalus]] patient.<ref>A Study of the Relations of the Brain to the Size of the Head ''Biometrika'' Volume 4</ref>
+[[File:Dubious Boskopoid.jpg|thumb|Hydrocephalic skull often falsely presented as a Boskopoid skull]]
+==See also==
+* [[Wajak Man]]
 ==References==
@@ Line 22: / Line 32: @@
 ==Further reading==
-* {{cite journal | last1 = Broom | first1 = R |  year = 1918 | title = The Evidence Afforded by the Boskop Skull of a New Species of Primitive Man (''Homo capensis'') | url = | journal = Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History | volume = 23 | issue = | pages = 65–79 }}
-*{{cite journal | doi = 10.1038/112623a0 | last1 = Dart | first1 = R |  year = 1923 | title = Boskop remains from the south-east African coast | url = | journal = Nature | volume = 112 | issue = 2817| pages = 623–625 }}
-*{{cite journal | doi = 10.2307/2844198 | last1 = Dart | first1 = R |  year = 1940 | title = Recent discoveries bearing on human history in southern Africa | jstor = 2844198| journal = Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland | volume = 70 | issue = 1| pages = 13–27 }}
-* Eiseley L. (1958) The Immense Journey. London: V.Gollancz.
-* {{cite journal | doi = 10.1038/095615c0 | last1 = FitzSimons | first1 = FW |  year = 1915 | title = Palaeolithic man in South Africa | url = | journal = Nature | volume = 95 | issue = 2388| pages = 615–616 }}
-* {{cite journal | last1 = Galloway | first1 = A |  year = 1937 | title = The Characteristics of the Skull of the Boskop Physical Type | url = | journal = American Journal of Physical Anthropology | volume = 23 | issue = | pages = 31–47 | doi = 10.1002/ajpa.1330230105 }}
-* {{cite journal | doi = 10.1080/00359191709520168 | last1 = Haughton | first1 = S |name-list-format=vanc | last2 = Thomson | year = 1917 | first2 = R. B. | last3 = Peringuey | first3 = L. | title = Preliminary note on the ancient human skull remains from the Transvaal | url = | journal = Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa | volume = 6 | issue = | pages = 1–14 }}
-* Lynch G, Granger R (2008). Big Brain.  Palgrave Macmillan.
-* {{cite journal | doi = 10.2307/2843700 | last1 = Pycraft | first1 = W |  year = 1925 | title = On the Calvaria Found at Boskop, Transvaal, in 1913, and Its Relationship to Cromagnard and Negroid Skulls | jstor = 2843700| journal = Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland | volume = 55 | issue = | pages = 179–198 }}
-* Schwartz J, Tattersall I (2003). The Human Fossil Record, Vols 1-4. Wiley.
-* {{cite journal | doi = 10.1002/ajpa.1330280503 | last1 = Tobias | first1 = P |  year = 1985 | title = History of Physical Anthropology in Southern Africa | url = | journal = Yearbook of Physical Anthropology | volume = 28 | issue = | pages = 1–52 }}
-* [[Lyall Watson]] (1986). Dreams of Dragons/Earthworks
+* {{cite journal | doi = 10.2307/2843700 | last1 = Pycraft | first1 = W |  year = 1925 | title = On the Calvaria Found at Boskop, Transvaal, in 1913, and Its Relationship to Cromagnard and Negroid Skulls | jstor = 2843700| journal = Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland | volume = 55 | pages = 179–198 }}
-==External links==
+* Tobias, P.V. (1959) "The history and metamorphosis of the Boskop concept" in: Galloway (ed.), ''The Skeletal Remains of Bambandyanalo'', 137&ndash;146.
-* [http://ranprieur.com/readings/futureman.html Loren Eiseley's writing on Boskop Man: "The Man of the Future"]
+* {{cite journal | doi = 10.1002/ajpa.1330280503 | last1 = Tobias | first1 = P |  year = 1985 | title = History of Physical Anthropology in Southern Africa | journal = Yearbook of Physical Anthropology | volume = 28 | pages = 1–52 (p. 14)| doi-access = free }}
-* [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1403979782 Big Brain: The Origins and Future of Human Intelligence by Gary Lynch and Richard Granger]
-* [http://johnhawks.net/weblog/reviews/brain/paleo/lynch-granger-big-brain-boskops-2008.html The "amazing" Boskops] by [[John D. Hawks|John Hawks]]
-* [http://johnhawks.net/weblog/reviews/brain/paleo/return-amazing-boskops-lynch-granger-2009.html Return of the "amazing" Boskops] [[John D. Hawks|John Hawks]] comments upon recent controversy
-* [http://discovermagazine.com/2009/the-brain-2/28-what-happened-to-hominids-who-were-smarter-than-us/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C= What Happened to the Hominids Who Were Smarter Than Us?]
-[[Category:Hominin fossils]]
+[[Category:Peopling of Africa]]
-[[Category:Quaternary fossil record]]
+[[Category:Homo sapiens fossils]]
+[[Category:Fossils of South Africa]]
+[[Category:1913 in paleontology]]
+[[Category:Archaeological controversies]]