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The '''Boskop Man''' is an [[anatomically modern human]] fossil discovered in the early 20th century in Southern Africa |
The '''Boskop Man''' is an [[anatomically modern human]] fossil discovered in the early 20th century in Southern Africa, dated to between 30,000 and 10,000 years old. |
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⚫ | Discovered in 1913, the fossil was at first described as ''Homo capensis'' and considered a separate human species, but by the 1950s it was recognized as representative of modern [[Capoid]]s ([[Khoi-San]], at the time known as [[Hottentots]] and [[Bushmen]]).<ref>"...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." |
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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|Skhul]], 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. |
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Singer R. 1958. The Boskop 'Race' Problem. Man. 58:173-178. {{JSTOR|2795854}}</ref> |
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Fossils of similar type are known from from [[Skhul remains|Skhul]], 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> |
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==Discovery== |
==Discovery== |
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Most theories regarding |
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]]. |
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The original skull was incomplete consisting of frontal and parietal bones, with a partial occiput, one temporal and a fragment of mandible. |
The original skull was incomplete consisting of frontal and parietal bones, with a partial occiput, one temporal and a fragment of mandible. |
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==Crainal capacity== |
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==Research== |
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The Boskop Man fossils are notable for their unusually large [[cranial capacity]], described in''Big Brain: The Origins and Future of Human Intelligence'' (2008) by [[Gary Lynch (neuroscientist)|Gary Lynch]] and [[Richard Granger (neuroscientist)|Richard Granger]]. |
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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 [[intelligence quotient]] (IQ). |
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Lynch and Granger claim that the head of a Boskop Man would have been some 30 percent larger than that of modern humans, giving them a large forebrain, which, they claimed, in turn may indicate a relatively high [[general intelligence]]. |
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Reported crainal 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] |
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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: |
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[http://johnhawks.net/weblog/reviews/brain/paleo/return-amazing-boskops-lynch-granger-2009.html Return of the "amazing" Boskops] |
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⚫ | "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". |
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⚫ | "...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." |
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</ |
</ref> |
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''[[Discover (magazine)|Discover]]'' magazine gave Lynch and Granger's book a "fairly positive review" and reprinted an excerpt. |
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⚫ | |||
[[John D. Hawks|John Hawks]] (2008) criticized the use of the term "Boskopoid" and the portrayal of "Boskops" in the ''Discover'' article.<ref name="Hawks"/> |
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==References== |
==References== |
Revision as of 09:33, 13 May 2018
The Boskop Man is an anatomically modern human fossil discovered in the early 20th century in Southern Africa, dated to between 30,000 and 10,000 years old.
Discovered in 1913, the fossil was at first described as Homo capensis and considered a separate human species, but by the 1950s it was recognized as representative of modern Capoids (Khoi-San, at the time known as Hottentots and Bushmen).[1]
Fossils of similar type are known from from Skhul, Qazeh, Fish Hoek, Border Cave, Brno, Tuinplaas, and other locations.[2]
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.
Crainal capacity
The Boskop Man fossils are notable for their unusually large cranial capacity, described inBig Brain: The Origins and Future of Human Intelligence (2008) by Gary Lynch and Richard Granger. Lynch and Granger claim that the head of a Boskop Man would have been some 30 percent larger than that of modern humans, giving them a large forebrain, which, they claimed, in turn may indicate a relatively high general intelligence.
Reported crainal capacity ranges between 1,700 and 2,000 cm3.[3]
Discover magazine gave Lynch and Granger's book a "fairly positive review" and reprinted an excerpt. John Hawks (2008) criticized the use of the term "Boskopoid" and the portrayal of "Boskops" in the Discover article.[3]
References
- ^ "...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
- ^ 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".
Further reading
- 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. 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.
- Eiseley L. (1958) The Immense Journey. London: V.Gollancz.
- FitzSimons, FW (1915). "Palaeolithic man in South Africa". Nature. 95 (2388): 615–616. doi:10.1038/095615c0.
- 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.
- Haughton, S; Thomson, R. B.; Peringuey, L. (1917). "Preliminary note on the ancient human skull remains from the Transvaal". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 6: 1–14. doi:10.1080/00359191709520168.
{{cite journal}}
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ignored (|name-list-style=
suggested) (help) - Lynch G, Granger R (2008). Big Brain. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Pycraft, W (1925). "On the Calvaria Found at Boskop, Transvaal, in 1913, and Its Relationship to Cromagnard and Negroid Skulls". Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 55: 179–198. doi:10.2307/2843700. JSTOR 2843700.
- Schwartz J, Tattersall I (2003). The Human Fossil Record, Vols 1-4. Wiley.
- Tobias, P (1985). "History of Physical Anthropology in Southern Africa". Yearbook of Physical Anthropology. 28: 1–52. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330280503.
- Lyall Watson (1986). Dreams of Dragons/Earthworks
External links
- Loren Eiseley's writing on Boskop Man: "The Man of the Future"
- Big Brain: The Origins and Future of Human Intelligence by Gary Lynch and Richard Granger
- The "amazing" Boskops by John Hawks
- Return of the "amazing" Boskops John Hawks comments upon recent controversy
- What Happened to the Hominids Who Were Smarter Than Us?