Archaic Homo sapiens share our species name but are distinguished by the term “Archaic” as a way of recognizing both the long period of time between their appearance and ours, as well as the way in which human traits have continued to evolve over time—making Archaic Homo sapiens look slightly different from us today, despite being considered the same species. Living throughout Africa, and the Middle East during the Middle Pleistocene, Archaic Homo sapiens are considered, in many ways, transitional between Homo erectus and modern Homo sapiens (see Figure 11.3). Archaic Homo sapiens share the defining trait of an increased brain size of at least 1,100 cc and averaging 1,200 cc, although there are significant regional and temporal (time) variations. Because of these variations, scientists disagree on whether these fossils represent a single, variable species or multiple, closely related species (sometimes called Homo antecessor, Homo bodoensis, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo georgicus, Homo neanderthalensis, and Homo rhodesiensis).
An active area of scholarship in the discipline involves reconciling the diversity of species from this time period and establishing the phylogenetic relationships between them. The term “Archaic Homo sapiens” can mean different things to different scholars within the discipline. The intent of this chapter is to provide an understanding of the diversity of this time period and provide data used to make interpretations from among the most likely possibilities. Although we recognize that some anthropologists split many of these fossils into separate species, until the issue is resolved at the discipline level, this chapter will rely on the widely used naming conventions that refer to many fossils from this time period as Archaic Homo sapiens. We will discuss these contemporaneous fossils as a unit, with the exception of a particularly unique population living in Europe and West Asia known as the Neanderthals, which we will examine separately.
Projecting nasal bones (bridge of the nose), no midfacial prognathism
Wider nasal aperture and some midfacial prognathism, particularly pronounced among Neanderthals
Narrower nasal aperture, no midfacial prognathism
Chin
Absent
Absent
Present
Other Facial Features
Large brow ridge and large projecting face
Intermediate
Small brow ridge and retracted face
Other Skull Features
Nuchal torus, sagittal keel, thick cranial bone
Projecting occipital bone, often called occipital bun in Neanderthals; intermediate thickness of cranial bone
Small bump on rear of skull, if anything; thin cranial bone
Dentition
Large teeth, especially front teeth
Slightly smaller teeth; front teeth still large;
retromolar gap in Neanderthals
Smaller teeth
Postcranial Features
Robust bones of skeleton
Robust bones of skeleton
More gracile bones of skeleton
When comparing Homo erectus, Archaic Homo sapiens, and anatomically modern Homo sapiens, one can see that Archaic Homo sapiens are intermediate in their physical form. For some features, this follows the trends first seen in Homo erectus with other features having early, less developed forms of traits seen in modern Homo sapiens. For example, Archaic Homo sapiens trended toward less angular and higher skulls than Homo erectus. However, the archaic skulls were not as short and globular and had less developed foreheads compared to anatomically modern Homo sapiens. Archaic Homo sapiens had smaller brow ridges and a less-projecting face than Homo erectus and slightly smaller teeth, although incisors and canines were often about as large as those of Homo erectus. Archaic Homo sapiens also had a wider nasal aperture, or opening for the nose, and a forward-projecting midfacial region, which is later seen more fully developed among Neanderthals and is known as midfacial prognathism. The occipital bone often projected and the cranial bone was of intermediate thickness, somewhat reduced from Homo erectus but not nearly as thin as that of anatomically modern Homo sapiens. The postcrania remained fairly robust. Identifying a set of features that is unique to Archaic Homo sapiens is a challenging task, due to both individual and geographic variation—these developments were not all present to the same degree in all individuals. Neanderthals are the exception, as they had several unique traits that made them notably different from modern Homo sapiens as well as their closely related Archaic cousins.
The one thing that is clear about Archaic Homo sapiens is that, despite general features, there is a lot of regional variation, which is first seen in the different Homo erectus specimens across Asia and Africa. While the general features of Archaic Homo sapiens, identified earlier, are present in the fossils of this time period, there are significant regional differences. The majority of this regional variation lies in the degree to which fossils have features more closely aligned with Homo erectus or with anatomically modern Homo sapiens.
Figure 11.5: Dali cranium, found at Dali, China, is representative of traits seen in archaic Homo sapiens in Asia, including large and robust features with heavy brow ridges like Homo erectus and a large cranial capacity intermediate between Homo erectus and anatomically modern Homo sapiens. Credit: Dali skull original to Explorations: An Open Invitation to Biological Anthropology (2nd ed.) by Mary Nelson is under a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.
To illustrate this point, we will examine three exemplary specimens, one from each of the three continents on which Archaic Homo sapiens lived. First, in Africa, a specimen from Broken Hill is one of several individuals found in the Kabwe lead mine in Zambia. It had a large brain (1,300 cc) and taller cranium as well as many Homo erectus-like skull features, including massive brow ridges, a large face, and thick cranial bones (Figure 11.4). Second, one partial crania from Dali, China, is representative of Archaic Homo sapiens in Asia, with large and robust features with heavy brow ridges, akin to what is seen in Homo erectus, and a large cranial capacity intermediate between Homo erectus and anatomically modern Homo sapiens (Figure 11.5). Third, an almost-complete skeleton was found in northern Spain at Atapuerca. Atapuerca 5 (Figure 11.6) has thick cranial bone, an enlarged cranial capacity, intermediate cranial height, and a more rounded cranium than seen previously. Additionally, Atapuerca 5 demonstrates features that foreshadow Neanderthals, including increased midfacial prognathism. After examining some of the fossils such as those from Kabwe, Dali, and Atapuerca, the transitional nature of Archaic Homo sapiens is clear: their features place them squarely between Homo erectus and modern Homo sapiens.
Due to the transitional nature of Archaic Homo sapiens, identifying the time period with which they are associated is problematic and complex. Generally, it is agreed that Archaic Homo sapiens lived between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, with regional variation and overlap between Homo erectus on the early end of the spectrum and modern Homo sapiens and Neanderthals on the latter end. The earliest-known Archaic Homo sapiens fossils tentatively date to about 600,000 years ago in Africa, to around 300,000 years ago in Asia, and to about 350,000 years ago in Europe (and potentially as early as 600,000 years ago). Determining the end point of Archaic Homo sapiens is also problematic since it largely depends upon when the next subspecies of Homo sapiens appears and the classification of highly intermediate specimens. For example, in Africa, the end of Archaic Homo sapiens is met with the appearance of modern Homo sapiens, while in Europe it is the appearance of Neanderthals that is traditionally seen as marking the transition from other Archaic Homo sapiens.
It is important to remember that this time period is represented by many branching relationships and assuming an evolutionary trajectory that follows a single linear path would not be correct. Even still, Archaic Homo sapiens mark an important chapter in the human lineage, connecting more ancestral forms, such as Homo erectus, to modern Homo sapiens. During this period of climatic transition and fluctuation, Archaic Homo sapiens mirror the challenges of their environments. Showing increasing regional variation due to the need for local adaptation, there is no single archetype for this group; the defining characteristic seems to be variability.
