DNH 7
DNH 7 is the archive number of an almost completely preserved skull with associated lower jaw of Paranthropus robustus , which was discovered in 1994 in the province of Gauteng , South Africa . Another very well preserved lower jaw ( DNH 8 ) belonging to the same species was discovered in the immediate vicinity of this fossil . Using animal fossils from the same stratum , the age of both individuals was estimated to be 1.5 to 2 million years. DNH 7 is sometimes also referred to by the nickname "Eurydice" , DNH 8 as " Orpheus ". The abbreviation DNH stands for Drimolen Homind , the fossils are stored in the School of Anatomical Sciences at the Witwatersrand University .
discovery
It was found in the former Drimolen cave system, which has been explored since 1992 by André W. Keyser (* 1938; † August 15, 2010), a paleoanthropologist at the Witwatersrand University . On October 21, 1994 an employee of Keyser exposed the fragment of a hominine upper jaw with two attached molars with a spatula . On the following three days, after the removal of sediments, the outlines of an only slightly crushed skull, its associated lower jaw and a second lower jaw became visible. The preparation and reconstruction of the bones then proved to be very time-consuming, as plant roots and an ant colony had penetrated the skull bones and their inner and outer layers had separated from one another. It was not until five years later that Ronald J. Clarke had strengthened the bones enough to allow reconstruction.
features
The fossil DNH 7 is considered to be the best preserved skull of Paranthropus robustus . The teeth are completely intact, the facial bones are complete except for a few areas, but there is a lack of bone substance in the area of the nose, among other things. The 3rd molars ( "wisdom teeth" ) show signs of abrasion, from which it can be concluded that the individual was fully grown at the time of his death. The skull DNH 7 is noticeably smaller than other skulls of Paranthropus robustus known from Swartkrans , which is why it is assumed that it is the remains of a female individual. The almost completely dentate lower jaw DNH 8, however, was classified as male.
Web links
- DNH 7 on humanorigins.si.edu
Individual evidence
- ^ André W. Keyser: The Drimolen skull: the most complete australopithecine cranium and mandible to date. In: South African Journal of Science. Volume 96, 2000, pp. 189–193, full text (PDF; 641 kB) with images of DNH 7 and DNH 8