The Iwo Eleru Calvaria: Morphology and Chronology
Author Information
Author(s): Katerina Harvati, Chris Stringer, Rainer Grün, Maxime Aubert, Philip Allsworth-Jones, Caleb Adebayo Folorunso
Primary Institution: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
Hypothesis
What are the morphological affinities and chronological age of the Iwo Eleru calvaria?
Conclusion
The Iwo Eleru cranium shows a mix of archaic and modern human features and dates to the terminal Pleistocene.
Supporting Evidence
- The Iwo Eleru burial is one of the few human skeletal remains associated with Later Stone Age artifacts in West Africa.
- Uranium-series dating suggests a terminal Pleistocene age for the Iwo Eleru burial.
- The morphological analysis indicates a similarity with late archaic African specimens.
Takeaway
Scientists studied an ancient skull from Nigeria and found it has features of both early humans and modern humans, suggesting a complex history of human evolution.
Methodology
A 3-D geometric morphometric analysis and Uranium-series dating were conducted on the Iwo Eleru calvaria.
Limitations
The study is limited by the scarcity of human skeletal remains from the Later Stone Age in Africa.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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