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Homo ergaster: KNM ER 992

  • Geologic Age:

    1.5 Ma

  • Discovery Date:

    1971

  • Discovered By:

    Richard Leakey and G. Isaac

  • Discovery Location:

    Ileret, East Rudolf, North Kenya

  • Specimen Age:

    Adult

  • Sex:

    Undetermined

    KNM ER 992 is a mandible that was found in two halves, with missing incisors, part of the left condyle and most of the ascending rami3,4. The mandible is more gracile compared to Australopithecus, with relatively small teeth1, including a reduction in the size of the postcanine dentition2. Researcher have proposed a modern dental eruption for this species2.

    1. Johanson D and Edgar B. 2006. From Lucy to Language: Revised, Updated, and Expanded. New York: Simon and Schuster.
    2. Klein RG. 2009. The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins. Third Edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
    3. Leakey REF. 1972. Further Evidence of Lower Pleistocene Hominids from East Rudolf, North Kenya, 1971. Nature 237: 264-269.
    4. Schwartz JH and Tattersall I. 2003. The Human Fossil Record: Craniodental Morphology of Genus Homo (Africa and Asia). Volume Two. Hoboken: Wiley-Liss

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