Specimen List

paranthropus boisei

OH 36

  • Geologic Age:

    1.2 Ma - 1.1 Ma

  • Discovery Date:

    1970

  • Discovered By:

    M. Mutala

  • Discovery Location:

    Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

  • Specimen Age:

    Adult

  • Sex:

    Undetermined

Coming Soon.


OH 5

  • Common Name:

    Nutcraker Man

  • Geologic Age:

    1.8 Ma

  • Discovery Date:

    17 Jul 1959

  • Discovered By:

    Mary Leakey

  • Discovery Location:

    Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

  • Cranial Capacity:

    530 cc

  • Specimen Age:

    Young adult

  • Sex:

    Male

  • Estimated Weight:

    70 kg

Oh 5 was initially assigned to the now defunct species Zinjanthropus boisei by Louis Leakey, who, despite its australopith-like morphologies, maintained his conviction that the Olduvai skull was not Australopithecus because it was found in the same geologic horizon as stone tools. Instead, Leakey argued the cranium belonged to a tool making species "near man," that was the direct ancestor of modern Homo sapiens. Much later Zinjanthropus was rejected in favor of Paranthropus (this genus name reflects the specimen’s robust morphologies and its closer relation to other robust forms like Paranthropus aethiopicus).


Peninj 1

  • Geologic Age:

    1.5 Ma

  • Discovery Date:

    11 Jan 1964

  • Discovered By:

    Richard Leakey and Glynn Isaac

  • Discovery Location:

    Peninj, Tanzania

  • Specimen Age:

    Adult

  • Sex:

    Male

Coming Soon.


KNM-ER 729

  • Geologic Age:

    1.5 Ma

  • Discovery Date:

    1970

  • Discovered By:

    Paul Abell

  • Discovery Location:

    Ileret, Lake Turkana, Kenya

  • Specimen Age:

    Adult

  • Sex:

    Undetermined

Coming Soon.