Australopithecus robustus (1.8 to 1.5 million years ago)

Species Description:

Australopithecus robustus possesses a combination ofprimitive and derived physical traits. While its brain size is much like thatof A. afarensis, other characteristics are quite different.

Specimensof this species have massive flat or concave faces. The front teeth of A.robustus are small relative to the species' massive grinding teeth andthickly enameled molars and premolars. Most A. robustus specimens alsohave sagittal crests (large ridges of bone running along the top of their skulls),which indicate powerful chewing muscles used for grinding tough foods.

Skeletalremains identified as belonging to A. robustus indicate that males andfemales differed markedly in body size, with males standing on average 4 feet4 inches tall and weighing about 92 pounds and females standing 3 feet 7 inchestall and weighing 71 pounds.

Modified bones found alongside A. robustusskeletons suggest members of the species may have used tools to help them accessburied food. A. robustus probably inhabited woodland and savanna habitatswhere they foraged for foods like roots, nuts, and possibly insects.

Fossil Finds:

TM 1517
Estimated age: 2 to 1.5 million years
Date of discovery: 1938
Location: Kromdraai, South Africa

A schoolboy discovered the first A. robustusremains ever found, including skull fragments, teeth, and pieces of a skeleton.

Eurydice

Eurydice
Estimated age: 2 to 1.5 million years
Date of discovery: 1994
Location: Drimolen cave, South Africa

This is one of the most complete early hominid skullsever found, and the first significant fossil of a female A. robustus.This skull is named after the Greek nymph Eurydice, who died next to herlove Orpheus. A lower jaw from a male of the same species, nicknamed Orpheus,was found a few inches away.

Evidence of Culture:

Digging tools made of bone
Estimated age: 2 to 1.5 million years
Date of discovery: 1950
Location: Swartkrans cave, South Africa

Abrasions on stick-shaped animal bones found alongside A. robustus fossils suggest that the species may have used thesebones as tools for digging up edible roots or for excavating termite mounds.

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