Homo cepranensis sp. nov. and the evolution of African-European Middle Pleistocene hominids

The hominid calvarium from Ceprano (Italy) shows peculiar characters, especially in the frontal bone. This specimen differs from the other hominid species (H. ergaster, H. erectus, and H. heidelbergensis). The morphometric and the cladistic analyses show that the Italian fossil is a new hominid species. The typical characters of European H. heidelbergensis are absent in the frontal morphology of Ceprano, which is a representative of an African population that perhaps migrated at about 1.0 Ma (represented by the specimen from Bouri and as demonstrated by the cladistic analysis) and that did not ultimately contribute to the human population of Europe during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. On the other hand, Ceprano shares features with Middle Pleistocene H. rhodesiensis, and this allows us to suppose that Ceprano is an early relative of this African form. © 2003 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.