A ONE-MILLION-YEAR-OLD HOMO CRANIUM FROM THE DANAKIL (AFAR) DEPRESSION OF ERITREA

One of the most contentious topics in the study of human evolution is that of the time, place and mode of origin of Homo sapiens(1-3). The d iscovery in the Northern Danakil (Afar) Depression, Eritrea, of a well -preserved Homo cranium with a mixture of characters typical of H. ere ctus and H. sapiens contributes significantly to this debate. The cran ium was found in a succession of fluvio-deltaic and lacustrine deposit s and is associated with a rich mammalian fauna of early to early-midd le Pleistocene age. A magnetostratigraphic survey indicates two revers ed and two normal magnetozones. The layer in which the cranium was fou nd is near the top of the lower normal magnetozone, which is identifie d as the Jaramillo subchron. Consequently, the human remains can be da ted at similar to 1 million years before present.