Earliest Pleistocene hominid cranial remains from Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia: Taxonomy, geological setting, and age

Archaeological excavations at the site of Dmanisi in the Republic of Georgi a have uncovered two partial early Pleistocene hominid crania. The new foss ils consist of a relatively complete cranium and a second relatively comple te calvaria from the same site and stratigraphic unit that yielded a homini d mandible in 1991. In contrast with the uncertain taxonomic affinity of th e mandible. the new fossils are comparable in size and morphology with Homo ergaster from Koobi Fora, Kenya. Paleontological, archaeological, geochron ological, and paleomagnetic data from Dmanisi all indicate an earliest Plei stocene age of about 1.7 million years ago, supporting correlation of the n ew specimens with the Koobi Fora fossils. The Dmanisi fossils, in contrast with Pleistocene hominids from Western Europe and Eastern Asia, show clear African affinity and may represent the species that first migrated out of A frica.