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The 'Turkana Boy' skeleton has allowed scientists to find out a lot of information about body size, body shape, and growth rates of Homo erectus. This skeleton is 40% complete, based on the principle that bones from one side of the body can tell what the same bone from the other side looked like even if it's missing.
- What is a significant characteristic of Nariokotome boy?
- What is the significance of the Nariokotome boy fossils?
- What is the evidence that suggests Turkana Boy did not have body hair?
- What does the age and size of Turkana Boy suggest about erectus?
- How did they find Turkana Boy?
- Why is 1974 fossil called Lucy?
What is a significant characteristic of Nariokotome boy?
The skeleton, known as KNM-WT 15000 to paleoanthropologists, is also called “Turkana Boy.” It is extraordinary in its completeness; only a humerus and the ends of the hands and feet are missing. The maturity of its teeth and limb bones correspond to those of an 11- to 13-year-old.
What is the significance of the Nariokotome boy fossils?
The Nariokotome boy's skeleton has been called the fossil find of the century. Because it was so complete, it revealed a great deal not only about the anatomy of his species, Homo erectus (sometimes called Homo ergaster), but also clues about their life history and even social structure.
What is the evidence that suggests Turkana Boy did not have body hair?
The evidence for Turkana Boy's hairlessness comes in part from the study of louse DNA. Hair is "rarely present in the fossil record" so researchers have turned to the study of parasites associated with hair, i.e. head and pubic lice. It turns out that the human head louse is very different from the human pubic louse.
What does the age and size of Turkana Boy suggest about erectus?
A study from 1993 estimated that, had Turkana Boy lived, he would have grown to a height of 6 feet, 1 inch and weight of around 150 pounds. If the boy really was destined for such tallness, then H. erectus would have experienced an adolescent growth spurt on a par with modern humans.
How did they find Turkana Boy?
It was discovered in 1984 by Kamoya Kimeu on the bank of the Nariokotome River near Lake Turkana in Kenya. ... Estimates of the individual's age at death range from 7 to 11 years old.
Why is 1974 fossil called Lucy?
"Lucy" acquired her name from the 1967 song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by the Beatles, which was played loudly and repeatedly in the expedition camp all evening after the excavation team's first day of work on the recovery site.
