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''Homo antecessor'' is an extinct human species (or subspecies) dating from 800,000 to 1.2 million years ago, that was discovered by Eudald Carbonell, Juan Luis Arsuaga and J. M. Bermúdez de Castro.〔Bermudez de Castro, Arsuaga, Carbonell, Rosas, Martinez & Mosquera 1997: "A hominid from the Lower Pleistocene of Atapuerca, Spain: possible ancestor to neandertals and modern humans", ''Science'', 276: 1392-1395.〕 ''H. antecessor'' is one of the earliest known human species in Europe. Various archaeologists and anthropologists have debated how ''H. antecessor'' relates to other ''Homo'' species in Europe, with suggestions that it was an evolutionary link between ''H. ergaster'' and ''H. heidelbergensis'', although Richard Klein thinks that it was instead a separate species that evolved from ''H. ergaster''.〔Klein, Richard. 2009. "Hominin Disperals in the Old World" in ''The Human Past'', ed. Chris Scarre, 2nd ed., p. 108.〕 Some scientists consider ''H. antecessor'' to be the same species as ''H. heidelbergensis'', who inhabited Europe from 250,000 to 600,000 years ago in the Pleistocene. The best-preserved fossil is a maxilla that belonged to a ten-year-old individual found in Spain. Based on palaeomagnetic measurements, it is thought to be older than 780–857 ka.〔Falguères, Christophe; J. Bahain; Y. Yokoyama, J. Arsuaga, J. Bermudez de Castro, E. Carbonell, J. Bischoff and J. Dolo (1999) "Earliest humans in Europe: the age of TD6 Gran Dolina, Atapuerca, Spain"; ''Journal of Human Evolution'' 37 (3-4): 343-352 (351).〕 In 1994 and 1995, 80 fossils of six individuals who may have belonged to the species were found in Atapuerca, Spain. At the site were numerous examples of cuts where the flesh had been flensed from the bones, which indicates that ''H. antecessor'' may have practiced cannibalism. Footprints presumed to be from ''H. antecessor'' dating to more than 800,000 years ago have been found at Happisburgh on the coast of Norfolk, England.〔Ashton N, Lewis SG, De Groote I, Duffy SM, Bates M, et al. (2014)(Hominin Footprints from Early Pleistocene Deposits at Happisburgh, UK ). PLoS ONE 9(2): e88329. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0088329〕 ==Physiology== ''H. antecessor'' was about 1.6-1.8 m (5½-6 feet) tall, and males weighed roughly 90 kg (200 pounds). Their brain sizes were roughly 1,000–1,150 cm³, smaller than the 1,350 cm³ average of modern humans. Due to fossil scarcity, very little more is known about the physiology of ''H. antecessor'', yet it was likely to have been more robust than ''H. heidelbergensis''.〔(El Mundo newspaper ) (in Spanish)〕 According to Juan Luis Arsuaga, one of the co-directors of the excavation in Burgos, ''H. antecessor'' might have been right-handed, a trait that makes the species different from the other apes. This hypothesis is based on tomography techniques. Arsuaga also claims that the frequency range of audition is similar to ''H. sapiens'', which makes him suspect that ''H. antecessor'' used a symbolic language and was able to reason.〔 Arsuaga's team is currently pursuing a DNA map of ''H. antecessor.'' Based on teeth eruption pattern, the researchers think that ''H. antecessor'' had the same development stages as ''H. sapiens'', though probably at a faster pace. Other significant features demonstrated by the species are a protruding occipital bun, a low forehead, and a lack of a strong chin. Some of the remains are almost indistinguishable from the fossil attributable to the 1.5 million year old Turkana Boy, belonging to ''H. ergaster''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Homo antecessor」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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