Mauer 1

Mauer 1
Catalog no.GPIH 1
Common nameMauer 1
SpeciesHomo heidelbergensis
Age609 k ± 40 k
Place discoveredMauer, Germany
Date discoveredOctober 21, 1907
Discovered byDaniel Hartmann

The Mauer 1 mandible is the oldest-known specimen of the genus Homo in Germany. It was found in 1907 in a sand quarry in the community Mauer, around 10 km (6.2 mi) south-east of Heidelberg. The Mauer 1 mandible is the type specimen of the species Homo heidelbergensis.[1] Some European researchers have classified the find as Homo erectus heidelbergensis, regarding it as a subspecies of Homo erectus. In 2010 the mandible's age was for the first time exactly determined to be 609,000 ± 40,000 years.[2] Previously, specialist literature had referred to an age of either 600,000 or 500,000 years on the basis of less accurate dating methods.[3]

  1. ^ Otto Schoetensack: Der Unterkiefer des Homo Heidelbergensis aus den Sanden von Mauer bei Heidelberg. Ein Beitrag zur Paläontologie des Menschen. Leipzig, 1908, Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann
  2. ^ Günther A. Wagner et al.: Radiometric dating of the type-site for Homo heidelbergensis at Mauer, Germany. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. vol. 107, no. 46, 2010, pp. 19726–19730 doi:10.1073/pnas.1012722107.
  3. ^ H. Dieter Schreiber et al.: Die Tierwelt der Mauerer Waldzeit. In: Günther A. Wagner et al. (ed.): Homo heidelbergensis. Schlüsselfund der Menschheitsgeschichte. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, p. 146 ISBN 3806221138