Turkana Boy fossil
E382746
The Turkana Boy fossil is an exceptionally well-preserved nearly complete skeleton of a Homo erectus (or Homo ergaster) youth from about 1.6 million years ago that has provided crucial insights into early human growth and anatomy.
All labels observed (3)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| KNM-WT 15000 | 1 |
| Nariokotome Boy | 1 |
| Turkana Boy fossil canonical | 1 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Homo erectus individual
ⓘ
Homo ergaster individual ⓘ hominin fossil ⓘ prehistoric human skeleton ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs |
Turkana Boy fossil
ⓘ
surface form:
KNM-WT 15000
Turkana Boy fossil ⓘ
surface form:
Nariokotome Boy
|
| approximateYearBP | about 1,600,000 years before present ⓘ |
| associatedEnvironment | lakeshore and riverine habitats near Lake Turkana ⓘ |
| belongsToCollection | paleoanthropology collection of the National Museums of Kenya ⓘ |
| bodyHeightAtDeath | about 1.47 m ⓘ |
| bodyPlan | long-legged, relatively slender body ⓘ |
| brainVolume | about 880 cubic centimeters ⓘ |
| browRidge | pronounced supraorbital torus ⓘ |
| continentOfDiscovery | Africa ⓘ |
| countryOfDiscovery | Kenya ⓘ |
| cranialCapacityComparedToEarlierHominins | larger than Australopithecus ⓘ |
| cranialCapacityComparedToModernHumans | smaller than modern humans ⓘ |
| currentLocation |
National Museums of Kenya
ⓘ
surface form:
National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi
|
| datingMethod |
radiometric dating of associated volcanic layers
ⓘ
stratigraphic correlation ⓘ |
| dentalDevelopment | teeth indicate pre-adolescent age ⓘ |
| discoveredBy | Kamoya Kimeu ⓘ |
| discoveredDuring |
Koobi Fora
ⓘ
surface form:
Richard Leakey’s Koobi Fora Research Project
|
| discoveredOn | 1984 ⓘ |
| discoverySite | Nariokotome, west of Lake Turkana, Kenya ⓘ |
| estimatedAdultHeight | about 1.80 m ⓘ |
| estimatedAgeAtDeath |
8–12 years
ⓘ
about 10–11 years ⓘ |
| faceMorphology | prognathic face ⓘ |
| geologicAge | about 1.5–1.6 million years old ⓘ |
| geologicPeriod | Early Pleistocene ⓘ |
| growthPatternInsight | informs debate on whether early Homo grew more like apes or modern humans ⓘ |
| influenced |
interpretations of sexual dimorphism in early Homo
ⓘ
models of early Homo thermoregulation and body shape in hot climates ⓘ reconstructions of Homo ergaster locomotor biomechanics ⓘ |
| locomotion | obligate bipedalism ⓘ |
| pelvisMorphology | narrow, tall pelvis ⓘ |
| postcranialProportions | modern human-like limb proportions ⓘ |
| preservationStatus | exceptionally well-preserved ⓘ |
| sex | male ⓘ |
| significance |
crucial for understanding evolution of human body proportions
ⓘ
evidence for efficient long-distance walking and possibly running ⓘ important for reconstructing early human life history and growth rates ⓘ key evidence for body size increase in early Homo ⓘ one of the most complete early hominin skeletons ever found ⓘ |
| skeletonCompleteness | nearly complete skeleton ⓘ |
| taxon |
Homo erectus
ⓘ
Homo erectus ⓘ
surface form:
Homo ergaster
|
| thoraxShape | barrel-shaped chest ⓘ |
Referenced by (3)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
Turkana Boy
this entity surface form:
Nariokotome Boy
subject surface form:
Turkana Boy
this entity surface form:
KNM-WT 15000