The History of Our Tribe Hominini Textbook Part IV Pleistocene Epoch Chapter 30 Homo georgicus

30 . Homo Homo ( human I Georgia ) Figure Reconstruction of Homo . Homo by 120 is licensed under . SITES , Georgia PEOPLE Leo , David INTRODUCTION Located in the southern region of the Republic of Georgia ( see Figure ) is the only known site for the geographic species Homo , of the erectus grade . Some treat it as a subspecies of Homo , while others attribute it to erectus . 179

PHYLOGENY is dated to the same time as the earliest African material at . It is thus thought to be ( closely related to or possibly a descendent species of Homo or ( possibly the ancestor of and Asian Homo erectus . DISCOVERY AND GEOGRAPHIC RANGE Leo and discovered the site and first reported on the fossil material . Beginning in 1991 and continuing to the present , David and his team have recovered teeth , multiple skulls , and numerous remains . A partial skeleton that was discovered in 2001 was thought to be more primitive than other material , and there was speculation that may have preceded out of Africa , where it then evolved into an intermediate form . Since that time , researchers have come to believe it to be a more a primitive form of the erectus grade versus habilis . The site has an interesting history ( see Figure ) The area has been settled since the Bronze Age . In the century , an orthodox Christian cathedral was built on the site . By the century , the region was under Arab rule . Because of its location on two important trade routes , by medieval times it had become an important commercial center . It was conquered by the Turks in the century and later liberated by Georgian kings . The area was then attacked by the in both the and centuries , from which it never fully recovered , in terms of its regional importance and economic development ( Wikipedia contributors ) SOUTH ' We Gov . Figure site . met by is in the public domain . PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS exhibited a mix of primitive and characteristics . They had small , robust skulls and , prognathic faces ( see Figure ) Their upper limbs were , while their spines and lower limbs were more modern . The cranial vault for one of the four adult skulls measured only 546 . Their molars were large , and tooth suggests that they ate tough , fibrous plant foods and thus had a diet . Their canines were surprisingly long . 180 The History of Our Tribe

Figure Cast of Home . Homo 292 by Rama is in the public domain . Review of Primitive Characteristics Robust skull Small brain . Prognathic face . Large molars and long canines . Review of Derived Characteristics spine and lower limb . 30 . Homo 181 Figure castle mins with archeological site in background ( under the white roof ) Ruins of Castle by Larry is licensed under . ENVIRONMENT AND WAY OF LIFE The environment at the time when lived in the area is thought to have been a mosaic of forest and steppes . A great many tools and ( small chips of stone that are byproducts of tool manufacture ) were found at the site , along with faunal remains . Due to their upper limb morphology and the dangerous predators at the site , there is speculation that they may have slept and aged in trees ( de et al . 2005 ) Of great interest is an older edentulous male . The tooth loss was antemortem because the alveolar bone had been , showing that he lived for quite a while after he began losing his teeth ( de and 2006 ) He would likely have needed care during the intervening years , and his family or mates must have helped and supported him . This would be the earliest known evidence for kin selection and or reciprocal altruism , respectively . Kin selection involves incurring a cost to oneself in order to fit relatives , thus increasing their survival and propagating your genes because they share a portion of your genes in common . Reciprocal altruism is basically tit for tat . It explains why we will help . ing our long history prior to agriculture and , our ancestors lived in small hands . They were related to the members of their groups by blood or marriage . If Individual A incurred a cost to help a nonrelative , Individual , there is a good chance that Individual may have been around at a future point in time when Individual A needed help . Genes involved with those cooperative behaviors could thus have spread via natural selection . We are , and past were , cooperative . 182 The History of Our Tribe

Figure Home by Taylor . 30 . Home 183