LH 4

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Laetoli Hominid 4
LH 4 Replica 03.jpg
Catalog no.LH 4
Common nameLaetoli Hominid 4
Species Australopithecus afarensis
Age2.9–3.9 million years
Place discovered Laetoli, Tanzania
Date discovered1974
Discovered byMary Leakey

LH 4 or Laetoli Hominid 4 [1] is the catalogue number of a fossilized mandible which was discovered by Mary Leakey in 1974 from Laetoli, Tanzania. [2]

Contents

Mary Leakey and her team, including Tim White, [3] found between 1974 and 1977 forty-two hominid teeth associated with a jawbone. One of them was LH-4, a fine specimen with nine teeth. White described the fossils, and LH-4 was assigned as the "name-bearer" of the new species by Don Johanson and White. [3]

Observations

The specimen is 2.9–3.9 million years old and is mandible of an adult Australopithecus afarensis with all molars present and a fairly large canine. [4] [5] Most anterior teeth and rami are missing. But, the dental arcade is in a good condition with little or no evidence of distortion. [2]

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References

  1. "Lateoli". ntz.info. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 "LH 4". eFossils. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  3. 1 2 Meredith, Martin (18 August 2011). Born in Africa: The Quest for the Origins of Human Life. Simon and Schuster. p. 288. ISBN   9780857206671.
  4. Tanner, Nancy Makepeace (31 August 1981). "Evidence on the transition: what can the earliest hominid fossils reveal about the ancestral population and the translation?". On Becoming Human. CUP Archive. p. 180. ISBN   978-0-521-28028-0 . Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  5. Clarke 2012, p.  48.

Bibliography