Geissmann, T. (1986). Length estimate for KNM-ER 736, a hominid femur from the Lower Pleistocene of East Africa. Human Evolution 1: 481-493.

Length estimate for KNM-ER 736, a hominid femur from the Lower Pleistocene of East Africa

T. Geissmann

Anthropological Institute, University Zürich-Irchel

Key words: Femur length; stature; Homo; Lower Pleistocene; Hominid; KNM-ER 736; East Africa.Anthropological Institute, Zürich University

Abstract: Our knowledge concerning stature in early Homo is scanty. In this paper, based on comparison with the fossil femur KNM-ER 999, an estimate of 482 mm femur length is derived for KNM-ER 736, the latter dating from the Lower Pleistocene. From comparison with other fossil and modern femora, KNM-ER 736 appears to be the longest hominid femur so far recovered from a site of Early Pleistocene age. Moreover, the estimated femur length is higher than the published mean values of most modern populations. Provided that the trunk and head proportions were not radically different from modern H. sapiens, the finding would suggest that a stature similar to that of modern man was already reached by East African Homo as early as about 1.6 Myr before present.