"Man skilled"
"Man skilled" was opened on November 2, 1960 during excavations in the Olduvai gorge. Its age corresponds to approximately 2,1-1,5 million years. The lower jaw with teeth, one molar tooth, two well-preserved parietal bones and bones of the hand were found. Later, most of the skeleton of the leg and clavicle were removed.
Already a preliminary study of these remains showed that "a man of skill", despite his great antiquity, stands on the ladder of evolution above zinjanthropus.
"Man skilled" like Australopithecus African, had an increase of up to 120 cm and an average weight of 40-50 kg. Judging by the jaw, he was omnivorous, like his relative - Australopithecus. However, the "skillful man" had a much larger brain volume (about 650 cm3), but most importantly - he had two symptoms, typical only for humans.
"Man skilled" had a longitudinal foot and a transverse vaulting. This sign indicates movement only on two legs.
"Man skilled" differed from other hominids in the structure of his hand. As is known, the hand of modern man is distinguished by the development of the thumb and his ability to contrast with the index finger. It is this property that predetermines the accuracy of labor. "Man skilled" could still fully oppose the thumb to the rest. And yet this hominid was making simple tools that did not require special skill. And the hand of a "man of skill" is already generally human.
"Man skilled" not only used suitable items, but also modified them in accordance with the working purpose. The guns were primitive and imperfect. But they were meaningly made tools!
The sensational discovery of Luis Leakey for a while seemed to take off all the questions: here it is, the "missing link" in the chain of evolution! However, the boom that the "skillful man" raised in the scientific literature quickly subsided. After careful study, the finding turned out to be possible to include in the group of australopithecines, and today most researchers are inclined to call the "man skilled" "skilful Australopithecus" or "progressive Australopithecus".
Meanwhile, numerous remains of hominids have been found in the Omo valley (Ethiopia). The age of the finds was in the range from 1,7 to 4 million years - so they are older than the "man of skill". The inventory accompanying the find has an age of 1,9-2,3 million years.
Another mystery was the discovery of the almost complete skull of an unknown hominid, which received the designation "skull KNM-ER 1470". Even the first measurements showed that the brain volume of this creature exceeded 800 cm3, and its antiquity is estimated at 2,9 million years. That is, he is a million years older than the "man skilled"!
Who, then, was a "skillful man", if for a million years before his appearance on Earth already existed a man even more skilled? How could two kinds of hominids - Australopithecus and Homo - live side by side, living side by side for about two million years?
The more paleoanthropological finds are found accumulating in the remains of a fossil, the more obvious it becomes that the oldest mankind from the very beginning existed in many forms, some of which were probably dead ends of evolutionary development. A beautiful picture illustrating the origin of man from a monkey, thus, is thrown into the trash...