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Paranthropus

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Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology

Introduction and Definition

This genus name was created by R. Broom in 1938 for a partial cranium, right mandibular corpus, and isolated teeth from Kromdraai near Sterkfontein, South Africa. The fossil had been found by a schoolboy, Gert Terblanche. Broom noted that it not only had large molars and premolars but that if a ruler was placed across the cheekbones, the nasal region was behind the ruler. It was clear that it possessed a naturally dished face, unlike those of Taung and Sterkfontein. Thus, Broom considered it a new genus of ape-man, parallel to man (Paranthropus), with robust jaws and teeth. He therefore gave it the species name Paranthropus robustus.

Key Issues/Current Debates/Future Directions/Examples

In 1948, Broom and his assistant, John Robinson, found similar fossils at Swartkrans Cave also near Sterkfontein, and named a second species Paranthropus crassidens. Swartkrans proved to be a prolific source of Paranthropus fossils including crania (Fig. 1, right), mandibles...

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References

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Further Reading

  • Arambourg, C. & Y. Coppens. 1967. Sur la découverte, dans le Pléistocène inférieur de la vallée de l’Omo (Ethiopie) d’une mandibule d’Australopithécien. Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, Paris, Série D 265: 589-590.

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  • Grine, F. (ed.) 1989. Evolutionary history of the ‘robust’ Australopithecines. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

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  • Kaszycka, K. 2002. Status of Kromdraai (Cahiers de Paléoanthropologie). Paris: CNRS Editions.

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  • Robinson, J.T. 1972. Early hominid posture and locomotion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

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  • Schwartz, J. H. & I. Tattersall. 2005. The human fossil record, Volume 4: craniodental morphology of early hominids (genera Australopithecus, Paranthropus, Orrorin), and overview. New Jersey: Wiley-Liss.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Human Evolution, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Ronald J. Clarke

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  1. Ronald J. Clarke
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Correspondence to Ronald J. Clarke .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Claire Smith

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Clarke, R.J. (2014). Paranthropus . In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_685

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_685

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