Wesleyan University Archaeology & Anthropology Collections Hominin Fossil Casts
Species Designation: Homo heidelbergensis ID/ Nickname: Swanscombe Date: 250,000 - 400,000 years ago Catalog #: 2004-11-13 a, b, c Description: left and right parietals (a and b); occipital (c)

Context of Discovery:

Discovered in a gravel pit in Kent, England. The occipital and right parietal were found in 1935 and 1936 by Alvan Marston and the right parietal was found in 1955 by J. Wymer and A. Gibson.

Facts about the "Swanscombe" fossil:

The bones are modern in form but very thick, which means they are probably from an archaic Homo sapiens. The slope at the back of the skull is smooth and round like modern humans, not squat and bun-shaped like the Neanderthals. The overall morphology suggests a large area of muscle attachments and a small endocranial capacity of 1250-1325 cc.

Important Publications:

Marston, A.T. 1936. "Preliminary note on a new fossil human skull from Swanscombe." Nature 138: 200-201.

Stringer, C.B., and J. Hublin. 1999. "New Age estimates for the Swanscombe hominid, and their significance for human evolution." Journal of Human Evolution 37 (6): 873-877.

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