Australopithecus boisei skull OH 5 (Zinjanthropos) (1.8 million years)

The Australopithecus boisei skull, Nutcracker Man, is the most famous fossil from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.   Australopithecus boisei OH 5 was discovered by Mary Leakey in 1959 and originally classified as Zinjanthropus boisei by L. Leakey in Nature later that year.  The accepted genus name has since changed to Australopithecus.  This discovery spurred paleoanthropology toward a modern, multidisciplinary approach, and focused paleoanthropologists' attention on East Africa.  Unique in hominid evolution, A. boisei's massive skull features a wide, concave face, enormous, flat molars (about 4 times as big as modern H. sapiens) and cranial adaptations for powerful chewing, hence its nickname, Nutcracker Man.  Note the sagittal crest and extremely large area for muscle attachments on the zygomatic arch.  The thick jaw allowed for the species' exceptional chewing capabilities.  Cranial capacity of this individual is 530cm³. This recreation is based on Leakey casts and photographs in the book From Lucy to Language.

Stand available - see product code SBH015.

Model size: 20(L) x 15(W) x 18.5(H) cm

The Bone Clones® Hominid Series

Our aim is to provide the best possible facsimile models of the most important hominid finds for the general public, educators and students, using the best reference material available.  Each hominid has been carefully researched and re-created based on some or all of the following: casts of original fossils, the latest literature (descriptions and/or published measurements), input from the scientific community and full colour, life-size photographs.  Every effort has been made to accurately re-create anatomical details of colour, size, shape, reconstructed areas, and bone/fossil texture.  The hominids offered in this series are high quality, artistic recreations that can be advantageously used by educators as important visual aids in the classroom and appreciated by the general public.  They are not intended for advanced graduate work nor to be measured for research purposes.

(Information courtesy Bone Clones, Inc)