FOSSILS ATTRIBUTED TO GENUS HOMO: SOME GENERAL NOTES 597
further consideration, since not all of the Ehringsdorf
framents appear to show the same morphology.
For example, the occipital Ehr H9 1032/69 has no
suprainiac fossa, instead showing twinned depressions
both above and below the occipital “torus.” The pari-
etal 1006/69 further shows a “tent-shaped” rear profile
that is not characteristic of Homo neanderthalensis.
And while the Ehr H3 1026/69 temporal would, in
contrast, have had the long and horizontal pari-
etomastoid suture typical of Neanderthals, the poste-
rior root of the zygomatic arch in this specimen
diverges strongly from the cranial wall, which is not
a Neanderthal feature. In the two Ehringsdorf
mandibles (Ehr G 1010/69, and F 1009/69), the
anterior premolars have a thick paracristid that is sep-
arated from the swollen lingual base of the protoconid
by a crease. This is characteristic both of Homo nean-
derthalensis and of other members of its apparent
clade. The La Naulette mandible is not in the least
that of a typical Neanderthal; its closest resemblances
are to the Rabat (Thomas Quarry) individual, whose
affinities are at present equally obscure. The Fontkche-
vade fragments remain as inscrutable as ever.
Cranially, characteristic Neanderthal features that
are typically cited include: smoothly rolled, double-
arched brows over “aviator glasses”-shaped orbits; nar-
row lower face; sharply retreating midface; medial
projection emerging from the internal margin (“spino-
turbinal crest”) that delineates a prenasal fossa, just
within the very large aperture of the nasal cavity; very
long, thin zygomatic arches; ‘‘puffy)) midface due to
expanded maxillary sinuses that swell out the infraor-
bital and medial orbital regions; angulation of the
anterior squamosal suture; smoothly rounded cranial
profile in posterior view; pitted suprainiac fossa; hori-
zontal superior nuchal line that is undercut by the
nuchal plane; “occipital torus” defined by this under-
cutting inferiorly, but superiorly only by the suprainiac
fossa; a long, horizontal parietomastoid suture that
flows behind into an anterior lambdoid suture; exten-
sive pneumatization within the petrosal; ectotympanic
tube not fully ossified laterally; and a long, narrow
foramen magnum. In the mandible, there is a retro-
molar space, a sigmoid notch that is deepest posteri-
orly; a large medial pterygoid tubercle, a “cut-off”
gonial angle, symphyseal bone that is thinner seen
from below than the bone of the corpora on either
side; and a sigmoid notch crest that terminates
medial to the lateral extremity of the condyle. In
the dentition, the lower molars (deciduous and
permanent) have talonid basins plus distinct trigo-
nids, making them relatively long and narrow. Mo-
lars have relatively complex occlusal surfaces, with
centoconids on the lower molars (and second decid-
uous lower molars), and centrocones in the upper
molars. Occlusal surfaces are well defined by blunt
crests and are relatively constricted, with inwardly
sloping sides. Another possible autapomorphy is a
large paracristid separated by a crease from a lingual
swelling at the base of the protoconid.
A variety of European specimens from the Middle
Pleistocene shares some, but not all, of these character-
istics of Homo neanderthalensis. Notable among these
are the Steinheim, Reilingen, Atapuerca/Sima de 10s
Huesos, and Montmaurin fossils. Among Neanderthal
features, Steinheim possesses the smoothly rolled and
separately arching supraorbital margins over “aviator
glasses” orbits; the large nasal aperture with a distinct
prenasal fossa between the lateral and spinoturbinal
crests; angulation along the anterior squamous suture;
the (faint) suprainiac depression; the horizontal torus
that is only fully defined below; the long, horizontal
parietomastoid and anterior lambdoid sutures; and the
rounded posterior profile of the braincase. Inside its
nasal aperture is a vertical thickening of the lateral
nasal wall that appears to correspond to the medial
projection of Neanderthals. However, this specimen
lacks the puffy midface and the markedly retreating
zygomas of Neanderthals that give the faces of these
hominids their characteristic wedge-shaped appear-
ance from above. The inferior margin of the anterior
zygomatic root also remains primitive in its more
horizontal orientation. Given its constellation of char-
acteristics, we believe that it is justified to regard the
Steinheim specimen as representing the sister taxon of
Homo neanderthalensis.
The Reilingen partial calvaria has the expanded
petrosal pneumatization, the suprainiac depression,
the horizontal occipital “torus” fully delineated only
below, the “en bombe” posterior cranial profile, and
the incomplete lateral ossification of the ectotympanic
tube that are shown also by the Neanderthals and
Steinheim. It is thus possible to interpret this speci-
men as a member of the sister taxon to a clade that
contains the Neanderthals plus Steinheim.
The many hominid fossils from the Atapuerca site
of the Sima de 10s Huesos form a relatively homo-
geneous assemblage, of which we have been able to
record only Skull 5 in any detail. Based on this
specimen, the Sima hominid possesses a variety of