MABA (Mapa)
LOCATION
Cave site, Shizi Hill, 1.5 km SW of Maba village,
Shaoquan Municipality, Guangdong Province, China.D I s COVERY
Farm workers, June 1958.MATERIAL
Partial cranium (G-5-1; PA.84) with some upper face.DATING AND STRATIGRAPHIC CONTEXT
There is an abundant associated AiZuropoda/Stegodon
fauna that suggests an early Upper Pleistocene age (Wu
and Wu, 1985). U-series dates on rhinoceros teeth
range from about 170-130 Ka (Yuan et al., 1986).ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT
None.PFEVIOUS DESCRIPTIONS AND ANALYSES
Woo and Peng (1959) found the Maba cranium to be
that of a middle-aged “early Paleoanthropic” male with
certain similarities to Neanderthals. Wu and Wu
(1985) noted a number of features in common with
Homo erectus, but concluded that the specimen was “on
the whole a more advanced physical type” (p. 99). Pope
(1992) returned to the theme of Neanderthal resem-
blance, and noted that the “contrasts between Maba,
Dali, Jinniu Shan and Xujiayao constitute a roughly
contemporaneus range of variation that is without
precedent in either Africa or Europe” (p. 275).MORPHOLOGY
Partial calotte with nasal and R orbital region. Heavily
reconstructed. Cranial bone weathered, not greatly
distorted, and not very thick; diploe not well differen-
tiated. Medially, parts of R and L supraorbital regions
appear to have been hacked off, possibly antemortem.
Facial skeleton was narrower than neurocranium.
In profile, the fairly steep frontal rise originates
somewhat behind the glabellar and supraorbital re-
gions and flattens out posterior to bregma; descent
of profile into occipital region apparently began well
above lambda. (Profile may be a bit distorted by re-
construction of posterior part of vault, where, inter-
nally, midline seems to have been shifted to R).
Coronal section broadly curved from side to side. R
supra-orbital margin was thickest s/i medially. In
general, orbit tall s/i and rounded. Lateral to midline
of orbit, superior surface of supraorbital torus some-
what flattened, but inferior margin uniformly arcu-
ate. Inferior margin of supraorbital torus flows
smoothly from slightly concave orbital roof and arcs
around to moderate posttoral plane. As seen on the
R, viewed from above, supraorbital torus recedes
laterally. Apparently, supraorbital tori were not con-
fluent across glabella. Glabella quite swollen and
projecting above nasion. As seen through cuts in
tori, R and L frontal sinuses well separated in
midline, confined to area around midline; do not438