FOSSILS ATTRIBUTED TO GEN~JS HOMO: SOME GENERAL No-rEs 595
infracondylar sulci along the posterior margins of the
rami. Despite differences in ramal a/p length and vari-
ous other details, we have no reservations in assigning
the Mauer and Arago jaws to the same species, in
which case it is also legitimate to use comparisons
with the Arago cranial specimens (in particular, the
Arago 21 face and associated fragments) in determin-
ing the affinities of other hominid cranial fossils to
Horn o heidelbergensis.
Using Arago 21 and its associated parts as stan-
dards of comparison, several relatively well-preserved
specimens stand out as candidates for membership
in Homo heidelbergensis. Foremost among such Euro-
pean specimens is the cranium from Petralona,
Greece. Among African fossils the Bodo, Kabwe, and
Saldanha crania are obvious claimants; and from Asia,
the Chinese specimens from Dali and Jinniushan have
also been considered in this role. All are broadly com-
parable in cranial vault size and in the proportions of
the face relative to the braincase. Below, we will
briefly look at these specimens and others. (See the
appropriate entries in the volumes of this series for
substantiation and for greater anatomical detail).
The Greek specimen from Petralona is particu-
larly reminiscent of the Arago 21 cranium in possess-
ing a quite massive and broad lower face lying below
hugely developed and s/i very tall supraorbital mar-
gins that reach their maximum thickness at about
mid-orbit. The same is true of the Bodo, Kabwe,
Saldanha, and Dali crania and, to a lesser extent, of
the Jinniushan specimens. In all of these fossils, the
superior margin of the orbit is marked by a blunt edge
above that demarcates the a/p twisting front surface
of the torus from a posttoral sulcus behind. Similarly,
in all of them, the posttoral sulcus is nonetheless quite
shallow. It should be noted, however, that there is
considerable morphological variety as well. For exam-
ple, while Bod0 has a low nasal aperture with long
nasal bones that curve concavely outward in profile,
Arago, Petralona, Kabwe, Dali, and Jinniushan show
higher-placed nasal apertures with shorter, signifi-
cantly less protruding nasal bones. At the same time,
Petralona, and especially Bod0 and Dali, share rela-
tively larger nasal apertures than the others. Sinusial
inflation of the supraorbital tori as well as of the
frontal bone varies significantly within this group.
Petralona shows the most remarkable degree of gen-
eral sinusial inflation (even including a small sinus
within the squama of the temporal bone), and its
frontal sinuses penetrate posteriorly far into the
frontal. In Kabwe, on the other hand, such inflation is
much more modest. This variability extends also to
the inflation of the face, which is swollen in Petralona
and probably also in Bod0 by huge maxillary sinuses
that alter the aspect of the entire infraorbital plane. In
contrast, Kabwe, Arago, Dali, and Jinniushan show
hardly any swelling at all of the infraorbital region.
Protrusion of the frontal lobes over the orbits is
greater in Bod0 and Arago than in Kabwe and
Petralona, in concert with a more sunken cribriform
plate that lies below the superiorly expansive orbital
cones. Because the frontal lobes extend farther for-
ward and more horizontally in Arago and Bodo, the
clivus is flexed downward in these fossils more sharply
than in Kabwe and Petralona, and the hypophyseal
fossa is more clearly defined, with a more prominent
dorsum sellae. There is also a clearer distinction
between the anterior and middle cranial fossae. The
degree of external cranial flexion in the Dali and
Jinniushan specimens suggests that imaging these
fossils would reveal closer resemblances to Arago and
Bod0 in their internal conformation.
In the rear of the skull, there appear also to be
two basic morphologies in this group of hominid
fossils. In Petralona and Dali the “occipital torus,”
which is undercut below but is not clearly defined
above, runs transversely straight across the occipital
for almost the full width of the braincase. In Kabwe,
in contrast, the similarly undercut “torus” descends
toward the midline to a peak in the region of the ex-
ternal occipital protuberance, giving a “bow” shape
to this structure. However, in all of these specimens
(Petralona, Dali, Jinniushan and Kabwe), the supe-
rior nuchal line lies very low, yielding an almost
horizontal nuchal plane. In posterior profile, the
Kabwe cranium contrasts with Petralona in having
higher and more vertical side walls and a more
rounded top. Among less complete or well-
preserved specimens, Saldanha shares a basic supra-
orbital morphology with all members of this group,
but resembles Petralona in its nuchal line mor-
phology, although its nuchal plane is slightly less
horizontal than that of the latter.
The Narmada hemicranium from India shows a
right supraorbital margin that is smoothly rolled to
the back, strongly arced over the orbit, and appar-
ently uniformly thick from side to side. The orbit
itself appears to have been tall and ovoid, rather than