New hominin remains from Uzbekistan.
Although the Paleolithic occupations of Uzbekistan and the neighboring foothill regions of Tajikistan and Kazakhstan are well-documented, almost no hominin fossil material has been discovered in the area since Teshik-Tash 1 in 1938. Here we describe and offer a preliminary comparative framework for hominin remains that were recovered in 2003 from two Middle Paleolithic sites in Uzbekistan, Obi-Rakhmat Grotto and Anghilak Cave. The description of Teshik-Tash as a Neandertal and the preponderance of lithic assemblages identified as Mousterian in character has supported the interpretation of the region as the eastern-most extent of the Neandertal range. The material from Obi-Rakhmat (OR-1), a subadult represented by part of a permanent maxillary dentition and a fragmentary cranium, expresses a relatively Neandertal-like dentition coupled with more ambiguous cranial anatomy. The remains from Anghilak Cave include a non-diagnostic, diminutive right fifth metatarsal (AH-1). These findings are important additions to the Central Asia hominin fossil record.
Glantz
Michelle
M
Department of Anthropology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1768, USA. mica.glantz@colostate.edu
Viola
Bence
B
Wrinn
Patrick
P
Chikisheva
Tatiana
T
Derevianko
Anatoly
A
Krivoshapkin
Andrei
A
Islamov
Uktur
U
Suleimanov
Rustam
R
Ritzman
Terrence
T
D000717:Anatomy, Comparative; D000818:Animals; D001209:Asia, Central; D003817:Dentition; D005580:Fossils; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D010161:Paleodontology; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000737:chemistry; D014610:Uzbekistan