Fossil/Locality: Bodo (Ethiopia)

Locality Date: ~ 0.6 MYA

Location: Bodo, Middle Awash region, Ethiopia

Short Site Description: The Bodo site is located in the Middle Awash region of Ethiopia,
a region known for its relative abundance of hominid fossils. The Bodo site in particular is
important in that it is one of the few localities with postcranial remains from the African
Middle Pleistocene.

Major Fossils: Bodo cranium and parietal (two individuals), humerus, other fragmentary
hominid remains

Fossil Significance: The cranium and parietal bones found at Bodo, along with the
assorted other contemporary fossils found at the site, point to a relative of Homo erectus
with many characteristics typical of later, more modern humans. The “mosaic” features of
the remains give insight into early speciation of H. erectus, and also provide one of the
best sources of information about African Middle Pleistocene.

History: The site at Bodo was excavated along with other localities in the Middle Awash
region between 1975 and 1978 as part of the Rift Valley Research Mission in Ethiopia
(RVRME), led by researcher J. E. Kalb. The cranium (in fragments) was discovered in
1976, and the parietal was discovered in 1981 by J. Desmond Clark during a return trip to
the Middle Awash. In 1990, Clark and T. D. White continued fieldwork, at which point a
distal humerus was discovered that pointed to further “mosaic” characteristics of the Bodo
hominids.

Primary Researcher(s): J. D. Clark, T. D. White, members of the RVRME

Major References:

Carretero, Jose Miguel, et al. "A partial distal humerus from the Middle Pleistocene
deposits at Bodo, Middle Awash, Ethiopia." Anthropological Science 0 (2008):
0807280042.

Rightmire, Philip G. "The human cranium from Bodo, Ethiopia: evidence for speciation in
the Middle Pleistocene?." Journal of Human Evolution 31.1 (1996): 21-39.

   
  
Bodo