Discoveries at Dmanisi

A spectacular collection of skulls and skeletal bones from at least five individuals dating from 1.8 million years ago was unearthed at the site of Dmanisi in the Republic of Georgia. In this lecture, Leakey Foundation grantee David Lordkipanidze explores how the Dmanisi discoveries document the first expansion of hominins out of Africa and show that this was neither due to increased brain size, nor to improved technology. These discoveries include “Skull 5," the most complete early Homo skull ever found. The variation in the five different skulls from the same place and time yields exciting new evidence on the evolutionary biology of early Homo and supports the idea of a single evolving lineage of early Homo.

[@mnelson9057]

I hope the excavations are continuing in Dmanisi, and that nothing interrupts your progress. Great work, thank you.

[@Kinetic-Energy117]

Im in school now, to get my degree and earn the credentials to one day soon, be a member of the excavation team working for the Leakey Foundation in Africa.

[@johnfraser6013]

Wonderful presentation and good to see these archaeological finds from Georgia - thank you !! 👍👍

[@TERMICOBRA]

Thank you for the knowledge Mr. Lordkipanidze.

[@mnelson9057]

Thank you for this excellent lecture and your hard work. I hope the rema🎉50K square meters give up their secrets. I hope there aren’t any buried under those new builds. It’s all very exciting!

[@TheShootist]

refreshing to hear non-western sensibilities

[@robinmills9965]

When and where was this lecture?

[@thorium222]

28:59 Do I understand it correctly, that the Dmanisi skulls in the first line of this picture are from two different times, with the first four being from 1.8 million years ago while the last one (the most right) is from 2.1 million years ago? That would make sense as the last one also looks the most primitive (to me at least, really no expert). Edit: According to the video description, they are all the same age from 1.8 million years ago. Don't know there I got the idea from that one skull was older.

[@stefanthorpenberg887]

Yes, that’s the point in his presentation. They were all living at the same time, perhaps even in the same family group (?), but were so different. Like finding the remains of Mike Tyson and professor Hawkins, and come to the conclusion that Tyson was much earlier, where strength was important. But that Hawkins was 1 million years later, only brain and no functioning body.

[@jimmyjasi-anti-descartes7088]

@@stefanthorpenberg887 You mean Stephen Hawking?

[@johndock9164]

👍

[@GaryR55]

The "Caucasion" label is more about a mutation, or series of mutations, NOT a "race." There are no "races" in humanity, only mutations and adaptations as we've evolved over time. But, unfortunately, science and, especially biology and genetics, have been very late developments is human knowledge, so we are still very much saddled with and hampered by the impressions our ancient ancestors had when observing differences between humans. With no scientific explanation for what they saw, they arrived at conclusions that, unfortunately, have complicated human interactions.

[@GaryR55]

Looking at the map of Dmanisi and its geographical setting, I see that it's in the same area from which Haplogroup M269 emerged (my "people"). This wouldn't have occurred until the Neolithic, though (4,000-10,000 years ago).

[@jimmyjasi-anti-descartes7088]

Isn't that always the case? We are all "Chinese" in a sense that Archicebus Achilles (ancestor of all primates) have lived in China. The same with trying to made Africans look "primitive" because they happen to live on the same continent as our ancestors before departing Africa.

[@shadetreader]

It's beautifully fitting that such an early example of human solidarity comes from what became part of the Soviet Union ❤✊❤