ABSTRACT
Abroad consensus among paleoanthropologistsholds that the Homo clade originated in Africa sometime between 2.0 and 3.0 Ma ago. However, a gap in the east African hominid fossil record spans the better part of this million year temporal interval. Although as many as three species of Homo greet the Pleistocene epoch in Africa [Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, and Homo erectus ( ergaster)], not one first appearance datum (FAD) for these taxa unequivocally predates 1.9 Ma (Kimbel, 1995; White, 1995), and their earlier Pliocene phylogenetic roots remain obscure (Wood, 1992). Therefore, any fossil specimen of Homo older than 2.0 Ma is potentially of great value.
