LH 4 explained

Catalog Number:LH 4
Common Name:Laetoli Hominid 4
Species:Australopithecus afarensis
Age:2.9–3.9 million years
Place Discovered:Laetoli, Tanzania
Date Discovered:1974
Discovered By:Mary Leakey

LH 4 or Laetoli Hominid 4[1] is the catalogue number of a fossilized mandible which was discovered by Mary Leakey in 1974 from Laetoli, Tanzania.[2]

Mary Leakey and her team, including Tim White,[3] found between 1974 and 1977 forty-two hominid teeth associated with a jawbone. One of them was LH-4, a fine specimen with nine teeth. White described the fossils, and LH-4 was assigned as the "name-bearer" of the new species by Don Johanson and White.[3]

Observations

The specimen is 2.9–3.9 million years old and is mandible of an adult Australopithecus afarensis with all molars present and a fairly large canine.[4] Most anterior teeth and rami are missing. But, the dental arcade is in a good condition with little or no evidence of distortion.

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lateoli. ntz.info. 15 October 2012.
  2. Web site: LH 4. eFossils. 15 October 2012.
  3. Book: Meredith, Martin . Martin Meredith . Born in Africa: The Quest for the Origins of Human Life . . 18 August 2011 . 288 . 9780857206671.
  4. Book: Tanner, Nancy Makepeace . On Becoming Human . Evidence on the transition: what can the earliest hominid fossils reveal about the ancestral population and the translation? . https://books.google.com/books?id=_j45AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA169 . 16 October 2012 . 31 August 1981 . . 978-0-521-28028-0 . 180.