The Fascinating Dmanisi Skulls
The archaeological discovery in Dmanisi proved highly significant. The five skulls are sufficiently different from one another that, if they had been discovered in different locations, they would have been classified as ones from different species. However, scientists know from the context and surroundings in which they were discovered, that the five Dmanisi skulls belonged to members of the same species. The conclusion drawn from those differences and variations, seen within members of the same hominid species, might radically upend our understanding of hominid lineages.
The Dmanisi skulls demonstrate that early hominids had variations in appearance between members of the same species, just as modern humans have differences in appearance between each other. That casts doubt on the grounds for the classification of early hominids into different species such as Homo erectus, Homo habilis, and Homo rudolfensis, based on variations in their fossils. What if those skulls do not belong to different species? What if they belong to a single species whose individuals, as with the Dmanisi skulls or as with modern humans, simply have a variety of appearances?
