Maba Man

Maba Man (simplified Chinese: 马坝人; traditional Chinese: 馬壩人; pinyin: mǎbà-rén) is the pre-modern hominin whose remains were discovered in 1958 in caves near the town called Maba, near Shaoguan city in the north part of Guangdong province, China.[1][2]

Farmers found an ancient Maba cranium in 1958, near a Chinese village named Maba. Maba Man was labeled an intermediate in form between Homo erectus and H. sapiens, the remains are referred by many authorities to archaic H. sapiens or to an Asian extension of H. heidelbergensis.[3] As the scientists did more research on the Maba cranium, they found that the fossils consisted of a skull cap and parts of the right upper face, with parts of the nose also still attached. The scientists saw a connection with the Homo erectus because the brow ridges were pronounced, forming an arch over each eye and the bones of the brain-case were low and thick. [3] The scientist were able to conclude that the brain size of Maba Man was bigger than that of the Homo erectus because of the measurements and tests that they conducted with the fossils.

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  Maba Man bone
  The Smithsonian National Museum has labeled Maba Man as apart of the Homo heidelbergensis species. This particular species is known to have a very large browridge, and a larger braincase and flatter face than older early human species. It was the first early human species to live in colder climates; their short, wide bodies were likely an adaptation to conserving heat.[4]