*Bone Clones Homo heidelbergensis Mandible Mauer 1 (REPLICA) KO-246
The Mauer mandible was found by mine workers in 1907 in Heidelberg, Germany. The nearly complete mandible (only missing premolars and 2 left molars) is one of the oldest archaic human remains found in Europe, dated from approximately 600,000 years ago.
The mandible itself is large, distinguishing it right away from other human fossil mandibles. The molars are smaller than Homo erectus and more similar in size to those of early modern humans. The teeth lack Neanderthal features, however like Neanderthals, the Mauer mandible lacks a chin. With this mosaic of features in the jaw, this specimen has been assigned as the holotype of H. heidelbergensis (a holotype is a single specimen that is used to define a taxonomic group). The mixture of traits and the early date of this species suggests that H. heidelbergensis preceded Neanderthals and modern humans.