Homo cepranensis
Homo cepranensis Temporal range: Pleistocene
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Species: | H. cepranensis
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†Homo cepranensis Mallegni et al., 2003
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Homo cepranensis is a proposed name for a human species, known from only one skull cap discovered in 1994. The fossil was discovered by archeologist Italo Biddittu and was nicknamed "Ceprano Man" after a nearby town in the province of Frosinone, 89 kilometers Southeast of Rome, Italy.
The age of the fossil is estimated to be between 350,000 to 500,000 years old.[3] An adjacent site, Fontana Ranuccio, was dated to 487,000 +/- 6000 years and Muttoni et al. suggest that Ceprano is most likely 450,000 years old. The cranial features on the bone seem to be intermediate between those found on Homo erectus and those of later species such as Homo heidelbergensis which dominated Europe long before Homo neanderthalensis. There is yet not enough material to make a complete analysis of the individual.