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The Ādam Paradox Hypothesis
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Herto (~160 ka): Homo sapiens idaltu
At Herto, Ethiopia, Tim White’s team discovered three crania dated to
~160 ka. One belonged to a child; two were adult males with cranial
capacities of ~1,450 cc—larger than today
’s average (White et al., 2003).
White named them Homo sapiens idaltu,
“elder” humans.
Their toolkits were Acheulo-Levalloisan: practical, sharp, versatile—but not
symbolic. White himself noted: “We see sophistication in butchery and technology,
but nothing we can call symbolic” (White et al., 2003, p. 742).
Table 2.1 — Anatomy vs. Symbolic Continuity
Takeaway: By ~200 ka, humans had modern anatomy and brains within
our range—but no durable symbols.
Figure 2.1 — Fossil Milestones of Anatomical Modernity
Left to right: Jebel Irhoud 1 (Morocco,
~315 kya) with modern face and archaic brain vault;
Omo I (Kibish, Ethiopia,
~195 kya), a fully modern Homo sapiens skeleton; Herto (Idaltu,
Middle Awash, Ethiopia,
~160 kya) exhibiting transitional-modern crania (~1,450 cc). These
fossils collectively demonstrate significant anatomical modernity long before evidence of symbolic
culture.
