LH 4 or Laetoli Hominid 4[1] is the catalogue number of a fossilized mandible which was discovered by Mary Leakey in 1974 from Laetoli, Tanzania.[2]

Laetoli Hominid 4
Catalog no.LH 4
Common nameLaetoli Hominid 4
SpeciesAustralopithecus afarensis
Age2.9–3.9 million years
Place discoveredLaetoli, Tanzania
Date discovered1974
Discovered byMary Leakey

Mary Leakey and her team, including Tim White,[3] found between 1974 and 1977 forty-two hominid teeth associated with a jawbone. One of them was LH-4, a fine specimen with nine teeth. White described the fossils, and LH-4 was assigned as the "name-bearer" of the new species by Don Johanson and White.[3]

Observations

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The specimen is 2.9–3.9 million years old and is mandible of an adult Australopithecus afarensis with all molars present and a fairly large canine.[4][5] Most anterior teeth and rami are missing. But, the dental arcade is in a good condition with little or no evidence of distortion.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Lateoli". ntz.info. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  2. ^ a b "LH 4". eFossils. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  3. ^ a b Meredith, Martin (18 August 2011). Born in Africa: The Quest for the Origins of Human Life. Simon and Schuster. p. 288. ISBN 9780857206671.
  4. ^ Tanner, Nancy Makepeace (31 August 1981). "Evidence on the transition: what can the earliest hominid fossils reveal about the ancestral population and the translation?". On Becoming Human. CUP Archive. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-521-28028-0. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  5. ^ Clarke 2012, p. 48.

Bibliography

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