KNM-WT 15000A, KNM-WT 15000, Turkana Boy, Human Fossil
Object Details
- Collector
- K. Kimeu
- Discipline
- Anthropology
- Region
- African Region
- Description
- This object is part of the Education and Outreach collection, some of which are in the Q?rius science education center and available to see.
- Geologic Age
- 1.6 mya
- Light beige skull cast of KNM-WT 15000A, part of a nearly complete skeleton called the 'Turkana Boy'. The 'Turkana Boy' skeleton has allowed scientists to find out a lot of information about body size, body shape, and growth rates of Homo erectus. His pelvis shows he was male. His second molars had erupted, but not his third (the wisdom teeth), indicating he was not an adult. The microscopic structure of his teeth tells us how quickly his teeth grew – and thus his age: eight or nine years old. Turkana Boy's cranial capacity at death was 880 cubic centimeters, but scientists estimate it would have reached 909 cubic centimeters if he had grown into adulthood. The Turkana Boy's species, Homo erectus, is the first known species to spread widely within Africa and throughout Asia, and Homo erectus made and used stone tools. The real skull is about 1.6 million years old. The cast measures around 20 cm x 13 cm x 11 cm in size. Find out more by visiting humanorigins.si.edu
- Number of objects in this record
- 1
- Record Last Modified
- 1 Nov 2023
- Collection Date
- 1984
- USNM Number
- EO401764
- Object Type
- Education and Outreach collections
- Is this real?
- No, it's a cast.
- Material
- Plastic, Paint
- Collecting Locality
- Nariokotome, West Turkana, Africa, Kenya, Turkana County
- Scientific Name
- Homo erectus
- See more items in
- Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center
- Taxonomy
- Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Tetrapoda, Mammalia, Theria, Primates, Hominidae
- Topic
- Education & Outreach
- Record ID
- nmnheducation_13109587
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3ca5a0b49-cfd7-4883-89f9-11c704be95ed
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.