5 Homo sapiens: single or multiple origin? C.B. Stringer Introduction The origins of the varieties of modern humans have been a source of debate from before the time of Darwin, but discoveries in the last few years are beginning to throw a fascinating new light on this problem. Before I discuss these new discoveries, I ought to explain the way in which I use the term `modern' human or 'modern' Homo sapiens. For the last twenty years (Campbell 1964) the most widely adopted classification of early hominids has grouped a number of fossil forms such as Neanderthal man, Steinheim, Broken Hill, Solo, and 'Mount Carmel Man' as subspecies of our own species H. sapiens (e.g. as H. sapiens neanderthalensis, H. sapiens steinheimensis, H. sapiens rhodesiensis, H. sapiens soloensis, and H. sapiens palestinus, respectively). In this classification, modern humans are all referred to one subspecies H. sapiens sapiens (although earlier workers had referred the modern human varieties to different geographical subspecies as well). The present system of classifying fossil forms as subspecies of H. sapiens has various problems, not least because many workers now refer H. sapiens soloensis to H. erectus, and divide H. sapiens palestinus into two distinct groups corresponding with the subspecies neanderthalensis and sapiens. Worse still, the subspecies are not defined in a consistent fashion. So in this chapter, the terms 'modern humans' and 'H. sapiens' will be used to refer to the modern human type only, unless it is prefixed by some additional term such as 'archaic' or 'primitive'. A brief discussion is also necessary on a point which all too often receives no attention at all—what are the distinguishing features of (modern) H. sapiens? Some workers assume that everyone knows what anatomical cha- racters constitute the species H. sapiens, or that such a definition is arbitrary, but unless this definition is clearly spelt out there is no way of recognizing whether a particular fossil is of 'modern' morphology or not. 'Matters of opinion' are not enough in a field which already has more than its fair share of disagreements between workers. Here are some of the cranial characters which I use to recognize H. sapiens. Firstly, the cranial vault has a relatively rounded profile, with each of the midline bones (frontal, parietals, and 5 Homo sapiens: single or multiple origin? C.B. Stringer Introduction The origins of the varieties of modern humans have been a source of debate from before the time of Darwin, but discoveries in the last few years are beginning to throw a fascinating new light on this problem. Before I discuss these new discoveries, I ought to explain the way in which I use the term 'modern' human or 'modern' Homo sapiens. For the last twenty years (Campbell 1964) the most widely adopted classification of early hominids has grouped a number of fossil forms such as Neanderthal man, Steinheim, Broken Hill, Solo, and 'Mount Carmel Man' as subspecies of our own species H. sapiens (e.g. as H. sapiens neanderthqlensis, H. sapiens steinheimensis, H. sapiens rhodesiensis, H. sapiens soloensis, and H. sapiens palestinus, respectively). In this classification, modern humans are all referred to one subspecies H. sapiens sapiens (although earlier workers had referred the modern human varieties to different geographical subspecies as well). The present system of classifying fossil forms as subspecies of H. sapiens has various problems, not least because many workers now refer H. sapiens soloensis to H. erectus, and divide FL sapiens palestinus into two distinct groups corresponding with the subspecies neanderthalensis and sapiens. Worse still, the subspecies are not defined in a consistent fashion. So in this chapter, the terms 'modern humans' and 'H. sctpiens' will be used to refer to the modern human type only, unless it is prefixed by some additional term such as 'archaic' or 'primitive'. A brief discussion is also necessary on a point which all too often receives no attention at all-what are the distinguishing features of (modern) 1L sapiens2 Some workers assume that everyone knows what anatomical cha- racters constitute the species H. sapiens, or that such a definition is arbitrary, but unless this definition is clearly spelt out there is no way of recognizing whether a particular fossil is of 'modern' morphology or not. 'Matters of opinion' are not enough in a field which already has more than its fair share of disagreements between workers. Here are some of the cranial characters which I use to recognize H. sapiens. Firstly, the cranial vault has a relatively rounded profile, with each of the midline bones (frontal, parietals, and