Homo heidelbergensis, meaning "Heidelberg Man", was an extinct species of archaic human in the genus Homo that radiated out from Africa into Europe and Asia around 700000 years ago. Originally thought to be ancestral to Homo sapiens, it's been theorized that heidelbergensis was instead ancestral to Homo neanderthalensis given their similar genetics and appearance. On average, Heidelberg Man was around 5 feet and 9 inches tall while the females were around 5'2", though a significant number of their population were routinely over 7 feet tall, an adaptation for chasing large ungulates and antelopes across grasslands as they left from Africa. We know a lot about the culture of Heidelberg Man: they may have been the first species in our genus to bury their dead, were mostly right-handed due to dental wear patterns on their teeth, and apparently taught both humans and Neanderthals the ability to created stone-tipped spears as the 3 species' ranges overlapped in both area and time.
I really need to meet the dude that somehow wound up figuring out what hand was predominant by studying teeth. He sounds like a dentist reject and nobody grows up wanting to be a dentist. That's sad compounded.
So as I was relieving myself upon my porcelain throne, I contemplated the worst job possible. I've come up with "wine taster". It sounds like a great job at first, until you realize you have to spit the wine out, that it requires a special tongue that can never be fully utilized, and deal with a shit-ton of "Polly want a cracker?" jokes.
Eyyyy Heidelberg dats me hometown guys!
Fun fact: the first skull was found not in Heidelberg itself, but Mauer, a city nearby. But people agreed that Mauer is too unknown, so they named it after Heidelberg instead lol.
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· 5 years ago
Yeah, Homo mauerensis doesn't have the same ring to it.
Fun fact: the first skull was found not in Heidelberg itself, but Mauer, a city nearby. But people agreed that Mauer is too unknown, so they named it after Heidelberg instead lol.