Homo gardarensis

Homo gardarensis (Gadarene Man) was the name mistakenly given to partial remains found in a burial at Garðar, Greenland in a 12th-century Norse settlement. Original statements compared the remains to Homo heidelbergensis but this identification was subsequently disproven. The bones were classified as the remains of a contemporary human with acromegaly, and put away at Panum Institute in Copenhagen.[1]

Discovery

In 1927 an archaeological dig by the Museum of Copenhagen investigated Garðar. During the excavation of the Garðar Cathedral Ruins, a large jawbone was found, as well as a large skull fragment. These were sent to the laboratory of Professor F. C. C. Hansen in early 1927.[2] He believed that the bones were that of a 40 or 50-year-old Norseman who had reverted to type. He published a preliminary account in the newspaper Berlingske in 1929.[3][4][5]

Reaction

Sir Arthur Keith devoted a chapter in his 1931 work New Discoveries Relating to the Antiquity of Man to the discovery.[6] He concluded that the skull represented an acromegalic person, after comparing photographs of the skull with skulls from known acromegalics like Charles Byrne, as well as the La Chapelle skull and Rhodesian skull.

References

  1. ↑ Eberhart, G.M. (2002). Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology. Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology. ABC-Clio. p. 535. ISBN 978-1-57607-283-7. Retrieved 3 July 2018. Possible explanation: Hall assigns both Homo sapiens rhodesiensis and Homo gardarensis to this category. ... However, the remains are now universally considered to be a medieval Norseman with acromegaly, a skull deformity caused by a ...
  2. ↑ Bennike, P.; Bonde, N. (1992). "Physical anthropology and Human Evolution in Denmark and other Scandinavian Countries". Human Evolution. Springer Nature. 7 (2): 69–84. doi:10.1007/bf02437455. ISSN 0393-9375. In the same study Hansen also described a very large and heavily built mandible and the posterior part of a skull. He compared the bones to the Neanderthaloid remains, but named the find Homo gardarensis after the site Gardar in Greenland ...
  3. ↑ Berlingske Tidende, June 23, 1929
  4. ↑ Hartmann, M.; Deutsche Botanische Gesellschaft, Berlin; Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft (1930). Berichte Biochemie und Biologie. Berichte über die gesamte Biologie (in German). Springer. p. 746. Retrieved 3 July 2018. Hansen, der bisher nur in der Tagespresse (Berlingske Tidende v. 23. VT. 1929 u. 4. VII. 1930) über den Fund berichtet hat, bezeichnete diese menschliche Form nach dem Fundort Gardar Homo gardarensis. Während Keith an die ...
  5. ↑ Fr. C. C. Hansen (1931). "Homo Gardarensis". Scandinavian Review. American-Scandinavian Foundation. pp. 412 ff. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  6. ↑ Keith, Arthur (1931). New Discoveries Relating to the Antiquity of Man. W.W. Norton & company. pp. 483–499 – via Hathi Trust. Available online
  • Keith, Arthur (21 June 1930). "Recent Discoveries of Fossil Man*". Nature. 125 (3164): 935–942. doi:10.1038/125935a0. (Subscription required (help)).
  • Smith, G. Elliot (27 June 1931). "Human Palæontology". Nature. 127 (3217): 963–967. doi:10.1038/127963a0. (Subscription required (help)).
  • Hawkins, Desmond (March 1992). "The diagnosis of pituitary disease from human skeletal remains". International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. 2 (1): 51–64. doi:10.1002/oa.1390020108. (Subscription required (help)).
  • Hall, M.A. (1999). Living Fossils: The Survival of Homo Gardarensis, Neandertal Man, and Homo Erectus. Primate origins series.
  • Kjærgaard, Peter C. (29 April 2014). "Inventing Homo gardarensis: Prestige, Pressure, and Human Evolution in Interwar Scandinavia". Science in Context. 27 (2): 359–83. doi:10.1017/S0269889714000106. PMID 24941795. (Subscription required (help)).
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