FOSSIL SKULLS STONE TOOLS OVERVIEW HUMAN EVOLUTION 13 BIG QUESTIONS
Paranthropus boisei
Paranthropus boisei
Bradshaw Foundation Origins Archive
 
Paranthropus boisei or Australopithecus boisei was an early hominin, described as the largest of the Paranthropus genus (robust australopithecines). It lived in Eastern Africa during the Pleistocene epoch from about 2.3 [discovered in Omo in Ethiopia] until about 1.2 million years ago. The largest skull specimen found of Paranthropus boisei is dated to 1.4 million years old, discovered at Konso in Ethiopia.
PARANTHROPUS BOISEI
PARANTHROPUS BOISEI
Paranthropus boisei Ethiopia Africa
Genus: Paranthropus
Species: Paranthropus boisei
Other Names: Nutcracker Man
Time Period: 2.3 to 1.2 million years ago
Characteristics: Tool User
Fossil Evidence: Cranium Fossil, Tanzania, Africa
Bradshaw Foundation

PARANTHROPUS BOISEI
 
Paranthropus boisei
Paranthropus boisei
The well-preserved cranium of Paranthropus boisei was first discovered by Mary Leakey in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania in 1959. It was given the nick-name 'Nutcracker Man' because of its large flat cheek teeth and thick enamel. The fossil was dated to 1.75 million years old and had characteristics distinctive of the robust australopithecines. Mary Leakey’s son Richard discovered another skull at Koobi Fora near Lake Turkana in Kenya in 1969. It was Richard Leakey who stated that Paranthropus boisei was the first hominin species to use stone tools.
 
The relatively small brain size of 550 cm3 is similar to that of Australopithecus afarensis and Australopithecus africanus. Males were larger than females, as with all australopithecine species, standing 1.37 and 1.24 meters tall respectively. The skull was designed for heavy chewing of ground tubers, nuts and seeds. Paranthropus boisei inhabited savannah and woodland environments [McHenry, H.M.; Coffing. K. 2000].