Homo heidelbergensis

American  

[hoh-moh hahyd-l-ber-gen-sis] / ˈhoʊ moʊ ˌhaɪd l bərˈgɛn sɪs /

noun

1. an extinct species of the human lineage that lived between about 200,000 and 700,000 years ago, inhabiting Europe, eastern and southern Africa, and perhaps Asia: the first fossil specimen was discovered in a sandpit near Heidelberg, Germany, in 1907.

2. a fossil belonging to this species.

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Etymology

Origin of Homo heidelbergensis

From New Latin; Homo ( def. ) + heidelbergēnsis “pertaining to Heidelberg”

Example Sentences

Homo heidelbergensis and Homo naledi were living in Africa.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 23, 2023

Homo heidelbergensis possessed a large browridge and a bigger braincase and flatter face than earlier hominins - species on the human evolutionary lineage.

From Reuters • Sep. 20, 2023

Barham says several hominin species could have crafted these wooden objects—perhaps Homo erectus, which lived between two million and 100,000 years ago, or Homo heidelbergensis, which lived between 700,000 and 200,000 years ago.

From Scientific American • Sep. 20, 2023

Some scientists think that Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans all may have descended from Homo heidelbergensis.

From New York Times • Apr. 10, 2019

Homo heidelbergensis appears to be directly ancestral to all the later Hominidæ.

From Man, Past and Present by Haddon, Alfred Court