Bodo

Bodo, site of paleoanthropological excavation in the Awash River valley of Ethiopia known for the 1976 discovery of a 600,000-year-old cranium that is intermediate in shape between Homo erectus and H. sapiens; many authorities classify it as a separate species called H. heidelbergensis. Bodo has also yielded abundant animal fossils and Stone Age tools of the Oldowan and Acheulean industries.

The Bodo cranium resembles specimens attributed to H. erectus in having prominent browridges, a massive face, and thick cranial bones. Its brain size, however, is larger than most H. erectus specimens and is within the range of H. sapiens. There are several other modern traits as well, including the orientation of the lateral borders of the nose. Overall, the skull is most similar to those of Kabwe (Broken Hill), Zambia, and Petralona, Greece, which are also attributed to H. heidelbergensis. Whatever the classification, the Bodo specimen reveals a transitional morphology between early members of the genus Homo and modern humans. One remarkable feature of the Bodo cranium is the presence of cut marks on the face and braincase within the eye socket. These appear to have been made at the time of death by sharp-edged stone tools.