Salé

Salé, site of paleoanthropological excavation near Rabat, Morocco, known for the 1971 discovery of a cranium belonging to the human genus (Homo). Tentatively dated to 400,000 years ago, the site contained a few animal fossils, but there were no associated stone tools.

The cranium is small and fine-featured without strong muscle markings. The brain size is within the range of Homo erectus but well below that of H. sapiens. Its long, low, and thick-walled braincase also aligns it with H. erectus. Other features, however, are similar to H. sapiens; these include the expanded sides (parietal bones) of the skull and a rounded rear portion, which has only a weakly developed ridge across it. There is a marked asymmetry in the back and base of the cranium that might imply some kind of pathology.

Because of its presumably pathological characteristics and its combination of H. erectus and H. sapiens characteristics, the Salé cranium is difficult to classify. It may belong with specimens of H. erectus of Africa (sometimes called H. ergaster) from sites such as Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) and Bouri (Ethiopia). However, it may be better classified as H. heidelbergensis, which is intermediate between H. erectus and H. sapiens.