Georgia the Homo Erectus Georgicus

thingiverse

Meet Georgia, the Homo erectus georgicus, a species that has sparked debate among scientists due to its age and extensive geographic distribution, spanning from Korea to Indonesia, southern England to South Africa. Was there a multitude of distinct hominin species roaming around 1+ million years ago or were they all part of one incredibly diverse species? Georgia is based on the Dmanisi Skull 3, discovered in 2001 in Dmanisi, Georgia. She was approximately 13-15 years old when she passed away, 1.8 million years ago. Accompanying her skull were four other skulls found nearby. Georgia's skull was relatively small, with a cranial capacity of around 600 cm, significantly smaller than even other Homo erectuses, who typically measure more around 850 and some of whom surpass 1,000. However, this might not be entirely fair to someone who died before reaching full growth, and humans are dimorphic, meaning female skulls tend to be slightly smaller than male ones. In contrast, chimps have a maximum cranial capacity of about 480 cm, while humans boast around 1,400 cm. Neanderthals often had larger skulls than us. So, Homo Georgicus was likely not the most intelligent hominin in the family tree, but it could create and control fire, craft stone tools, walk upright, and probably lived in closer-knit family groups than chimps or australopithecines. Later Homo erectuses mastered water travel, essential for reaching the Island of Flores in Indonesia, though this was likely irrelevant to mountain-dwelling Georgia. I have striven to create this sculpture as accurately as possible based on the Dmanisi Skull 3; please let me know if you spot any inaccuracies or suggest improvements. I haven't had a chance to actually 3D print it yet because my printer has not arrived (I'm just preparing for when it does.) Enjoy!