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The '''Narmada Human''', originally the '''Narmada Man''', is a species of [[Homo|extinct human]] that lived in central India during the [[Chibanian|Middle]] and [[Late Pleistocene]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chakraborty |first1=Sayak |last2=Sachdeva |first2=Mohinder Pal |title=A Glimpse Into India's Palaeoanthropological Past: Fossil Primates of the Pliocene and the Pleistocene |journal=Journal of the Anthropological Survey of India |date=28 August 2023 |doi=10.1177/2277436X231189069 |s2cid=261373099 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=S. |date=2012-12-31 |title=Loneliness of Narmada Human |url=https://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/loneliness-of-narmada-human-39817 |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=Down to Earth |language=en}}</ref> From a [[skull cup]] discovered from the bank of [[Narmada River]] in Madhya Pradesh in 1982, the discoverer, Arun Sonakia classified it was an [[archaic human]] and gave the name Narmada Man, with the scientific name ''H. erectus narmadensis''.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Kennedy |first1=Kenneth A. R. |last2=Sonakia |first2=Arun |last3=Chiment |first3=John |last4=Verma |first4=K. K. |title=Is the Narmada hominid an IndianHomo erectus? |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |date=December 1991 |volume=86 |issue=4 |pages=475–496 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.1330860404 |pmid=1776655 }}</ref> Analysis of additional fossils from the same location in 1997 indicated that the individual could be a female, hence, a revised name, Narmada Human, was introduced. It had been variously reclassified as [[Early modern human|archaic ''Homo sapiens'']], evolved ''[[Homo erectus]]'', ''[[Homo heidelbergensis]],'' and dubiously{{Efn|The original publications in a predatory journal ''Advances in Anthropology'' from [[Scientific Research Publishing]]|group=lower-alpha}} as a distinct species, ''Homo narmadensis''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Anek R. |first=Sankhyan |date=2013 |title=The Emergence of Homo sapiens in South Asia: The Central Narmada Valley as Witness |url=https://www.humanbiologyjournal.com/article/the-emergence-of-homo-sapiens-in-south-asia-the-central-narmada-valley-as-witness-5/ |journal=Human Biology Review |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=136–152}}</ref> It remains the oldest human species in India.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-15 |title=Still a mystery |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/science-tech/still-a-mystery/cid/1536484 |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=The Telegraph |language=en}}</ref>

== Discovery ==
The Narmada Valley is one of the earliest and richest fossil sites India. The first fossils were discovered by British Army Captain [[William Henry Sleeman]] in 1828.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dhiman |first1=Harsha |last2=Verma |first2=Vishal |last3=Singh |first3=Lourembam R. |last4=Miglani |first4=Vaibhav |last5=Jha |first5=Deepak Kumar |last6=Sanyal |first6=Prasanta |last7=Tandon |first7=Sampat K. |last8=Prasad |first8=Guntupalli V. R. |title=New Late Cretaceous titanosaur sauropod dinosaur egg clutches from lower Narmada valley, India: Palaeobiology and taphonomy |journal=PLOS ONE |date=18 January 2023 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=e0278242 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0278242 |pmc=9848018 |pmid=36652404 |bibcode=2023PLoSO..1878242D |doi-access=free }}</ref> Sleeman found two backbones ([[caudal vertebrae]]) from the [[Lameta Formation]] at Jabalpur that were later identified as those of a dinosaur, ''[[Titanosaurus]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Prasad |first1=Guntupalli V.R. |title=Vertebrate biodiversity of the Deccan volcanic province of India: A review |journal=Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France |date=1 December 2012 |volume=183 |issue=6 |pages=597–610 |doi=10.2113/gssgfbull.183.6.597 }}</ref> Since then, many fossils of invertebrates and vertebrates have been discovered.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Turvey |first1=Samuel T. |last2=Sathe |first2=Vijay |last3=Crees |first3=Jennifer J. |last4=Jukar |first4=Advait M. |last5=Chakraborty |first5=Prateek |last6=Lister |first6=Adrian M. |title=Late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions in India: How much do we know? |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |date=January 2021 |volume=252 |pages=106740 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106740 |bibcode=2021QSRv..25206740T |s2cid=234265221 |url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10116065/12/Turvey_India_megafauna_paper_highlights.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-71370-6_21 |chapter=Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Paleontology of Late Cretaceous Bagh Beds, Narmada Valley, Central India: A Review |title=Mesozoic Stratigraphy of India |series=Society of Earth Scientists Series |date=2021 |last1=Bhattacharya |first1=Biplab |last2=Halder |first2=Kalyan |last3=Jha |first3=Suparna |last4=Mondal |first4=Prantik |last5=Ray |first5=Rupsa |pages=623–657 |isbn=978-3-030-71369-0 |s2cid=243574586 }}</ref> The search for prehistoric human remains in the region was inspired by the discovery of [[Stone Age]] [[hand axe]] by C.A. Hacket that was reported in 1873.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Khatri |first=A. P. |date=1963 |title=Recent Exploration for the Remains of Early Man in India |journal=Asian Perspectives |volume=7 |issue=1/2 |pages=160–182 |jstor=42929007 }}</ref>

In October 1982, the [[Geological Survey of India]] (GSI) assigned Arun Sonakia to explore [[Hoshangabad district]].<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Sonakia |first1=Arun |last2=Kennedy |first2=Kenneth A. R. |title=Skull Cap of an Early Man from the Narmada Valley Alluvium (Pleistocene) of Central India |journal=American Anthropologist |date=September 1985 |volume=87 |issue=3 |pages=612–616 |doi=10.1525/aa.1985.87.3.02a00060 |jstor=678879 }}</ref> On 5 December, Sonakia found a skull cup (calvaria) lying on the surface of an [[alluvial soil]] on the northern bank of Narmada River, near Hathnora village.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-12-27 |title=Narmada human |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/science-and-technology/article30162596.ece |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=Frontline |language=en}}</ref> The fossil was among several other fossils of horse, pig, ''[[Stegodon]]'' and various stone tools. After careful analysis of the skull cup as part of a prehistoric human, the discovery was officially announced by the government on 21–22 July 1983, and through the newsletter of GSI. In 1984, N. G. K. Murthy, Director of GSI Southern Region, presented the technical report to the Birla Archaeological and Cultural Geological Research Institute in Hyderabad.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kennedy |first1=Kenneth A.R. |last2=Chiment |first2=John |date=1991 |title=The fossil hominid from the Narmada Valley, India; Homo erectus or Homo sapiens? |url=https://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/BIPPA/article/view/11291/9931 |journal=Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association |volume=10 |pages=42–58|doi=10.7152/bippa.v10i0.11291 }}</ref> The same year, the first scientific paper by Sonakia appeared in the ''Records of the Geological Survey of India'' in which the fossil was described as ''Homo erectus narmadensis''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sonakia |first=Arun |date=1984 |title=The skull cap of early man and associated mammalian fauna from Narmada Valley alluvium, Hoshangabad area, Madhya Pradesh, India |url=https://paleocore.org/references/815/ |journal=Records of the Geological Survey of India |volume=113 |issue=6 |pages=159–172 |via=Paleo Core}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Kenneth A.R. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hZXSCQAAQBAJ&dq=sonakia+narmada+1982&pg=PA188 |title=Human Origins, Genome and People of India: Genomic, Palaeontological and Archaeological Perspectives |date=2007-05-16 |publisher=Allied Publishers |isbn=9798184241999 |editor-last=Rao |editor-first=V. R. |pages=188–192 |language=en |chapter=The Narmada Fossil Hominid}}</ref>

Sonakia displayed the fossil cast at the first<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lewin |first1=Roger |title=Ancestors Worshiped: Paleoanthropologists have been discussing their agreements and disagreements in the presence of most of the world's hominid fossils |journal=Science |date=4 May 1984 |volume=224 |issue=4648 |pages=477–479 |doi=10.1126/science.224.4648.477 |jstor=1692494 |pmid=17753761}}</ref> "Ancestors exhibit" of the [[American Museum of Natural History]] in New York during 6 to 10 April 1984.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal |last1=Sonakia |first1=Arun |last2=Kennedy |first2=Kenneth A. R. |title=Skull Cap of an Early Man from the Narmada Valley Alluvium (Pleistocene) of Central India |journal=American Anthropologist |date=September 1985 |volume=87 |issue=3 |pages=612–616 |doi=10.1525/aa.1985.87.3.02a00060 |jstor=678879 }}</ref> The exhibit was recorded the next year in the American Museum of Natural History's proceedings ''Ancestors, the Hard Evidence''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sonakia |first=Arun |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Py2OAAAAMAAJ&q=narmada |title=Ancestors, the Hard Evidence: Proceedings of the Symposium Held at the American Museum of Natural History April 6-10, 1984 to Mark the Opening of the Exhibition "Ancestors, Four Million Years of Humanity" |date=1985 |publisher=A.R. Liss/American Museum of Natural History |isbn=978-0-8451-0249-7 |editor-last=Delson |editor-first=Eric |pages=334–338 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |id={{ProQuest|1311711663}} |last1=Pietrusewsky |first1=Michael |title=''Ancestors: The Hard Evidence''. Eric Delson, editor (Book Review) |journal=Asian Perspectives |volume=27 |issue=2 |date=1986 |pages=285 }}</ref> In 1985, Sonakia sought the help of french palaeontologist [[Henry de Lumley]], with whom he made further descriptions in two articles simultaneously published in January issue of ''l'Anthropologie.''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lumley |first1=M. A. de |last2=Sonakia |first2=A. |date=1985 |title=Première découverte d'un Homo erectus sur le continent indien à Hathnora, dans la moyenne vallée de la Narmada |trans-title=First discovery of a Homo erectus on the Indian continent at Hathnora, in the middle Narmada valley |id={{INIST|12074337}} |journal=L'Anthropologie |language=fr |volume=89 |issue=1 |pages=13–61 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lumley |first1=H. de |last2=Sonakia |first2=A. |date=1985 |title=Contexte stratigraphique et archéologique de l'Homme de la Narmada, Hathnora, Madhya Pradesh, Inde |trans-title=Stratigraphic and archaeological context of Narmada Man, Hathnora, Madhya Pradesh, India |id={{INIST|12074336}} |journal=L'Anthropologie |language=fr |volume=89 |issue=1 |pages=3–12 }}</ref> The fossil was again identified as ''H. erectus''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bárcena |first=J. Roberto |date=1983–1985 |title=Lumley, Henry de y Sonakia, Arun: 1985. "Contexte stratigraphique et archéologique de l'homme de la Narmada, Hathnora, Madhya Pradesh, Inde". L'Anthropologie, t. 89, nº 1, pp. 3-12.. París. 9 figs. y 3 cuadros. |url=http://siip2019-2021.bdigital.uncu.edu.ar/objetos_digitales/14930/volcompleto-parte5.pdf |journal=Anales de Arqueología y Etnología |volume=38-40 |issue=Segunda parte |pages=327–330 |issn=0325-0288}}</ref>

[[Kenneth A. R. Kennedy]] of Cornell University conveyed the report in the ''Records of the Geological Survey of India'' to the [[American Anthropological Association]], which published it in its September 1985 issue of ''[[American Anthropologist]].'' In it, Sonakia gave a more careful description:<blockquote>The hominid fossil specimen, presently designated as "Narmada Man," is represented by a complete right half of the skull cap, to which a part of the left parietal is attached... [Its] cranial capacity... would fall around 1,200 cc... [It] bears a number of similarities to skulls of Asian ''Homo erectus'', hence an affinity of "Narmada Man" to ''Homo erectus'' is suggested.<ref name=":2" /></blockquote>Kennedy added a cautionary note that the fossil was an undetermined species of human ("hominid calvarium of ''Homo'' sp. indet.).<ref name=":3" />

== Note ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* [https://www.spektrum.de/lexikon/biologie/homo-erectus-narmadensis/32394 ''Homo erectus narmadensis'' in ''Spektrum'']
* [https://www.thebetterindia.com/91960/ramapithecus-sivapithecus-narmada-man-homo-erectus-early-humans-india/ Story in The Better India]

[[Category:1982 in paleontology]]
[[Category:Fossils of India]]
[[Category:Prehistoric India]]
[[Category:Human evolution]]
[[Category:Homo erectus fossils]]
[[Category:Pleistocene mammals of Asia]]
[[Category:Early species of Homo]]

Narmada Human - Revision history

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