Who Was Homo Soloensis, the “Solo Man?”

It took nearly 90 years to uncover the mystery of Homo soloensis. Learn the unique contribution of the Solo Man's fossils in the narrative of human evolution.

By Gabe Allen
Oct 5, 2023 6:00 PM
Solo Man skull reconstruction
(Credit:Franz Weidenreich, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

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In 1931, geologists excavated skull fragments from a fossil bed along the Solo River in Java, an Indonesian island under Dutch colonial rule. Over the next two years, they uncovered 10 more skull specimens and two pieces from a tibia. The geologists identified the bones as belonging to a previously undiscovered ancient human, Homo soloensis.

Who Was Solo Man?

Solo Man, as the specimen came to be known, has been a point of curiosity among archaeologists ever since its discovery. The hominid resembled ancient human lineages more closely than modern-day humans, even though researchers found it in a relatively young fossil bed.

For many years, scientists wondered if Solo Man had coexisted, peacefully or tumultuously, alongside modern humans on the island of Java.

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