| Abstract: |
<p>Morphological affinities of the Sangiran 17 cranium are controversial. Opinions vary among researchers whether it should be classified into the Sangiran or Ngandon groups of Javanese <i>Homo erectus</i>, or another group of its own. By comparing the cranial vault of Sangiran 17 with expanded fossil samples from Sangiran and Ngandong, we assess its morphological characteristics. Sangiran 17 is similar to the other Sangiran crania in a low profile, cranial base architecture, and many of the external surface traits. At the same time, this specimen exhibits some affinities with the Ngandong crania in overall size, a relatively wide frontal squama, supraorbital torus morphology, and a few traits in th occipital bone including the long upper scale length. This supports the hypothesis the the Sangiran cranial assemblage with time span of c. 300,000-600,000 years does not represent a single homogeneous population, but includes temporally variable series of <i>Homo erectus</i> which later evolved into Sambungmacan and Ngandong forms of <i>Homo erectus</i>.
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