MAPA MAN

fossil fragments of an individual classified as homo sapiens, consisting of a frontal bone with parts of both eye sockets and part of the right half of the skull. The fragments were found in 1958 in a limestone cave at Ma-pa, Kwangtung Province, China. The skull is large, with rounded, capacious eye sockets and heavy browridges. The dating of the find is not conclusive, but it is believed the skull predates or is contemporaneous with Neanderthal man of Europe. It has been suggested this skull represents one member of an extinct population contemporaneous with, but distinct from, the Neanderthal peoples of Europe and western Asia.