A reconsideration of the date of the Kanam jaw

In March 1932, during Dr L. S. B. Leakey's expedition to the southern shore of the Kavirondo Gulf of Victoria Nyanza, part of a fossil human mandible was discovered by Juma Gitau in an erosion gully in the early Pleistocene Kanam Beds at Kanam West. Since the Kanam jaw showed a well-defined chin, generally regarded as signifying Homo sapiens, it was for long placed in a “suspense account” and repeatedly doubts have been expressed as to whether it really did come out of the Kanam Beds.The composition of the jaw was tested at a number of points, both the bone (corpus mandibulae) and the dentine of the teeth and comparison made with analyses of mammal bones and teeth from the Kanam Beds at Kanam West. For convenience the results may be summarized as follows.