Homo Ergaster Skull, Kenya ("Turkana Boy") dating to 1.6 million years ago.

The African form of Homo erectus is sometimes classified as Homo ergaster; such fossils are thought to be ancestral to modern humans, even though another bipedal lineage of the genus Paranthropus was also present in Africa and went extinct by one million years ago.

The Homo ergaster skull KNM-WT 15000, also known as "Turkana Boy" was discovered in 1984 in Nariokotome, Kenya.

The first fragment was found by K. Kimeu and the rest of the skeleton was excavated by R. Leakey, Walker and their team. The completeness of this skull allowed scientists to determine an estimated cranial capacity of 880cm3, however this could have been as high as 909cm3 had Turkana boy reached adulthood. (Modern human skull capacity averages 1,350 cc)

With approximately 40% of the skeleton recovered, anthropologists were able to gain a great deal of information regarding body size, limb proportions, and growth rates of Homo ergaster. Based on the pelvis and overall skeleton size, this individual was determined to be male. The lack of 3rd molar eruption and unfused post-cranial elements determined Turkana boy to about 11 to 12 years old at time of death.

He was still growing at 5 feet 3 inches tall and would have been over 6 feet tall as an adult. His cause of death was not certain, but an abscessed tooth suggests he might have died of septicemia. His skeleton shows no evidence of damage by scavengers, so his body was probably buried by floodwaters soon after death.

Separate cranium and mandible are made of polyurethane resin.
Custom stand is a metal base and rod with a resin cradle, coated with thin rubber to prevent scratching and damage to the paint on the skull.