Kabwe 1

14°27′36″S 28°25′34″E / 14.460°S 28.426°E / -14.460; 28.426

Kabwe 1, also known as Broken Hill Man or Rhodesian Man, is a nearly complete archaic human skull discovered in 1921 at the Kabwe mine, Zambia (at the time, Broken Hill mine, Northern Rhodesia). It dates to around 300,000 years ago, possibly contemporaneous with modern humans and Homo naledi. It was the first archaic human fossil discovered in Africa. Kabwe 1 was found near an exceptionally well-preserved tibia, as well as a femoral fragment and potentially other bones whose provenance is uncertain. The fossils were sent to the British Museum, where English palaeontologist Sir Arthur Smith Woodward described them as a new species: Homo rhodesiensis. Kabwe 1 is now generally classified as H. heidelbergensis. Zambia is negotiating with the UK for repatriation of the fossil.

Kabwe 1 is characterised by a massive brow ridge (supraorbital torus), a low and long forehead, a prominence at the back of the skull, thickened bone, and a proportionally narrow lower face. The tibia may have belonged to an individual who was about 179–184 cm (5 ft 10 in – 6 ft 0 in) and 63–81 kg (139–179 lb) in life, making it one of the largest known archaic humans. Kabwe 1 presents severe tooth decay, possibly caused by overloading of the teeth, age, and lead poisoning, which may have become septic and ultimately lead to the death of the individual.

Kabwe 1 is associated with Middle Stone Age tools made of quartz, possibly of the Lupemban culture. Kabwe 1 may have inhabited a cavern and butchered mainly large hoofed mammals. The Kabwe site probably featured miombo woodlands and dambos, like in recent times.