Are the Rudabánya finds sensational?
MúzeumCafé 7.
Prof. László Kordos, Geologist, director of the Geological Institute of Hungary
Recent excavations in Rudabánya have revealed new hominoid remains from the carbonic-clay deposits of former swamps, which preserve the fauna of ten million years ago, namely the entire top and bottom jaws of two specimens belonging to Anapithecus hernyaki. A turning point occurred in 1985 when a Rudapithecus skull was discovered in Rudabánya. The finds have anatomic characteristics from which can be derived the genealogical line to both humans and today’s African apes. In 1999 a Rudapithecus skull, named ‘Gabi’, was found, and later its bottom jaw and both hip bones were excavated. It turned out that two femurs discovered earlier also belonged to the hominoid. A new hypothesis emerged: Rudapithecus belongs to a species of Dryopithecus known earlier from Europe. Thus, according to the rules of zoology, which insist on use of the name written first, from then on in the academic literature Rudapithecus began to be mentioned under the name Dryopithecus brancoi. Among the Rudabánya hominoid finds, the number of which has increased to 230 during this year’s excavations, the Anapithecus continues to be regarded as a mysterious animal, all the discoveries of which – skull, feeding, ontogeny and movement, including those excavated in 2008 – bring us closer to learning the secret of the Rudabánya hominoids.
Dr. Mihály Gasparik, Palaeontologist, Department of Geology and Palaeontology, Hungarian Natural History Museum
The Rudabánya Old World monkeys have been regarded as of key importance from the aspect of human evolution. Professor Miklós Kretzoi who described the finds introduced a new genus and species name, Rudapithecus hungaricus. As far as we know, two hominoids lived in Rudabánya in the Late Miocene period: Dryopithecus brancoi and Anapithecus hernyaki. According to the analyses conducted by László Kordos and David Begun, the Dryopithecus remains mostly come from old specimens, but there are many younger bones among the Anapithecus finds. Consequently, it seems possible that Dryopithecuses of larger build (and possibly being more intelligent) sometimes hunted for the smaller Anapithecuses. This would not be surprising, since present-day chimpanzees engage in organised hunts for other monkeys, even for members of their own species. All this represents important data for learning about the history of our own species, Homo sapiens.