[Taxacom] Homo sapiens rhodesiensis (was "Is the Company..."

[Ken Kinman]

John Grehan asked:
 

 While we on this what do you make of the Broken Hill skull? I have heard people beginning to say it might be a Neanderthal precursor? 
 
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Hi John,
 
       I believe that the Broken Hill skull is the type specimen of Homo sapiens rhodesiensis.  It is more likely to be the ancestor (or sister group) of Homo sapiens idaltu and Homo sapiens sapiens.  The closely related Homo sapiens heidelbergensis is the likely ancestor of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis.  See my classification of genus Homo posted on Taxacom (in 2009) below.
 
    1  Homo habilis%
                   1  H. h. rudolfensis
                   2  H. h. habilis
                   3  {{H. erectus + H. sapiens}} 

  _a_ Homo erectus%
                    1  H. e. georgicus
                    ?  H. e. floresiensis ("hobbit")
                    2  H. e. ergaster
                    3  H. e. erectus
                  _a_  {{Homo sapiens}}  

    _a_ Homo sapiens
                    1  H. s. antecessor
                    B  H. s. cepranensis
                    2  H. s. heidelbergensis
                  _a_  H. s. neanderthalensis
                    3  H. s. rhodesiensis
                    4  H. s. idaltu
                    5  H. s. sapiens 
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