View source for STS 71

{{short description|Fossilized skull of Australopithecus africanus found in South Africa}}
{{About|the hominid fossil STS 71|the Space Shuttle mission|STS-71}}
{{redirect|STS 36|the space shuttle mission|STS-36}}
{{Infobox fossil
| catalog number = STS 71
| common name =
| image = Sterkfontein Caves 4.jpg
| species = ''[[Australopithecus africanus]]''
| age = 2.5 mya
| place discovered =[[Sterkfontein]], [[South Africa]]
| date discovered = 1947
| discovered by = [[Robert Broom]]
}}
'''STS 71''' is a fossilized skull of the species ''[[Australopithecus africanus]]''. It was discovered in [[Sterkfontein]], [[South Africa]] by [[Robert Broom]] in 1947. In 1972 John Wallace connected STS 71 with STS 36, a lower jaw found in the same layer, by matching the wear patterns on the teeth.
It is estimated to be 2.5 million years old.
Its characteristics include a smaller cranium and facial features than other female Australopithecines finds yet the size of the teeth indicate this specimen to be male. The face shows forward projection and the position of the temporal lines high on the cranium indicate large chewing muscles. The brain is 428cc.
==See also==
* [[List of human fossils]]
* [[List of fossil sites]] ''(with link directory)''
* [[List of hominina fossils|List of hominina (hominid) fossils]] ''(with images)''
==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{cite book|author=Larsen, Clark Spencer, Matter, Robert M, Gebo, Daniel L|title=Human Origins: the fossil record|publisher=Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, IL|year=1991|isbn=0-88133-575-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/humanoriginsfoss0000lars}}
==External links==
* [https://www.nespos.org/display/PublicNesposSpace/STS+71 Metadata of STS 71 on NESPOS]
[[Category:Australopithecus fossils]]
[[Category:Archaeological discoveries in South Africa]]
[[Category:1947 archaeological discoveries]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Southern Africa]]
{{Paleo-hominin-stub}}