Agamenón (hominin)
{{Short description|Hominin fossil}}
{{Infobox fossil|common name=Agamenón|catalog number=SH 4|species=Homo neanderthalensis|age=430 ka|place discovered=Atapuerca, Spain|date discovered=1992|discovered by=Paleontological teams|image=Skull4 3quarters Sima de los Huesos.jpg}}
Agamenón, also known as Agamemnon, is a fossil calvarium belonging to an early Neanderthal{{Cite journal |last=Stringer |first=Chris |date=2012 |title=The status of Homo heidelbergensis (Schoetensack 1908) |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/evan.21311 |journal=Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews |language=en |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=101–107 |doi=10.1002/evan.21311|pmid=22718477 |s2cid=205826399 }} that lived at the site of Atapuerca around 430,000{{Cite web |date=2019-10-12 |title=Museo de la Evolución Humana |url=https://www.museoevolucionhumana.com/es/noticias-cientificas/el-craneo-4-agamenon-que-representaba-el-caso-mas-antiguo-de-sordera-conocido-no-era-sordo-segun-un-nuevo-estudio |access-date=2023-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012110952/https://www.museoevolucionhumana.com/es/noticias-cientificas/el-craneo-4-agamenon-que-representaba-el-caso-mas-antiguo-de-sordera-conocido-no-era-sordo-segun-un-nuevo-estudio |archive-date=2019-10-12 }} years ago. The crania recovered from Sima de los Huesos have multiple specimen catalogues including Sima de los Huesos 4, SH 4, Cranium 4, Cr4,{{Cite journal |last1=Conde-Valverde |first1=Mercedes |last2=Martínez |first2=Ignacio |last3=Quam |first3=Rolf M. |last4=Bonmatí |first4=Alejandro |last5=Lorenzo |first5=Carlos |last6=Velez |first6=Alex D. |last7=Martínez-Calvo |first7=Carolina |last8=Arsuaga |first8=Juan Luis |date=2019-11-01 |title=The cochlea of the Sima de los Huesos hominins (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain): New insights into cochlear evolution in the genus Homo |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004724841930082X |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=136 |pages=102641 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102641 |pmid=31569005 |s2cid=203622602 |issn=0047-2484}} and Skull 4. Original analyses of the specimen concluded that the individual was deaf, although further study has proven that this is not the case. It is now held at the Museum of Human Evolution.{{Cite web |date=2019-10-11 |title="Agamenón", el homínido más famoso de Atapuerca, no estaba sordo |url=https://historia.nationalgeographic.com.es/a/agamenon-hominido-mas-famoso-atapuerca-no-estaba-sordo_14792 |access-date=2023-08-21 |website=historia.nationalgeographic.com.es |language=es}}
History
The specimen was discovered by paleontologists in 1992 and was catalogued as Skull 4. In 1997, the hearing capacity of the individual was evaluated and determined to be deaf based on a singular tomographic image,{{Cite web |title=Nuevas investigaciones sobre la audición del Cráneo 4 de la Sima de los Huesos |url=https://www.atapuerca.org/es/ficha/Z30A78991-9550-3C4C-8A993754D3781DC9/nuevas-investigaciones-sobre-la-audicion-del-craneo-4-de-la-sima-de-los-huesos |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=www.atapuerca.org |language=es-es}} contrary to more recent advances. It was discovered alongside Miguelón, SH 5.
Description
Agamenón is one of the most complete skulls for its chronological age of 430,000 years. In life, the Sima de los Huesos hominins had a hearing capacity that was very similar from Homo sapiens, but not identical. They were able to hear the majority of sounds that comprise human language with precision.{{Cite web |date=2019-10-09 |title=Desmontan el caso de sordera más antiguo: 'Agamenón' sí podía oir |url=https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/ciencia/2019/10/09/5d94d6c1fdddffe4508b4699.html |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=ELMUNDO |language=es}} In this individual, the canals of the ear were quite inhibited by a case of exostosis. However, contrary to previous belief, the individual was fully capable of hearing. Similar cases of exostosis are seen in recent skeletons, but also in European and Middle Eastern Neanderthals as well. The inner orbital edge differences (38 mm) are alike to Bilzingsleben.{{Cite journal |last1=Daura |first1=Joan |last2=Sanz |first2=Montserrat |last3=Arsuaga |first3=Juan Luis |last4=Quam |first4=Rolf |last5=Hoffmann |first5=Dirk L. |last6=Ortega |first6=Maria Cruz |last7=Santos |first7=Elena |last8=Gómez |first8=Sandra |last9=Rubio |first9=Ángel |last10=Villaescusa |first10=Lucia |last11=Souto |first11=Pedro |last12=Rodrigues |first12=Filipa |last13=Maurício |first13=João |last14=Ferreira |first14=Artur |last15=Godinho |first15=Paulo |date=2017 |title=O crânio humano acheulense do Plistocénico Médio da Gruta da Aroeira |url=https://repositorio.ul.pt/handle/10451/30464 |journal=Arqueologia em Portugal / 2017 – Estado da Questão |pages=295–302}} This skull and Miguelón differ in their vault shape, which is likely caused by allometry.{{cn|date=August 2023}} The cranial capacity is 1390 squared centimeters, which is very large for Middle Pleistocene Homo of such antiquity.{{Cite journal |last=Rightmire |first=G. Philip |date=2008-02-22 |title=Homo in the middle pleistocene: Hypodigms, variation, and species recognition |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/evan.20160 |journal=Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews |language=en |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=8–21 |doi=10.1002/evan.20160|s2cid=83587421 }}
= Pathology =
{{Multiple image
| image1 = Skull4 bottom Sima de los Huesos.jpg
| image2 = Réplicas de cráneo adulto (Agamenón). Sima de los Huesos.jpg
| total_width = 350
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SH 4 was originally suggested to have been deaf in life due to the strange shape of the cochlear bones. Previous research found that the irregularities blocked the canal, and as such classified the pathology as exostosis ('surfer's ear'). People who suffer from this condition may have episodic otitis externa, characterized by sensationalized plugging, pain, and purulent discharge from the ear. Exostosis is common in people who regularly contact with cold water, strong winds, and bacteria, or due to genetic heritability.{{cn|date=August 2023}}
Renewed study in 2019 suggests that the conclusions reached in 1997 are untrue, that the auditory canals were not sealed shut. Despite irregularity, three dimensional models of the bone indicates that the individual was able to hear. The 2019 study agrees, however, that the individual had exostosis, but not to a degree that caused deafness, as none of the other crania have the cochlear irregularities. They suggested that because of this, it was not caused by environmental factors that the entire population would have experienced, and infection may be a possible cause.