Brief communication: evidence of pathology on the frontal bone from Gongwangling

The hominid fossil from Gongwangling (Lantian) is well known and described (Woo, [1965] Scientia Sinca 14:1032-1036; Woo [1966] Curr. Anthropol. 7:83-86; Wu and Dong [1985] in R Wu and JW Olsen (eds.): Palaeoanthropology and Paleolithic Archaeology in the People's Republic of China [New York: Academic Press, pp. 79-89]; Wu and Poirier [1995] Human Evolution in China: A Metric Description of the Fossils and a Review of the Sites [Oxford: Oxford University Press]). However, evidence of pathology on the frontal bone has been previously unreported. Two lesions occur on the right supraorbital region that can be distinguished from marks of erosion prevalent on this specimen. These are discrete and irregularly shaped, with evidence of secondary bone formation surrounding them. The cause of the condition is unclear. Possibilities include trauma or abscess from an unspecified infection.