SK 847 is a fossil hominid cranium from South Africa dated to 1.8 to 1.5 million years ago. SK 847 was discovered on July 23, 1969 in Swartkrans, Republic of South Africa by Ronald Clarke, who is also credited with the discovery of "Little Foot". It is made up of three separate pieces including facial fragments, a temporal bone, and a maxilla. The maxilla, however, was discovered previously by Robert Broom in 1948. It was not until Clarke discovered the other two fragments did they know that the three pieces belonged to the same individual and were part of the same cranium. The sex of this individual is still unknown. This discovery is significant because it is evidence for early Homo in southern Africa living at the same time or even possibly later than Homo habilis and early Homo erectus in East Africa. Also, this fossil could give evidence of the earliest uses of controlled fire.
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- Ackermann, R.R., L. Schroeder, and F.L. Williams. 2012. The mid-face of lower Pleistocene hominins and its bearing on the attribution of SK 847 and STW 53. National Center for Biotechnology Information 63(4):245-57.
- Curnoe, Darren. 2010. "A review of early Homo in southern Africa focusing on cranial, mandibular and dental remains, with the description of a new species (Homo gautengensis sp. nov.)". National Center for Biotechnology Information 61(3):151-77.
- Edgar, Blake and Donald Johanson. 2006. From Lucy to Language. New York: Simon and Schuster.