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Lewis JE, Ward CV, Kimbel WH, Kidney CL, Brown FH, Quinn RL, Rowan J, Lazagabaster IA, Sanders WJ, Leakey MG, Leakey LN. A 4.3-million-year-old Australopithecus anamensis mandible from Ileret, East Turkana, Kenya, and its paleoenvironmental context. J Hum Evol 2024; 194:103579. [PMID: 39173445 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2024] [Revised: 07/26/2024] [Accepted: 07/27/2024] [Indexed: 08/24/2024]
Abstract
A hominin mandible, KNM-ER 63000, and associated vertebrate remains were recovered in 2011 from Area 40 in East Turkana, Kenya. Tephrostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic analyses indicate that these fossils date to ∼4.3 Ma. KNM-ER 63000 consists of articulating but worn and weathered mandibular corpora, with a broken right M2 crown and alveoli preserved at other tooth positions. Despite extensive damage, KNM-ER 63000 preserves diagnostic anatomy permitting attribution to Australopithecus anamensis. It can be distinguished from Australopithecus afarensis by its strongly inclined symphyseal axis with a basally convex, 'cut-away' external surface, a lateral corpus that sweeps inferomedially beneath the canine-premolar row, and alignment of the canine alveolus with the postcanine axis. KNM-ER 63000 is distinguished from Ardipithecus ramidus by its thick mandibular corpus and large M2 crown. The functional trait structure and enamel's stable carbon isotopic composition of the Area 40 large-mammal community suggests an environment comparable to Kanapoi and other ∼4.5-4 Ma eastern African sites that would have offered Au. anamensis access to both C3 and C4 food resources. With an age of ∼4.3 Ma, KNM-ER 63000 is the oldest known specimen of Au. anamensis, predating the Kanapoi and Asa Issie samples by at least ∼100 kyr. This specimen extends the known temporal range of Au. anamensis and places it in temporal overlap with fossils of Ar. ramidus from Gona, Ethiopia. The morphology of KNM-ER 63000 indicates that the reconfigured masticatory system differentiating basal hominins from the earliest australopiths existed in the narrow temporal window, if any, separating the two. The very close temporal juxtaposition of these significant morphological and adaptive differences implies that Ar. ramidus was a relative rather than a direct phyletic ancestor of earliest Australopithecus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason E Lewis
- Turkana Basin Institute, Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Chronicle Heritage, 319 E Palm Lane, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
| | - Carol V Ward
- Department of Pathology & Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA.
| | - William H Kimbel
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4101, USA
| | - Casey L Kidney
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0112, USA
| | - Frank H Brown
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0112, USA
| | - Rhonda L Quinn
- School of Earth, Environment & Society, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403-0085, USA
| | - John Rowan
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ignacio A Lazagabaster
- National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, Burgos 09002, Spain; Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK
| | - William J Sanders
- Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1085, USA
| | - Meave G Leakey
- Turkana Basin Institute, Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
| | - Louise N Leakey
- Turkana Basin Institute, Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Department of Paleontology, National Museums of Kenya, Museum Hill, Nairobi, Kenya
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Rowan J, Du A, Lundgren EJ, Faith JT, Beaudrot L, Campisano CJ, Joordens JC, Lazagabaster IA, Locke EM, Smail IE, Reed KE, Kamilar JM. Long-term biotic homogenization in the East African Rift System over the last 6 million years of hominin evolution. Nat Ecol Evol 2024:10.1038/s41559-024-02462-0. [PMID: 39009848 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02462-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/17/2024]
Abstract
Eastern Africa preserves the most complete record of human evolution anywhere in the world but we have little knowledge of how long-term biogeographic dynamics in the region influenced hominin diversity and distributions. Here, we use spatial beta diversity analyses of mammal fossil records from the East African Rift System to reveal long-term biotic homogenization (increasing compositional similarity of faunas) over the last 6 Myr. Late Miocene and Pliocene faunas (~6-3 million years ago (Ma)) were largely composed of endemic species, with the shift towards biotic homogenization after ~3 Ma being driven by the loss of endemic species across functional groups and a growing number of shared grazing species. This major biogeographic transition closely tracks the regional expansion of grass-dominated ecosystems. Although grazers exhibit low beta diversity in open environments of the Early Pleistocene, the high beta diversity of Mio-Pliocene browsers and frugivores occurred in the context of extensive woody vegetation. We identify other key aspects of the Late Cenozoic biogeographic development of eastern Africa, their likely drivers and place the hominin fossil record in this context. Because hominins were undoubtedly influenced by many of the same factors as other eastern African mammals, this provides a new perspective on the links between environmental and human evolutionary histories.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Rowan
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Andrew Du
- Department of Anthropology and Geography, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Erick J Lundgren
- Centre for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - J Tyler Faith
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Origins Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Lydia Beaudrot
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
- Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Christopher J Campisano
- Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Josephine C Joordens
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Ignacio A Lazagabaster
- CENIEH (National Research Center on Human Evolution), Burgos, Spain
- Department of Evolution, Ecology & Behaviour, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Ellis M Locke
- Department of Anatomy, Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine, Idaho, ID, USA
| | - Irene E Smail
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, Lewisburg, WV, USA
| | - Kaye E Reed
- Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Jason M Kamilar
- Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
- Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
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3
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Boës X, Van Bocxlaer B, Prat S, Feibel C, Lewis J, Arrighi V, Taylor N, Harmand S. Aridity, availability of drinking water and freshwater foods, and hominin and archeological sites during the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene in the western region of the Turkana Basin (Kenya): A review. J Hum Evol 2024; 186:103466. [PMID: 38134581 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Although the Turkana Basin is one of the driest regions of the East African Rift, its Plio-Pleistocene sediments are rich in freshwater vertebrates and invertebrates, providing evidence that freshwater resources were available to hominins in this region during the Plio-Pleistocene (4.2-0.7 Ma). Here we provide an overview of the hydroconnectivity of the Turkana Basin. We then review the period during which freshwater river and lake systems expanded into the western region of the Turkana Basin, where hominin and archeological sites have been discovered in sediments dating back to the Late Pliocene-Pleistocene. Freshwater conditions are reconstructed from river and lake sediments and the flora and micro- and macofauna they contain. Data synthesis suggests that drinking water and freshwater foods prevailed in the western region of the Turkana Basin at 4.20-3.98 Ma, 3.70-3.10 Ma, 2.53-2.22 Ma, then between 2.10 and 1.30 Ma and intermittently from 1.27 to 0.75 Ma. Milestones in hominin evolution occurred in this context, such as the first occurrence of Australopithecus anamensis (4.20-4.10 Ma) and Kenyanthropus platyops (3.50 Ma and 3.30-3.20 Ma), the presence of Paranthropus aethiopicus (2.53-2.45 Ma), early Homo (2.33 Ma), Paranthropus boisei (2.25 Ma and 1.77-1.72 Ma) and Homo ergaster/Homo erectus (1.75 Ma, 1.47-1.42 Ma and 1.10-0.90 Ma). Developments in hominin behavior also occurred during this timeframe, including the first known stone tools (3.30 Ma), the oldest Oldowan sites (2.34 Ma and 2.25 Ma) in the Turkana Basin, the earliest known evidence for the emergence of bifacial shaping in eastern Africa (1.80 Ma), and the first known Acheulean site (1.76 Ma). Our synthesis suggests that, diachronic variation in hydroconnectivity played a role on the amount of drinking water and freshwater foods available in the western region of the Turkana Basin, despite regional aridity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Boës
- Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives (INRAP), 140 Avenue Du Maréchal Leclerc, 33323 Bordeaux-Bègles, France; CNRS/MNHN/UPVD, Alliance Sorbonne Université, UMR 7194, Musée de L'Homme, Palais Chaillot, 17 Place Du Trocadéro, 75116 Paris Cedex 16, France; Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
| | | | - Sandrine Prat
- CNRS/MNHN/UPVD, Alliance Sorbonne Université, UMR 7194, Musée de L'Homme, Palais Chaillot, 17 Place Du Trocadéro, 75116 Paris Cedex 16, France
| | - Craig Feibel
- Department of Anthropology and Center for Human Evolutionary Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Jason Lewis
- Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA; Chronicle Heritage, 319 E Palm Lane, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
| | - Vincent Arrighi
- Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives (INRAP), 13 Rue Du Négoce, 31650 Orens de Gameville, France
| | - Nicholas Taylor
- Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA; Turkana University College, Lodwar Rd., Lodwar, Kenya
| | - Sonia Harmand
- Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA; Laboratoire TRACES-UMR 5608, Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, Maison de La Recherche, 5 Allée Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse, France; Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique (IFRA), UMIFRE, USR 3336, CNRS, Laikipia Road, Kileleshwa, Nairobi, Kenya
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4
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Wynn JG, Dumouchel L, Drapeau MSM. Paleoenvironments represented by the sediments of the Early Pliocene Mursi Formation, Omo Valley, Ethiopia. J Hum Evol 2023; 181:103410. [PMID: 37454604 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 06/10/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
While our understanding of human origins has been enriched by extensive efforts to reconstruct the ancient environmental context of early hominins using information from hominin-bearing localities, comparatively little effort has been focused on contemporaneous fossil localities with abundant vertebrate fossils, but lacking hominins. We report here on new paleoenvironmental reconstructions of the Mursi Formation, Ethiopia, from which strata dated to >4 Ma preserve an abundant vertebrate fossil record lacking any known hominins, despite being part of a contiguous sedimentary basin known for its rich hominin fossil record. We combine new stratigraphic and sedimentological observations with data from paleosols preserved in the sedimentary sequence, along with isotopic data from pedogenic carbonate, paleosol organic matter, and sulfur minerals preserved in the sediments (gypsum, native sulfur). Paleosol features and carbon isotopic composition of fossil organic matter and pedogenic carbonate complement data from the mammalian fauna, the sum of which provide evidence of closed woodland to forest vegetation. Sedimentological data indicate that these wooded terrestrial habitats occurred near aquatic settings characterized by stagnant shallow waters of a freshwater lake, providing a reconstruction of unique habitats in contrast with hominin localities >4 Ma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan G Wynn
- Division of Earth Sciences, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Ave, Alexandria, VA, 22314, USA.
| | - Laurence Dumouchel
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Science and Engineering Hall, 800 22nd St. NW, Ste 6000, Washington, DC, 20052, USA
| | - Michelle S M Drapeau
- Département d'anthropologie, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3J7, Canada
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Villaseñor A, Uno KT, Kinyanjui RN, Behrensmeyer AK, Bobe R, Advokaat EL, Bamford M, Carvalho SC, Hammond AS, Palcu DV, Sier MJ, Ward CV, Braun DR. Pliocene hominins from East Turkana were associated with mesic environments in a semiarid basin. J Hum Evol 2023; 180:103385. [PMID: 37229946 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
During the middle Pliocene (∼3.8-3.2 Ma), both Australopithecus afarensis and Kenyanthropus platyops are known from the Turkana Basin, but between 3.60 and 3.44 Ma, most hominin fossils are found on the west side of Lake Turkana. Here, we describe a new hominin locality (ET03-166/168, Area 129) from the east side of the lake, in the Lokochot Member of the Koobi Fora Formation (3.60-3.44 Ma). To reconstruct the paleoecology of the locality and its surroundings, we combine information from sedimentology, the relative abundance of associated mammalian fauna, phytoliths, and stable isotopes from plant wax biomarkers, pedogenic carbonates, and fossil tooth enamel. The combined evidence provides a detailed view of the local paleoenvironment occupied by these Pliocene hominins, where a biodiverse community of primates, including hominins, and other mammals inhabited humid, grassy woodlands in a fluvial floodplain setting. Between <3.596 and 3.44 Ma, increases in woody vegetation were, at times, associated with increases in arid-adapted grasses. This suggests that Pliocene vegetation included woody species that were resilient to periods of prolonged aridity, resembling vegetation structure in the Turkana Basin today, where arid-adapted woody plants are a significant component of the ecosystem. Pedogenic carbonates indicate more woody vegetation than other vegetation proxies, possibly due to differences in temporospatial scale and ecological biases in preservation that should be accounted for in future studies. These new hominin fossils and associated multiproxy paleoenvironmental indicators from a single locale through time suggest that early hominin species occupied a wide range of habitats, possibly including wetlands within semiarid landscapes. Local-scale paleoecological evidence from East Turkana supports regional evidence that middle Pliocene eastern Africa may have experienced large-scale, climate-driven periods of aridity. This information extends our understanding of hominin environments beyond the limits of simple wooded, grassy, or mosaic environmental descriptions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amelia Villaseñor
- Department of Anthropology, The University of Arkansas, 330 Old Main, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA.
| | - Kevin T Uno
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Division of Biology and Paleo Environment, Palisades, NY, 10964, USA
| | - Rahab N Kinyanjui
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, 40658-00100, Kenya; Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, 07745, Jena, Germany; Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, MRC 121, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
| | - Anna K Behrensmeyer
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, MRC 121, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
| | - René Bobe
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, 64 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 6PN, UK; Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique
| | - Eldert L Advokaat
- Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8A, 3584 CB Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Marion Bamford
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, P Bag 3, WITS, 2050, South Africa
| | - Susana C Carvalho
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, 64 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 6PN, UK; Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique; Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB), Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal
| | - Ashley S Hammond
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), New York, NY, 10024, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology at AMNH, New York, NY, 10024, USA
| | - Dan V Palcu
- Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo, Brazil; Paleomagnetic Laboratory 'Fort Hoofddijk', Utrecht University, Budapestlaan 17, 3584 CD, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Mark J Sier
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain; Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, OX1 3AN, Oxford, UK; Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8A, 3584 CB Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Carol V Ward
- Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - David R Braun
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Anthropology Department, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
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Zhang Q, Ye J, Le C, Njenga DM, Rabarijaona NR, Omollo WO, Lu L, Liu B, Chen Z. New insights into the formation of biodiversity hotspots of the Kenyan flora. DIVERS DISTRIB 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Jian‐Fei Ye
- Beijing Botanical Garden Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Chi‐Toan Le
- Ha Noi Pedagogical University 2 Phuc Yen Vietnam
| | - Dennis Mwithukia Njenga
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Narindra Romer Rabarijaona
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Wyckliffe Omondi Omollo
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Li‐Min Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Bing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Sino‐Africa Joint Research Center Chinese Academy of Sciences Wuhan China
| | - Zhi‐Duan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Sino‐Africa Joint Research Center Chinese Academy of Sciences Wuhan China
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Brochu CA, de Celis A, Adams AJ, Drumheller SK, Nestler JH, Benefit BR, Grossman A, Kirera F, Lehmann T, Liutkus-Pierce C, Manthi FK, McCrossin ML, McNulty KP, Nyaboke Juma R. Giant dwarf crocodiles from the Miocene of Kenya and crocodylid faunal dynamics in the late Cenozoic of East Africa. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2022; 305:2729-2765. [PMID: 35674271 PMCID: PMC9541231 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
We describe two new osteolaemine crocodylids from the Early and early Middle Miocene of Kenya: Kinyang mabokoensis tax. nov. (Maboko, 15 Ma) and Kinyang tchernovi tax. nov. (Karungu and Loperot, 18 Ma). Additional material referable to Kinyang is known from Chianda and Moruorot. The skull was broad and dorsoventrally deep, and the genus can be diagnosed based on the combined presence of a partial overbite, a subdivided fossa for the lateral collateral ligament on the surangular, and a maxilla with no more than 13 alveoli. Phylogenetic analyses based on morphological and combined morphological and molecular data support a referral of Kinyang to Osteolaeminae, and morphological data alone put the new taxon at the base of Euthecodontini. Some Kinyang maxillae preserve blind pits on the medial caviconchal recess wall. Kinyang co‐occurs with the osteolaemine Brochuchus at some localities, and together, they reinforce the phylogenetic disparity between early Neogene osteolaemine‐dominated faunas and faunas dominated by crocodylines beginning in the Late Miocene in the Kenya Rift. The causes of this turnover remain unclear, though changes in prevailing vegetation resulting from tectonic and climatic drivers may provide a partial explanation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Brochu
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Ane de Celis
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain
| | - Amanda J Adams
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, USA
| | - Stephanie K Drumheller
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Jennifer H Nestler
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Brenda R Benefit
- Department of Anthropology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
| | - Aryeh Grossman
- Department of Anatomy, College of Graduate Studies, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, USA.,Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, USA.,Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, USA
| | - Francis Kirera
- Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, Georgia, USA
| | - Thomas Lehmann
- Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Cynthia Liutkus-Pierce
- Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, USA
| | - Fredrick K Manthi
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Monte L McCrossin
- Department of Anthropology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
| | - Kieran P McNulty
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Rose Nyaboke Juma
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
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8
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Can East African rift basalts sequester CO2? Case study of the Kenya rift. SCIENTIFIC AFRICAN 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.sciaf.2021.e00924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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9
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Quinn RL, Lepre CJ. Contracting eastern African C 4 grasslands during the extinction of Paranthropus boisei. Sci Rep 2021; 11:7164. [PMID: 33785831 PMCID: PMC8009881 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-86642-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The extinction of the Paranthropus boisei estimated to just before 1 Ma occurred when C4 grasslands dominated landscapes of the Eastern African Rift System (EARS). P. boisei has been characterized as an herbivorous C4 specialist, and paradoxically, its demise coincided with habitats favorable to its dietary ecology. Here we report new pedogenic carbonate stable carbon (δ13CPC) and oxygen (δ18OPC) values (nodules = 53, analyses = 95) from an under-sampled interval (1.4-0.7 Ma) in the Turkana Basin (Kenya), one of the most fossiliferous locales of P. boisei. We combined our new results with published δ13CPC values from the EARS dated to 3-0 Ma, conducted time-series analysis of woody cover (ƒWC), and compared the EARS ƒWC trends to regional and global paleo-environmental and -climatic datasets. Our results demonstrate that the long-term rise of C4 grasslands was punctuated by a transient but significant increase in C3 vegetation and warmer temperatures, coincident with the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (1.3-0.7 Ma) and implicating a short-term rise in pCO2. The contraction of C4 grasslands escalated dietary competition amongst the abundant C4-feeders, likely influencing P. boisei's demise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rhonda L Quinn
- Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work and Criminal Justice, Seton Hall University, 400 South Orange Ave, South Orange, NJ, 07079, USA.
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, 610 Taylor Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA.
| | - Christopher J Lepre
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, 610 Taylor Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
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10
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Dumouchel L, Bobe R, Wynn JG, Barr WA. The environments of Australopithecus anamensis at Allia Bay, Kenya: A multiproxy analysis of early Pliocene Bovidae. J Hum Evol 2021; 151:102928. [PMID: 33453510 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Australopithecus anamensis, among the earliest fully bipedal hominin species, lived in eastern Africa around 4 Ma. Much of what is currently known about the paleoecology of A. anamensis comes from the type locality, Kanapoi, Kenya. Here, we extend knowledge of the range of environments occupied by A. anamensis by presenting the first multiproxy paleoecological analysis focusing on Bovidae excavated from another important locality where A. anamensis was recovered, locality 261-1 (ca. 3.97 Ma) at Allia Bay, East Turkana, Kenya. Paleoenvironments are reconstructed using astragalar ecomorphology, mesowear, hypsodonty index, and oxygen and carbon isotopes from dental enamel. We compare our results to those obtained from Kanapoi. Our results show that the bovid community composition is similar between the two fossil assemblages. Allia Bay and Kanapoi bovid astragalar ecomorphology spans the spectrum of modern morphologies indicative of grassland, woodland, and even forest-adapted forms. Dietary reconstructions based on stable isotopes, mesowear, and hypsodonty reveal that these bovids' diet encompassed the full C3 to C4 dietary spectrum and overlap in the two data sets. Our results allow us to confidently extend our reconstructions of the paleoenvironments of A. anamensis at Kanapoi to Allia Bay, where this pivotal hominin species is associated with heterogeneous settings including habitats with varying degrees of tree cover, including grasslands, bushlands, and woodlands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurence Dumouchel
- Department of Anthropology, Wichita State University, 1845 Fairmount Street, Wichita, KS 67260, USA.
| | - René Bobe
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology, School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, 64 Banbury Rd, Park Town, Oxford, OX2 6PN, UK; Paleo-Primate Project Gorongosa, Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique; Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB), Universidade Do Algarve, Campus de Penha, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Jonathan G Wynn
- Division of Earth Sciences, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - W Andrew Barr
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, 800 22(nd)Street Northwest, Suite 6000, Washington, DC 20052, USA
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Villaseñor A, Bobe R, Behrensmeyer AK. Middle Pliocene hominin distribution patterns in Eastern Africa. J Hum Evol 2020; 147:102856. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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12
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Paleoecological insights from fossil freshwater mollusks of the Kanapoi Formation (Omo-Turkana Basin, Kenya). J Hum Evol 2020; 140:102341. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2016] [Revised: 05/02/2017] [Accepted: 05/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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13
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Ruminants (Giraffidae and Bovidae) from Kanapoi. J Hum Evol 2020; 140:102383. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2016] [Revised: 07/29/2017] [Accepted: 08/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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14
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Stewart KM, Rufolo SJ. Kanapoi revisited: Paleoecological and biogeographical inferences from the fossil fish. J Hum Evol 2020; 140:102452. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2016] [Revised: 01/22/2018] [Accepted: 01/23/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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15
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Revisiting the pedogenic carbonate isotopes and paleoenvironmental interpretation of Kanapoi. J Hum Evol 2020; 140:102549. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2016] [Revised: 09/15/2018] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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16
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Sanders WJ. Proboscidea from Kanapoi, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2020; 140:102547. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.10.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Revised: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 10/26/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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17
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Brochu CA. Pliocene crocodiles from Kanapoi, Turkana Basin, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2020; 140:102410. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2016] [Revised: 08/07/2017] [Accepted: 10/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Manthi FK, Plavcan JM, Ward CV. Introduction to special issue Kanapoi: Paleobiology of a Pliocene site in Kenya. J Hum Evol 2020; 140:102718. [PMID: 32057416 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
This paper introduces this Special Issue of the Journal of Human Evolution entitled "Kanapoi: Paleobiology of a Pliocene site in Kenya." Kanapoi, West Turkana, Kenya, is part of the Omo-Turkana Basin and is the type site of the earliest known genus of Australopithecus, A. anamensis. Kanapoi preserves among the earliest earliest evidence of Australopithecus in deposits dated between 4.195 to 4.108 million years old. Explored by several teams since the 1960s, the Kanapoi sediments have yielded a rich and abundant fauna, providing important information about the paleoenvironments and the context surrounding the earliest evolution of the genus Australopithecus, as well as about the evolution and biogeography of African Pliocene vertebrate faunas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fredrick K Manthi
- Integrative Anatomy Program, Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, M263 Medical Sciences Building, One Hospital Drive, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA
| | - J Michael Plavcan
- Department of Anthropology, 330 Old Main, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
| | - Carol V Ward
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box 40658, Nairobi, Kenya.
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The ecology of Australopithecus anamensis in the early Pliocene of Kanapoi, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2020; 140:102717. [PMID: 31916996 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Revised: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Australopithecus anamensis is a pivotal species in human evolution. It is likely to be the direct ancestor of Australopithecus afarensis and the species that may have given rise to the Homo and Paranthropus lineages. It had a suite of adaptations for habitual bipedalism and a diet that differed from that of earlier hominin species. Under what environmental and ecological conditions did this suite of adaptations arise? The early Pliocene site of Kanapoi in the Lake Turkana Basin of Kenya has the largest sample of A. anamensis in eastern Africa and a rich record of fossil vertebrates. Most Kanapoi fossils are chronologically well constrained by radiometrically dated tephras between the ages of 4.2 and 4.1 million years ago. Sedimentological, isotopic, and faunal data indicate that the environments of Kanapoi during the early Pliocene had a complex range of vegetation types that included closed woodlands, shrubs, and grasslands near a river (for most of the sequence) or lake. These were dynamic landscapes that could shift rapidly from fluvial to lacustrine conditions, and then back. Australopithecus anamensis shared its environments with at least 10 species of very large herbivores, which undoubtedly played a major role in modifying the landscape by opening wooded areas and providing pathways for bipedal hominins. Hominins may have competed for terrestrial resources with abundant suids (Nyanzachoerus and Notochoerus) and for arboreal resources with monkeys (Parapapio being the most common cercopithecid). Kanapoi had a formidable group of predators that included a very abundant species of hyena (Parahyaena howelli), two sabre-tooth felids (Dinofelis and Homotherium), a giant otter (Enhydriodon cf. dikikae), and three species of crocodiles. Various measures of abundance indicate that A. anamensis was an important component of the Kanapoi early Pliocene ecosystems, and that its key adaptations allowed this species to thrive in complex and dynamic landscapes.
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Hodbod J, Stevenson EGJ, Akall G, Akuja T, Angelei I, Bedasso EA, Buffavand L, Derbyshire S, Eulenberger I, Gownaris N, Kamski B, Kurewa A, Lokuruka M, Mulugeta MF, Okenwa D, Rodgers C, Tebbs E. Social-ecological change in the Omo-Turkana basin: A synthesis of current developments. AMBIO 2019; 48:1099-1115. [PMID: 30623361 PMCID: PMC6722148 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-018-1139-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Revised: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 12/12/2018] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
This paper synthesizes current knowledge on the impacts of the Gibe III dam and associated large-scale commercial farming in the Omo-Turkana Basin, based on an expert elicitation coupled with a scoping review and the collective knowledge of an multidisciplinary network of researchers with active data-collection programs in the Basin. We use social-ecological systems and political ecology frameworks to assess the impacts of these interventions on hydrology and ecosystem services in the Basin, and cascading effects on livelihoods, patterns of migration, and conflict dynamics for the people of the region. A landscape-scale transformation is occurring in which commodities, rather than staple foods for local consumption, are becoming the main output of the region. Mitigation measures initiated by the Ethiopian government-notably resettlement schemes-are not adequately buffering affected communities from food insecurity following disruption to indigenous livelihood systems. Therefore, while benefits are accruing to labor migrants, the costs of development are currently borne primarily by the agro-pastoralist indigenous people of the region. We consider measures that might maximize benefits from the changes underway and mitigate their negative outcomes, such as controlled floods, irrigating fodder crops, food aid, and benefit sharing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Hodbod
- Department of Community Sustainability, Natural Resources Building, 480 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824 USA
| | | | - Gregory Akall
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge, CB2 3EN UK
| | - Thomas Akuja
- School of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU), P.O. Box 170-90200, Kitui, Kenya
| | - Ikal Angelei
- School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, University of Leicester, Bennett Building, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH UK
| | - Elias Alemu Bedasso
- Department of Anthropology, College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia
| | - Lucie Buffavand
- Laboratoire d’Anthropologie Sociale, 3 Rue d’Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
| | | | - Immo Eulenberger
- Department Integration & Conflict, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Advokatenweg 36, 06114 Halle/Saale, Germany
| | | | - Benedikt Kamski
- Arnold Bergstraesser Institute, Windausstr. 16, 79110 Freiburg I Br, Germany
| | | | - Michael Lokuruka
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School Of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Karatina University, P.O. Box 1957-10101, Karatina, Kenya
| | - Mercy Fekadu Mulugeta
- Institute for Peace and Security Studies, Addis Ababa University, PO BOX 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Doris Okenwa
- Department of Anthropology, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE UK
| | - Cory Rodgers
- School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, 51 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 6PE UK
| | - Emma Tebbs
- Department of Geography, King’s College London, Bush House (NE) 4.01, 40 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BG UK
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Joordens JC, Feibel CS, Vonhof HB, Schulp AS, Kroon D. Relevance of the eastern African coastal forest for early hominin biogeography. J Hum Evol 2019; 131:176-202. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2018] [Revised: 03/10/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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Quinn RL. Isotopic equifinality and rethinking the diet of
Australopithecus anamensis. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 169:403-421. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2018] [Revised: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 04/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Rhonda L. Quinn
- Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social WorkSeton Hall University South Orange New Jersey
- Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesRutgers University Piscataway New Jersey
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Liutkus-Pierce CM, Takashita-Bynum KK, Beane LA, Edwards CT, Burns OE, Mana S, Hemming S, Grossman A, Wright JD, Kirera FM. Reconstruction of the Early Miocene Critical Zone at Loperot, Southwestern Turkana, Kenya. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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24
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Hominin diversity and high environmental variability in the Okote Member, Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2019; 126:91-105. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2017] [Revised: 09/05/2018] [Accepted: 10/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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25
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Site fragmentation, hominin mobility and LCT variability reflected in the early Acheulean record of the Okote Member, at Koobi Fora, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2018; 125:159-180. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2017] [Revised: 07/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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26
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Du A, Alemseged Z. Diversity analysis of Plio-Pleistocene large mammal communities in the Omo-Turkana Basin, eastern Africa. J Hum Evol 2018; 124:25-39. [PMID: 30153945 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2017] [Revised: 07/13/2018] [Accepted: 07/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Knowing how the diversity of large mammal communities changes across space and time provides an important ecological framework for studying hominin evolution. However, diversity studies that apply methods currently used by neoecologists are rare in paleoanthropology and are also challenging due to diversity's unusual statistical properties. Here, we apply up-to-date analytical methods for understanding how species- and genus-level large mammalian diversity in the Omo-Turkana Basin changed through time and across space at multiple spatiotemporal scales (within each formation:102-3 km2 and 104-5 years; and within the basin as a whole: 103 km2 and 105 years). We found that, on average, Koobi Fora's large mammal community was more diverse than Nachukui's, which in turn was more diverse than Shungura's. Diversity was stable through time within each of these formations (alpha diversity), as was diversity in the basin as a whole (gamma diversity). Compositional dissimilarity between these three formations (beta diversity) was relatively low through time, with a 0.6 average proportion of shared species, suggesting dispersal acted to homogenize the region. Though alpha and gamma diversity were fairly stable through time, we do observe several notable peaks: during the KBS Member in Koobi Fora (30% increase), the Lokalalei Member in Nachukui (120% increase), and at 1.7 Ma in the entire basin (100% increase). We conclude by (1) demonstrating that habitat heterogeneity was an important factor influencing alpha diversity within each of the three formations, and (2) hypothesizing that diversity stability may have been driven by equilibrial dynamics in which overall diversity was constrained by resource availability, implying biotic interactions were an important factor in structuring the communities that included hominins as members. Our findings demonstrate the need to quantify how large mammal diversity changes across time and space in order to further our understanding of hominin ecology and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Du
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, 1027 E 57th St, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
| | - Zeresenay Alemseged
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, 1027 E 57th St, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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Hatala KG, Roach NT, Ostrofsky KR, Wunderlich RE, Dingwall HL, Villmoare BA, Green DJ, Braun DR, Harris JW, Behrensmeyer AK, Richmond BG. Hominin track assemblages from Okote Member deposits near Ileret, Kenya, and their implications for understanding fossil hominin paleobiology at 1.5 Ma. J Hum Evol 2017; 112:93-104. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2016] [Revised: 08/04/2017] [Accepted: 08/07/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Fortelius M, Žliobaitė I, Kaya F, Bibi F, Bobe R, Leakey L, Leakey M, Patterson D, Rannikko J, Werdelin L. An ecometric analysis of the fossil mammal record of the Turkana Basin. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0232. [PMID: 27298463 PMCID: PMC4920289 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Although ecometric methods have been used to analyse fossil mammal faunas and environments of Eurasia and North America, such methods have not yet been applied to the rich fossil mammal record of eastern Africa. Here we report results from analysis of a combined dataset spanning east and west Turkana from Kenya between 7 and 1 million years ago (Ma). We provide temporally and spatially resolved estimates of temperature and precipitation and discuss their relationship to patterns of faunal change, and propose a new hypothesis to explain the lack of a temperature trend. We suggest that the regionally arid Turkana Basin may between 4 and 2 Ma have acted as a ‘species factory’, generating ecological adaptations in advance of the global trend. We show a persistent difference between the eastern and western sides of the Turkana Basin and suggest that the wetlands of the shallow eastern side could have provided additional humidity to the terrestrial ecosystems. Pending further research, a transient episode of faunal change centred at the time of the KBS Member (1.87–1.53 Ma), may be equally plausibly attributed to climate change or to a top-down ecological cascade initiated by the entry of technologically sophisticated humans. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Major transitions in human evolution’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikael Fortelius
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, PO Box 64, Helsinki 00014, Finland Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066 Blindern, Oslo 0316, Norway Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Indrė Žliobaitė
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, PO Box 64, Helsinki 00014, Finland Helsinki Institute for Information Technology HIIT, PO Box 15600, Aalto 00076, Finland
| | - Ferhat Kaya
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, PO Box 64, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Faysal Bibi
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - René Bobe
- Departamento de Antropología, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Louise Leakey
- Turkana Basin Institute, Nairobi, Kenya Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Meave Leakey
- Turkana Basin Institute, Nairobi, Kenya Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - David Patterson
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Janina Rannikko
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, PO Box 64, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Lars Werdelin
- Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, PO Box 50007, Stockholm 104 05, Sweden
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Pleistocene footprints show intensive use of lake margin habitats by Homo erectus groups. Sci Rep 2016; 6:26374. [PMID: 27199261 PMCID: PMC4873780 DOI: 10.1038/srep26374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2015] [Accepted: 04/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Reconstructing hominin paleoecology is critical for understanding our ancestors’ diets, social organizations and interactions with other animals. Most paleoecological models lack fine-scale resolution due to fossil hominin scarcity and the time-averaged accumulation of faunal assemblages. Here we present data from 481 fossil tracks from northwestern Kenya, including 97 hominin footprints attributed to Homo erectus. These tracks are found in multiple sedimentary layers spanning approximately 20 thousand years. Taphonomic experiments show that each of these trackways represents minutes to no more than a few days in the lives of the individuals moving across these paleolandscapes. The geology and associated vertebrate fauna place these tracks in a deltaic setting, near a lakeshore bordered by open grasslands. Hominin footprints are disproportionately abundant in this lake margin environment, relative to hominin skeletal fossil frequency in the same deposits. Accounting for preservation bias, this abundance of hominin footprints indicates repeated use of lakeshore habitats by Homo erectus. Clusters of very large prints moving in the same direction further suggest these hominins traversed this lakeshore in multi-male groups. Such reliance on near water environments, and possibly aquatic-linked foods, may have influenced hominin foraging behavior and migratory routes across and out of Africa.
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30
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Barr WA. Paleoenvironments of the Shungura Formation (Plio-Pleistocene: Ethiopia) based on ecomorphology of the bovid astragalus. J Hum Evol 2015; 88:97-107. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2015] [Revised: 04/30/2015] [Accepted: 05/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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31
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Trauth MH, Bergner AG, Foerster V, Junginger A, Maslin MA, Schaebitz F. Episodes of environmental stability versus instability in Late Cenozoic lake records of Eastern Africa. J Hum Evol 2015; 87:21-31. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2013] [Revised: 01/28/2015] [Accepted: 03/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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33
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Quinn RL. Influence of Plio-Pleistocene basin hydrology on the Turkana hominin enamel carbonate δ(18)O values. J Hum Evol 2015; 86:13-31. [PMID: 26277306 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2014] [Revised: 06/02/2015] [Accepted: 06/07/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Stable oxygen isotopes of hominin enamel carbonate (δ(18)OEC) provide a window into aspects of past drinking behavior and diet, body size, breastfeeding and weaning, mobility, and paleoclimate. It is tempting to compare all hominins across time and space in order to gauge species-level adaptations to changing environments and niche separation between those living sympatrically. Basinal, sub-basinal, and micro-environmental differences, however, may exert an influence on variation in enamel carbonate isotopic values that must be reconciled before hominin species across Africa can be meaningfully compared. Plio-Pleistocene Turkana hominin δ(18)OEC values show a considerable spread, potentially revealing many intrinsic and extrinsic contributing factors operating on different scales. In this study, I examine Turkana hominin δ(18)OEC values relative to identity (taxon, tooth type and number, body size of taxon), dietary (δ(13)C value, Turkana coeval and modern mammalian δ(18)OEC values), and contextual (time, depositional environment) information of each specimen and collection locality and discuss various potential influences. Turkana hominin δ(18)OEC values may primarily reflect differences in imbibed water sources (lake vs. river) as a function of evolving basin hydrology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rhonda L Quinn
- Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ 07079, USA; Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, USA.
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34
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Reynolds SC, Wilkinson DM, Marston CG, O'Regan HJ. The ‘mosaic habitat’ concept in human evolution: past and present. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/0035919x.2015.1007490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Salzburger W, Van Bocxlaer B, Cohen AS. Ecology and Evolution of the African Great Lakes and Their Faunas. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2014. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-120213-091804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Bert Van Bocxlaer
- National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013;
- Department of Geology and Soil Science, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, D-35392 Giessen, Germany
| | - Andrew S. Cohen
- Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721;
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Drapeau MS, Bobe R, Wynn JG, Campisano CJ, Dumouchel L, Geraads D. The Omo Mursi Formation: A window into the East African Pliocene. J Hum Evol 2014; 75:64-79. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2013] [Revised: 07/02/2014] [Accepted: 07/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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New Fauna from Loperot Contributes to the Understanding of Early Miocene Catarrhine Communities. INT J PRIMATOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-014-9799-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Joordens JC, Dupont-Nivet G, Feibel CS, Spoor F, Sier MJ, van der Lubbe JH, Nielsen TK, Knul MV, Davies GR, Vonhof HB. Improved age control on early Homo fossils from the upper Burgi Member at Koobi Fora, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2013; 65:731-45. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2012] [Revised: 06/28/2013] [Accepted: 09/04/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Shultz S, Maslin M. Early human speciation, brain expansion and dispersal influenced by African climate pulses. PLoS One 2013; 8:e76750. [PMID: 24146922 PMCID: PMC3797764 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0076750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2013] [Accepted: 08/28/2013] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Early human evolution is characterised by pulsed speciation and dispersal events that cannot be explained fully by global or continental paleoclimate records. We propose that the collated record of ephemeral East African Rift System (EARS) lakes could be a proxy for the regional paleoclimate conditions experienced by early hominins. Here we show that the presence of these lakes is associated with low levels of dust deposition in both West African and Mediterranean records, but is not associated with long-term global cooling and aridification of East Africa. Hominin expansion and diversification seem to be associated with climate pulses characterized by the precession-forced appearance and disappearance of deep EARS lakes. The most profound period for hominin evolution occurs at about 1.9 Ma; with the highest recorded diversity of hominin species, the appearance of Homo (sensu stricto) and major dispersal events out of East Africa into Eurasia. During this period, ephemeral deep-freshwater lakes appeared along the whole length of the EARS, fundamentally changing the local environment. The relationship between the local environment and hominin brain expansion is less clear. The major step-wise expansion in brain size around 1.9 Ma when Homo appeared was coeval with the occurrence of ephemeral deep lakes. Subsequent incremental increases in brain size are associated with dry periods with few if any lakes. Plio-Pleistocene East African climate pulses as evinced by the paleo-lake records seem, therefore, fundamental to hominin speciation, encephalisation and migration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Shultz
- Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Mark Maslin
- Department of Geography, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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Quinn RL, Lepre CJ, Feibel CS, Wright JD, Mortlock RA, Harmand S, Brugal JP, Roche H. Pedogenic carbonate stable isotopic evidence for wooded habitat preference of early Pleistocene tool makers in the Turkana Basin. J Hum Evol 2013; 65:65-78. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2012] [Revised: 04/05/2013] [Accepted: 04/16/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Abstract
Although best known for its fossil hominins, the Omo-Turkana Basin of Kenya and Ethiopia is the source of one of the best records of vertebrate evolution from the Late Cenozoic of Africa. Located near the heart of the East African Rift Valley, the basin serves as an important frame of reference for the continent. The fossil record from this region plays a key role in our efforts to understand the environmental and ecological context of human evolution in Africa. The Omo-Turkana faunal data shed light on key questions of human evolution: What kinds of environments did early humans inhabit? How did these environments change over time? What is the relationship between faunal change in East Africa and broader patterns of climatic change?
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