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Bradshaw CJA, Reepmeyer C, Saltré F, Agapiou A, Kassianidou V, Demesticha S, Zomeni Z, Polidorou M, Moutsiou T. Demographic models predict end-Pleistocene arrival and rapid expansion of pre-agropastoralist humans in Cyprus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2318293121. [PMID: 38753504 PMCID: PMC11126943 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2318293121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The antiquity of human dispersal into Mediterranean islands and ensuing coastal adaptation have remained largely unexplored due to the prevailing assumption that the sea was a barrier to movement and that islands were hostile environments to early hunter-gatherers [J. F. Cherry, T. P. Leppard, J. Isl. Coast. Archaeol. 13, 191-205 (2018), 10.1080/15564894.2016.1276489]. Using the latest archaeological data, hindcasted climate projections, and age-structured demographic models, we demonstrate evidence for early arrival (14,257 to 13,182 calendar years ago) to Cyprus and predicted that large groups of people (~1,000 to 1,375) arrived in 2 to 3 main events occurring within <100 y to ensure low extinction risk. These results indicate that the postglacial settlement of Cyprus involved only a few large-scale, organized events requiring advanced watercraft technology. Our spatially debiased and Signor-Lipps-corrected estimates indicate rapid settlement of the island within <200 y, and expansion to a median of 4,000 to 5,000 people (0.36 to 0.46 km-2) in <11 human generations (<300 y). Our results do not support the hypothesis of inaccessible and inhospitable islands in the Mediterranean for pre-agropastoralists, agreeing with analogous conclusions for other parts of the world [M. I. Bird et al., Sci. Rep. 9, 8220 (2019), 10.1038/s41598-019-42946-9]. Our results also highlight the need to revisit these questions in the Mediterranean and test their validity with new technologies, field methods, and data. By applying stochastic models to the Mediterranean region, we can place Cyprus and large islands in general as attractive and favorable destinations for paleolithic peoples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corey J. A. Bradshaw
- Global Ecology | Partuyarta Ngadluku Wardli Kuu, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA5001, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Wollongong, NSW2522, Australia
| | - Christian Reepmeyer
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Wollongong, NSW2522, Australia
- Commission for Archaeology of Non-European Cultures, German Archaeological Institute, Bonn53173, Germany
- College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University Cairns, Cairns, QLD4870, Australia
| | - Frédérik Saltré
- Global Ecology | Partuyarta Ngadluku Wardli Kuu, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA5001, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Wollongong, NSW2522, Australia
| | - Athos Agapiou
- Cyprus University of Technology, Lemesos3036, Cyprus
| | | | - Stella Demesticha
- Archaeological Research Unit, University of Cyprus, Nicosia1095, Cyprus
| | - Zomenia Zomeni
- Geological Survey Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicosia1301, Cyprus
| | | | - Theodora Moutsiou
- College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University Cairns, Cairns, QLD4870, Australia
- Archaeological Research Unit, University of Cyprus, Nicosia1095, Cyprus
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Carpentieri M, Moncel MH, Eramo G, Arzarello M. With Impressions Chosen from Another Time: Core Technologies and Debitage Production at the Lower Palaeolithic Site of Notarchirico (670-695 ka; layers F to I2). JOURNAL OF PALEOLITHIC ARCHAEOLOGY 2023; 6:27. [PMID: 37675140 PMCID: PMC10477117 DOI: 10.1007/s41982-023-00154-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
The earliest evidence of bifaces in western Europe is dated to the initial phase of the Middle Pleistocene (la Noira, Notarchirico, Moulin Quignon, 700-670 ka), with the findings of Barranc de la Boella (1.0-0.9 Ma) considered to be an earlier local evolution. No transition assemblages are recorded during this time frame, and the "abrupt" appearance of bifaces during this time frame is associated with significant cognitive shifts in human technological behaviours (Acheulean techno-complex). The new investigations conducted at the site of Notarchirico unearthed 30 ka of repeated human occupation (695-670 ka, layers F-I2) during MIS 17, with evidence of bifacial tools in layer G (680 ka) and F along with other heavy-duty implements (LCTs, pebble tools, etc.). Massive production of debitage products realised on local raw materials collected in situ through simple and efficient core technologies characterises a large part of the lithic assemblage with a high ratio of diversified light-duty tools, including modified chert nodules. Despite core and flake assemblages being a recurrent trait of Lower Pleistocene contexts, the increase in retouched implements recorded at the onset of the Middle Pleistocene has been considered a significant technological shift. The technological analysis of the debitage products presented in this work highlights recurrent and systematic technological behaviours of the hominins of Notarchirico-who proved to efficiently overcome the raw materials dimensional constraints-even in the layers without bifaces. This may shed light on the meaning of cultural and behavioural innovation that the Acheulean techno-complex is thought to bring over Europe. It is plausible that given the substantial homogeneity of the lithic strategies within the sequence of Notarchirico, which only the "introduction" of the bifaces in the upper layers seems to interrupt, a supposed behavioural or cultural change in the site might have already occurred in the lowermost portion of the sequence. In this work, we evaluate the degree of change-if any-from a technological perspective by analysing the debitage reduction sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Carpentieri
- Dipartimento Studi Umanistici, Università Degli Studi Di Ferrara, C.So Ercole I d’Este 32, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Marie-Hélène Moncel
- UMR 7194 HNHP (MNHN-CNRS-UPVD), Département Homme Et Environnement, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 1 Rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Giacomo Eramo
- Dipartimento Di Scienze Della Terra E Geoambientali, Università Degli Studi Di Bari Aldo Moro, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Marta Arzarello
- Dipartimento Studi Umanistici, Università Degli Studi Di Ferrara, C.So Ercole I d’Este 32, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
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Margari V, Hodell DA, Parfitt SA, Ashton NM, Grimalt JO, Kim H, Yun KS, Gibbard PL, Stringer CB, Timmermann A, Tzedakis PC. Extreme glacial cooling likely led to hominin depopulation of Europe in the Early Pleistocene. Science 2023; 381:693-699. [PMID: 37561880 DOI: 10.1126/science.adf4445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
The oldest known hominin remains in Europe [~1.5 to ~1.1 million years ago (Ma)] have been recovered from Iberia, where paleoenvironmental reconstructions have indicated warm and wet interglacials and mild glacials, supporting the view that once established, hominin populations persisted continuously. We report analyses of marine and terrestrial proxies from a deep-sea core on the Portugese margin that show the presence of pronounced millennial-scale climate variability during a glacial period ~1.154 to ~1.123 Ma, culminating in a terminal stadial cooling comparable to the most extreme events of the last 400,000 years. Climate envelope-model simulations reveal a drastic decrease in early hominin habitat suitability around the Mediterranean during the terminal stadial. We suggest that these extreme conditions led to the depopulation of Europe, perhaps lasting for several successive glacial-interglacial cycles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasiliki Margari
- Environmental Change Research Centre, Department of Geography, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - David A Hodell
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK
| | - Simon A Parfitt
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London WC1H 0PY, UK
- Centre for Human Evolution Research, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Nick M Ashton
- Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory, British Museum, London N1 5QJ, UK
| | - Joan O Grimalt
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Hyuna Kim
- Institute for Basic Science, Center for Climate Physics, Busan 46241, South Korea
- Department of Climate System, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, South Korea
| | - Kyung-Sook Yun
- Institute for Basic Science, Center for Climate Physics, Busan 46241, South Korea
- Pusan National University, Busan 46241, South Korea
| | - Philip L Gibbard
- Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1ER, UK
| | - Chris B Stringer
- Centre for Human Evolution Research, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Axel Timmermann
- Institute for Basic Science, Center for Climate Physics, Busan 46241, South Korea
- Pusan National University, Busan 46241, South Korea
| | - Polychronis C Tzedakis
- Environmental Change Research Centre, Department of Geography, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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Gossa T, Hovers E. Continuity and change in lithic techno-economy of the early Acheulian on the Ethiopian highland: A case study from locality MW2; the Melka Wakena site-complex. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0277029. [PMID: 36477016 PMCID: PMC9728887 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent research has made great strides clarifying the chronology, temporal span, and geographic and technological patterning of the Acheulian in eastern Africa. However, highland occurrences of the Acheulian remain under-represented and their relationship to cultural dynamics in the Rift are still poorly understood. Recently, a stratified sequence of four archaeological layers, recording Acheulian occupations dated between ~1.6 Ma and ~1.3 Ma, has been discovered in locality MW2 of the Melka Wakena site-complex (south-central Ethiopian highlands). This database enabled a systematic exploration of the question of tempo and mode of technological changes at a local sequence, allowing, for the first time, comparison with other highland sites as well as in the Rift. The detailed techno-economic study presented in this study shows that the early Acheulian at the locality was characterized by the co-existence of lithic reduction sequences for small debitage and for flake-based Large Cutting Tool production. In the early, ~1.6 Ma assemblage, a strategy of variable raw material exploitation and technological emphasis on small debitage were coupled with production of few crude bifacial elements. These shifted at ~1.4 Ma towards a preferential and intensive exploitation of a highly knappable glassy ignimbrite and emphasis on Large Cutting Tool production, including higher investment in their techno-morphological aspects. The MW2 sequence tracks lithic technological trends observed in the Rift, with only a short time lag. Diachronic changes in the raw material economy and land use patterns may have occurred at MW2 earlier than previously reported for the Acheulian on the highlands. The behavioral dynamics gleaned from the early Acheulian assemblages at MW2 are important for our understanding of the diachronic changes in the abilities of Acheulian hominins to exploit the diverse geographic and ecological habitats of eastern Africa and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tegenu Gossa
- Human Evolution Research Center (HERC), The University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States of America
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of History and Heritage Management, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia
- * E-mail:
| | - Erella Hovers
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Affiliate Researcher, Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States of America
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Rodríguez J, Willmes C, Sommer C, Mateos A. Sustainable human population density in Western Europe between 560.000 and 360.000 years ago. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6907. [PMID: 35484382 PMCID: PMC9051054 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10642-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The time period between 560 and 360 ka (MIS14 to MIS11) was critical for the evolution of the Neanderthal lineage and the appearance of Levallois technology in Europe. The shifts in the distribution of the human populations, driven by cyclical climate changes, are generally accepted to have played major roles in both processes. We used a dataset of palaeoclimate maps and a species distribution model to reconstruct the changes in the area of Western Europe with suitable environmental conditions for humans during 11 time intervals of the MIS14 to MIS 11 period. Eventually, the maximum sustainable human population within the suitable area during each time interval was estimated by extrapolating the relationship observed between recent hunter-gatherer population density and net primary productivity and applying it to the past. Contrary to common assumptions, our results showed the three Mediterranean Peninsulas were not the only region suitable for humans during the glacial periods. The estimated total sustainable population of Western Europe from MIS14 to MIS11 oscillated between 13,000 and 25,000 individuals. These results offer a new theoretical scenario to develop models and hypotheses to explain cultural and biological evolution during the Middle Pleistocene in Western Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesús Rodríguez
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain.
| | - Christian Willmes
- Institute of Geography, University of Cologne, 50923, Cologne, Germany
| | - Christian Sommer
- The Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans, Research Area Geography, Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities at the University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 19-23, 72070, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ana Mateos
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain
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Palmqvist P, Rodríguez-Gómez G, Bermúdez de Castro JM, García-Aguilar JM, Espigares MP, Figueirido B, Ros-Montoya S, Granados A, Serrano FJ, Martínez-Navarro B, Guerra-Merchán A. Insights on the Early Pleistocene Hominin Population of the Guadix-Baza Depression (SE Spain) and a Review on the Ecology of the First Peopling of Europe. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.881651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The chronology and environmental context of the first hominin dispersal in Europe have been subject to debate and controversy. The oldest settlements in Eurasia (e.g., Dmanisi, ∼1.8 Ma) suggest a scenario in which the Caucasus and southern Asia were occupied ∼0.4 Ma before the first peopling of Europe. Barranco León (BL) and Fuente Nueva 3 (FN3), two Early Pleistocene archeological localities dated to ∼1.4 Ma in Orce (Guadix-Baza Depression, SE Spain), provide the oldest evidence of hominin presence in Western Europe. At these sites, huge assemblages of large mammals with evidence of butchery and marrow processing have been unearthed associated to abundant Oldowan tools and a deciduous tooth of Homo sp. in the case of BL. Here, we: (i) review the Early Pleistocene archeological sites of Europe; (ii) discuss on the subsistence strategies of these hominins, including new estimates of resource abundance for the populations of Atapuerca and Orce; (iii) use cartographic data of the sedimentary deposits for reconstructing the landscape habitable in Guadix-Baza; and (iv) calculate the size of the hominin population using an estimate of population density based on resource abundance. Our results indicate that Guadix-Baza could be home for a small hominin population of 350–280 individuals. This basin is surrounded by the highest mountainous reliefs of the Alpine-Betic orogen and shows a limited number of connecting corridors with the surrounding areas, which could have limited gene flow with other hominin populations. Isolation would eventually lead to bottlenecks, genetic drift and inbreeding depression, conditions documented in the wild dog population of the basin, which probably compromised the viability of the hominin population in the medium to long term. This explains the discontinuous nature of the archeological record in Guadix-Baza, a situation that can also be extrapolated to the scarcity of hominin settlements for these ancient chronologies in Europe.
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Barash A, Belmaker M, Bastir M, Soudack M, O'Brien HD, Woodward H, Prendergast A, Barzilai O, Been E. The earliest Pleistocene record of a large-bodied hominin from the Levant supports two out-of-Africa dispersal events. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1721. [PMID: 35110601 PMCID: PMC8810791 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05712-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The paucity of early Pleistocene hominin fossils in Eurasia hinders an in-depth discussion on their paleobiology and paleoecology. Here we report on the earliest large-bodied hominin remains from the Levantine corridor: a juvenile vertebra (UB 10749) from the early Pleistocene site of 'Ubeidiya, Israel, discovered during a reanalysis of the faunal remains. UB 10749 is a complete lower lumbar vertebral body, with morphological characteristics consistent with Homo sp. Our analysis indicates that UB-10749 was a 6- to 12-year-old child at death, displaying delayed ossification pattern compared with modern humans. Its predicted adult size is comparable to other early Pleistocene large-bodied hominins from Africa. Paleobiological differences between UB 10749 and other early Eurasian hominins supports at least two distinct out-of-Africa dispersal events. This observation corresponds with variants of lithic traditions (Oldowan; Acheulian) as well as various ecological niches across early Pleistocene sites in Eurasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alon Barash
- Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, POB 1589, 1311502, Safed, Israel.
| | - Miriam Belmaker
- The Department of Anthropology, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, 74104, USA
| | - Markus Bastir
- Paleoanthropology Group, Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, JG Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Michalle Soudack
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Department of Pediatric Imaging, The Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Haley D O'Brien
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Science, Tulsa, USA
| | - Holly Woodward
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Science, Tulsa, USA
| | - Amy Prendergast
- School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Omry Barzilai
- Archaeological Research Department, Israel Antiquities Authority, POB 586, 91004, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ella Been
- Department of Sports Therapy, Faculty of Health Professions, Ono Academic College, Kiryat Ono, Israel.,Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
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Abstract
Homo erectus is the first hominin species with a truly cosmopolitan distribution and resembles recent humans in its broad spatial distribution. The microevolutionary events associated with dispersal and local adaptation may have produced similar population structure in both species. Understanding the evolutionary population dynamics of H. erectus has larger implications for the emergence of later Homo lineages in the Middle Pleistocene. Quantitative genetics models provide a means of interrogating aspects of long-standing H. erectus population history narratives. For the current study, cranial fossils were sorted into six major palaeodemes from sites across Africa and Asia spanning 1.8-0.1 Ma. Three-dimensional shape data from the occipital and frontal bones were used to compare intraspecific variation and test evolutionary hypotheses. Results indicate that H. erectus had higher individual and group variation than Homo sapiens, probably reflecting different levels of genetic diversity and population history in these spatially disperse species. This study also revealed distinct evolutionary histories for frontal and occipital bone shape in H. erectus, with a larger role for natural selection in the former. One scenario consistent with these findings is climate-driven facial adaptation in H. erectus, which is reflected in the frontal bone through integration with the orbits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen L Baab
- Department of Anatomy, College of Graduate Studies, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ 85308, USA
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Yang SX, Wang FG, Xie F, Yue JP, Deng CL, Zhu RX, Petraglia MD. Technological innovations at the onset of the Mid-Pleistocene Climate Transition in high-latitude East Asia. Natl Sci Rev 2020; 8:nwaa053. [PMID: 34691547 PMCID: PMC8288396 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwaa053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Revised: 03/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The interplay between Pleistocene climatic variability and hominin adaptations to diverse terrestrial ecosystems is a key topic in human evolutionary studies. Early and Middle Pleistocene environmental change and its relation to hominin behavioural responses has been a subject of great interest in Africa and Europe, though little information is available for other key regions of the Old World, particularly from Eastern Asia. Here we examine key Early Pleistocene sites of the Nihewan Basin, in high-latitude northern China, dating between ∼1.4 and 1.0 million years ago (Ma). We compare stone-tool assemblages from three Early Pleistocene sites in the Nihewan Basin, including detailed assessment of stone-tool refitting sequences at the ∼1.1-Ma-old site of Cenjiawan. Increased toolmaking skills and technological innovations are evident in the Nihewan Basin at the onset of the Mid-Pleistocene Climate Transition (MPT). Examination of the lithic technology of the Nihewan sites, together with an assessment of other key Palaeolithic sites of China, indicates that toolkits show increasing diversity at the outset of the MPT and in its aftermath. The overall evidence indicates the adaptive flexibility of early hominins to ecosystem changes since the MPT, though regional abandonments are also apparent in high latitudes, likely owing to cold and oscillating environmental conditions. The view presented here sharply contrasts with traditional arguments that stone-tool technologies of China are homogeneous and continuous over the course of the Early Pleistocene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shi-Xia Yang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Fa-Gang Wang
- Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics, Shijiazhuang 050031, China
| | - Fei Xie
- Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics, Shijiazhuang 050031, China
| | - Jian-Ping Yue
- Department of History, Anhui University, Hefei 230039, China
| | - Cheng-Long Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Ri-Xiang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Michael D Petraglia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena 07745, Germany
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11
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Pei S, Xie F, Deng C, Jia Z, Wang X, Guan Y, Li X, Ma D, de la Torre I. Early Pleistocene archaeological occurrences at the Feiliang site, and the archaeology of human origins in the Nihewan Basin, North China. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0187251. [PMID: 29166402 PMCID: PMC5699830 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Early Pleistocene archaeological evidence from the fluvio-lacustrine sequence of the Nihewan Basin (North China) offers an excellent opportunity to explore early human evolution and behavior in a temperate setting in East Asia, following the earliest ‘Out of Africa’. Here we present the first comprehensive study of the Feiliang (FL) site, with emphasis on the archaeological sequence, site integrity, and stone artifact assemblages. Magnetostratigraphic dating results show that early humans occupied the site ca. 1.2 Ma. Archaeological deposits were buried rapidly in primary context within shallow lake margin deposits, with only minor post-depositional disturbance from relatively low energy hydraulic forces. The FL lithic assemblage is characterized by a core and flake, Oldowan-like or Mode 1 technology, with a low degree of standardization, expedient knapping techniques, and casually retouched flakes. The bone assemblage suggests that hominin occupation of the FL site was in an open habitat of temperate grassland with areas of steppe and water. The main features of the FL assemblage are discussed in the context of the early Pleistocene archaeology of Nihewan, for which an assessment of current and future research is also presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuwen Pei
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- * E-mail:
| | - Fei Xie
- Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Chenglong Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhenxiu Jia
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaomin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Guan
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoli Li
- Beijing Museum of Natural History, Beijing, China
| | - Dongdong Ma
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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12
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MacDonald K. The use of fire and human distribution. Temperature (Austin) 2017; 4:153-165. [PMID: 28680931 DOI: 10.1080/23328940.2017.1284637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2016] [Revised: 01/16/2017] [Accepted: 01/16/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans today live in a wide range of environments from the iciest to the hottest, thanks to diverse cultural solutions that buffer temperature extremes. The prehistory of this relationship between human distribution, cultural solutions and temperature conditions may help us to understand the evolution of human biological adaptations to cold temperature. Fire has long been seen as an important factor in human evolution and range expansion, particularly into temperate latitudes. Nevertheless, the earliest evidence for hominin presence in Eurasia, and middle latitudes in northern Europe, substantially predates convincing evidence for fire use in these regions. This review outlines the current state of knowledge of the chronology of hominin dispersal into temperate latitudes, from the earliest occupants to our own species, and the archeological evidence for fire use. Given continuing disagreement about this chronology and limitations to the archeological evidence, new, complementary approaches are worthwhile and would benefit from information from studies of current human temperature regulation.
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Ndiaye A, Chevret P, Dobigny G, Granjon L. Evolutionary systematics and biogeography of the arid habitat-adapted rodent genus Gerbillus
(Rodentia, Muridae): a mostly Plio-Pleistocene African history. J ZOOL SYST EVOL RES 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/jzs.12143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Arame Ndiaye
- BIOPASS; CBGP Campus de Bel-Air (UCAD/ISRA/CBGP), IRD; Dakar Sénégal
- Département de Biologie Animale; Faculté des Sciences et Techniques; Université Cheikh Anta Diop; Dakar Sénégal
| | - Pascale Chevret
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR CNRS 5558; Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1; Villeurbanne Cedex France
| | - Gauthier Dobigny
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement; Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (CBGP, INRA/IRD/SUPAGRO/CIRAD); Montferrier-sur-Lez Cedex France
| | - Laurent Granjon
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement; Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (CBGP, INRA/IRD/SUPAGRO/CIRAD); Montferrier-sur-Lez Cedex France
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Landeck G, Garcia Garriga J. The oldest hominin butchery in European mid-latitudes at the Jaramillo site of Untermassfeld (Thuringia, Germany). J Hum Evol 2016; 94:53-71. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2015] [Revised: 02/03/2016] [Accepted: 02/11/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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15
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Evolution and dispersal of the genus Homo: A landscape approach. J Hum Evol 2015; 87:48-65. [PMID: 26235482 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2013] [Revised: 07/05/2015] [Accepted: 07/09/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The notion of the physical landscape as an arena of ecological interaction and human evolution is a powerful one, but its implementation at larger geographical and temporal scales is hampered by the challenges of reconstructing physical landscape settings in the geologically active regions where the earliest evidence is concentrated. We argue that the inherently dynamic nature of these unstable landscapes has made them important agents of biological change, creating complex topographies capable of selecting for, stimulating, obstructing or accelerating the latent and emerging properties of the human evolutionary trajectory. We use this approach, drawing on the concepts and methods of active tectonics, to develop a new perspective on the origins and dispersal of the Homo genus. We show how complex topography provides an easy evolutionary pathway to full terrestrialisation in the African context, and would have further equipped members of the genus Homo with a suite of adaptive characteristics that facilitated wide-ranging dispersal across ecological and climatic boundaries into Europe and Asia by following pathways of complex topography. We compare this hypothesis with alternative explanations for hominin dispersal, and evaluate it by mapping the distribution of topographic features at varying scales, and comparing the distribution of early Homo sites with the resulting maps and with other environmental variables.
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16
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Stahlschmidt MC, Miller CE, Ligouis B, Hambach U, Goldberg P, Berna F, Richter D, Urban B, Serangeli J, Conard NJ. On the evidence for human use and control of fire at Schöningen. J Hum Evol 2015; 89:181-201. [PMID: 26087650 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2014] [Revised: 08/11/2014] [Accepted: 04/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
When and how humans began to control fire has been a central debate in Paleolithic archaeology for decades. Fire plays an important role in technology, social organization, subsistence, and manipulation of the environment and is widely seen as a necessary adaptation for the colonization of northern latitudes. Many researchers view purported hearths, burnt wooden implements, and heated flints from Schöningen as providing the best evidence for the control of fire in the Lower Paleolithic of Northern Europe. Here we present results of a multianalytical study of the purported hearths along with a critical examination of other possible evidence of human use or control of fire at Schöningen. We conclude that the analyzed features and artifacts present no convincing evidence for human use or control of fire. Our study also shows that a multianalytical, micro-contextual approach is the best methodology for evaluating claims of early evidence of human-controlled fire. We advise caution with macroscopic, qualitative identification of combustion features, burnt flint, and burnt wood without the application of such techniques as micromorphology, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, organic petrology, luminescence, and analysis of mineral magnetic parameters. The lack of evidence for the human control of fire at Schöningen raises the possibility that fire control was not a necessary adaptation for the human settlement of northern latitudes in the Lower Paleolithic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mareike C Stahlschmidt
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Christopher E Miller
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoecology, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Bertrand Ligouis
- Laboratories for Applied Organic Petrology (LAOP), Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ulrich Hambach
- BayCEER & Lehrstuhl für Geomorphologie, Universität Bayreuth, Universit€atsstraße 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Paul Goldberg
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; Department of Archaeology, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Francesco Berna
- Department of Archaeology, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Daniel Richter
- BayCEER & Lehrstuhl für Geomorphologie, Universität Bayreuth, Universit€atsstraße 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Brigitte Urban
- Leuphana University Lüneburg, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany; Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Institute for Pre- and Protohistory and Archaeology of the Middle Ages, University of Tübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jordi Serangeli
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nicholas J Conard
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoecology, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
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17
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Lee SH. Homo erectus in Salkhit, Mongolia? HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY 2015; 66:287-98. [PMID: 25813423 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchb.2015.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2014] [Accepted: 02/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In 2006, a skullcap was discovered in Salkhit, Mongolia. The Salkhit skullcap has a mostly complete frontal, two partially complete parietals, and nasals. No chronometric dating has been published yet, and suggested dates range from early Middle Pleistocene to terminal Late Pleistocene. While no chronometric date has been published, the presence of archaic features has led to a potential affiliation with archaic hominin species. If it is indeed Homo erectus or archaic Homo sapiens, Salkhit implies a much earlier spread of hominins farther north and inland Asia than previously thought. In this paper, the nature of the archaic features in Salkhit is investigated. The Salkhit skullcap morphology and metrics were compared with Middle and Late Pleistocene hominin fossils from northeast Asia: Zhoukoudian Locality 1, Dali, and Zhoukoudian Upper Cave. Results show an interesting pattern: on one hand, the archaic features that Salkhit shares with the Zhoukoudian Locality 1 sample also are shared with other later hominins; on the other hand, Salkhit is different from the Middle Pleistocene materials in the same way later hominins differ from the Middle Pleistocene sample, in having a broader frontal and thinner supraorbital region. This may reflect encephalization and gracilization, a modernization trend found in many places. It is concluded that the archaic features observed in Salkhit are regionally predominant features rather than diagnostic features of an archaic species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sang-Hee Lee
- Department of Anthropology, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521-0418, USA.
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18
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Vallverdú J, Saladié P, Rosas A, Huguet R, Cáceres I, Mosquera M, Garcia-Tabernero A, Estalrrich A, Lozano-Fernández I, Pineda-Alcalá A, Carrancho Á, Villalaín JJ, Bourlès D, Braucher R, Lebatard A, Vilalta J, Esteban-Nadal M, Bennàsar ML, Bastir M, López-Polín L, Ollé A, Vergés JM, Ros-Montoya S, Martínez-Navarro B, García A, Martinell J, Expósito I, Burjachs F, Agustí J, Carbonell E. Age and date for early arrival of the Acheulian in Europe (Barranc de la Boella, la Canonja, Spain). PLoS One 2014; 9:e103634. [PMID: 25076416 PMCID: PMC4116235 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2014] [Accepted: 06/30/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The first arrivals of hominin populations into Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene are currently considered to have occurred as short and poorly dated biological dispersions. Questions as to the tempo and mode of these early prehistoric settlements have given rise to debates concerning the taxonomic significance of the lithic assemblages, as trace fossils, and the geographical distribution of the technological traditions found in the Lower Palaeolithic record. Here, we report on the Barranc de la Boella site which has yielded a lithic assemblage dating to ∼1 million years ago that includes large cutting tools (LCT). We argue that distinct technological traditions coexisted in the Iberian archaeological repertoires of the late Early Pleistocene age in a similar way to the earliest sub-Saharan African artefact assemblages. These differences between stone tool assemblages may be attributed to the different chronologies of hominin dispersal events. The archaeological record of Barranc de la Boella completes the geographical distribution of LCT assemblages across southern Eurasia during the EMPT (Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition, circa 942 to 641 kyr). Up to now, chronology of the earliest European LCT assemblages is based on the abundant Palaeolithic record found in terrace river sequences which have been dated to the end of the EMPT and later. However, the findings at Barranc de la Boella suggest that early LCT lithic assemblages appeared in the SW of Europe during earlier hominin dispersal episodes before the definitive colonization of temperate Eurasia took place.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josep Vallverdú
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
- Unit associated to Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Departamento de Paleobiología. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail: (J. Vallverdú); (AR)
| | - Palmira Saladié
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
- Grupo Quaternário e Pré-História do Centro de Geociências (GQP-CG), Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Coimbra (UC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Antonio Rosas
- Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- Unit associated to Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Departamento de Paleobiología. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail: (J. Vallverdú); (AR)
| | - Rosa Huguet
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
- Unit associated to Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Departamento de Paleobiología. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Madrid, Spain
| | - Isabel Cáceres
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Marina Mosquera
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Antonio Garcia-Tabernero
- Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Almudena Estalrrich
- Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Iván Lozano-Fernández
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Antonio Pineda-Alcalá
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Ángel Carrancho
- Laboratorio de Paleomagnetismo. Departamento de Física, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Burgos (UBU), Burgos, Spain
- Área de Prehistoria, Departamento de Ciencias Históricas y Geografía, Universidad de Burgos (UBU), Burgos, Spain
| | - Juan José Villalaín
- Laboratorio de Paleomagnetismo. Departamento de Física, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Burgos (UBU), Burgos, Spain
| | - Didier Bourlès
- Laboratoire National des Nucléides Cosmogéniques, Centre de Recherche et d’Enseignement de Géosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE), Université Aix-Marseille (UAM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS-UM34), Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Régis Braucher
- Laboratoire National des Nucléides Cosmogéniques, Centre de Recherche et d’Enseignement de Géosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE), Université Aix-Marseille (UAM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS-UM34), Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Anne Lebatard
- Laboratoire National des Nucléides Cosmogéniques, Centre de Recherche et d’Enseignement de Géosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE), Université Aix-Marseille (UAM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS-UM34), Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Jaume Vilalta
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Montserrat Esteban-Nadal
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Maria Lluc Bennàsar
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Marcus Bastir
- Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Lucía López-Polín
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Andreu Ollé
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Josep Maria Vergés
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
| | | | - Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ana García
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Jordi Martinell
- Departament d’Estratigrafia, Paleontologia i Geociències Marines, Facultat de Geologia, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Isabel Expósito
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Francesc Burjachs
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Agustí
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Eudald Carbonell
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
- Visiting professor, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of Beijing (IVPP), Beijing, China
- Unit associated to Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Departamento de Paleobiología. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Madrid, Spain
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Gallagher A. Stature, body mass, and brain size: a two-million-year odyssey. ECONOMICS AND HUMAN BIOLOGY 2013; 11:551-562. [PMID: 23562520 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2012.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2012] [Accepted: 12/24/2012] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Physical size has been critical in the evolutionary success of the genus Homo over the past 2.4 million-years. An acceleration in the expansion of savannah grasslands in Africa from 1.6Ma to 1.2Ma witnessed concomitant increases in physical stature (150-170cm), weight (50-70kg), and brain size (750-900cm(3)). With the onset of 100,000year Middle Pleistocene glacial cycles ("ice ages") some 780,000years ago, large-bodied Homo groups had reached modern size and had successfully dispersed from equatorial Africa, Central, and Southeast Asia to high-latitude localities in Atlantic Europe and North East Asia. While there is support for incursions of multiple Homo lineages to West Asia and Continental Europe at this time, data does not favour a persistence of Homo erectus beyond ∼400,000years ago in Africa, west and Central Asia, and Europe. Novel Middle Pleistocene Homo forms (780,000-400,000years) may not have been substantially taller (150-170cm) than earlier Homo (1.6Ma-800,000years), yet brain size exceeded 1000cm(3) and body mass approached 80kg in some males. Later Pleistocene Homo (400,000-138,000years) were 'massive' in their height (160-190cm) and mass (70-90kg) and consistently exceed recent humans. Relative brain size exceeds earlier Homo, yet is substantially lower than in final glacial H. sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis. A final leap in absolute and relative brain size in Homo (300,000-138,000years) occurred independent of any observed increase in body mass and implies a different selective mediator to that operating on brain size increases observed in earlier Homo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Gallagher
- Centre for Anthropological Research (CfAR), University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Auckland Park, 2006 Johannesburg, South Africa.
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20
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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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21
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Balzeau A. Thickened cranial vault and parasagittal keeling: Correlated traits and autapomorphies of Homo erectus? J Hum Evol 2013; 64:631-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2012] [Revised: 02/12/2013] [Accepted: 02/13/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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22
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Garcia J, Martínez K, Carbonell E, Agustí J, Burjachs F. Defending the early human occupation of Vallparadís (Barcelona, Iberian Peninsula): A reply to. J Hum Evol 2012; 63:568-75. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2012] [Revised: 06/01/2012] [Accepted: 06/01/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Abstract
Theories of migration hold a pervasive position in prehistoric archaeology of Central Eurasia. International research on Eurasia today reflects the juxtaposition of archaeological theory and practice from distinct epistemological traditions, and migration is at the crux of current debates. Migration was employed paradigmatically during the Soviet era to explain the geography and materiality of prehistoric ethnogenesis, whereas in the west it was harshly criticized in prehistoric applications, especially in the 1970s. Since the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), migration has resurfaced as an important, yet polemical, explanation in both academic arenas. Short- and long-distance population movements are seen as fundamental mechanisms for the formation and distribution of regional archaeological cultures from the Paleolithic to historical periods and as a primary social response to environmental, demographic, and political pressures. Critics view the archaeological record of Eurasia as a product of complex local and regional interaction, exchange, and innovation, reinvigorating essential debates around migration, diffusion, and autochthonous change in Eurasian prehistory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael D. Frachetti
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130
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Speciation, diversity, and Mode 1 technologies: The impact of variability selection. J Hum Evol 2011; 61:306-19. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2011.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2010] [Revised: 04/03/2011] [Accepted: 04/10/2011] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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25
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Bermúdez de Castro JM, Martinón-Torres M, Gómez-Robles A, Prado-Simón L, Martín-Francés L, Lapresa M, Olejniczak A, Carbonell E. Early Pleistocene human mandible from Sima del Elefante (TE) cave site in Sierra de Atapuerca (Spain): A comparative morphological study. J Hum Evol 2011; 61:12-25. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2011.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2010] [Revised: 03/02/2011] [Accepted: 03/02/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Abstract
The timing of the human control of fire is a hotly debated issue, with claims for regular fire use by early hominins in Africa at ∼ 1.6 million y ago. These claims are not uncontested, but most archaeologists would agree that the colonization of areas outside Africa, especially of regions such as Europe where temperatures at time dropped below freezing, was indeed tied to the use of fire. Our review of the European evidence suggests that early hominins moved into northern latitudes without the habitual use of fire. It was only much later, from ∼ 300,000 to 400,000 y ago onward, that fire became a significant part of the hominin technological repertoire. It is also from the second half of the Middle Pleistocene onward that we can observe spectacular cases of Neandertal pyrotechnological knowledge in the production of hafting materials. The increase in the number of sites with good evidence of fire throughout the Late Pleistocene shows that European Neandertals had fire management not unlike that documented for Upper Paleolithic groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wil Roebroeks
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Paola Villa
- University of Colorado Museum, Boulder, CO 80309-0265
- Unité Mixte de Recherche 5199, de la Préhistoire á l’Actuel: Culture, Environnement, et Anthropologie, Institut de Préhistoire et Géologie du Quaternaire, 33405 Talence, France; and
- School of Geography, Archaeology, and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
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Mgeladze A, Lordkipanidze D, Moncel MH, Despriee J, Chagelishvili R, Nioradze M, Nioradze G. Hominin occupations at the Dmanisi site, Georgia, Southern Caucasus: raw materials and technical behaviours of Europe's first hominins. J Hum Evol 2011; 60:571-96. [PMID: 21277002 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2010] [Revised: 10/05/2010] [Accepted: 10/09/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Dmanisi is the oldest site outside of Africa that records unquestioned hominin occupations as well as the dispersal of hominins in Europe and Asia. The site has yielded large numbers of artefacts from several periods of hominin occupation. This analysis of Dmanisi stone tool technology includes a review of all the pieces recovered during the last 15 years of excavations. This lithic assemblage gives insights into the hominin behaviour at 1.7-1.8 Ma in Eurasia. Dmanisi hominins exploited local rocks derived from either nearby riverbeds or outcrops, and petrographic study provides data on patterns of stone procurement. Recent geological surveys and technological studies of the artefacts illustrate the roles of hominins in composing the assemblage. Dmanisi hominins selected two types of blanks, including cobbles and angular blocks, of basalt, andesite, and tuffs. Many complete cobbles, pebbles, and rolled blocks in basalt were unmodified, and geological analyses and surveys indicate that hominins brought manuports back to the site, suggesting a complex procurement strategy. Cores, flakes and debris show that all stages of flaking activity took place at the site. Numerous unifacial cores suggest that knapping was not very elaborate. Centripetal knapping is observed on some flake-cores. Knapping was influenced by the blank shape and natural angles. Most flaked objects were either cores or chopper-cores. Flakes predominate while flake tools are rare. The Dmanisi lithic assemblage is comparable to Oldowan sites in Africa in terms of reduction sequence, organisation of the removals, platform types, and the lack of retouched flakes. Dmanisi artefacts and may have been produced by the original hominins in Europe and Asia.
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Early Pleistocene Mammalian Faunas of India and Evidence of Connections with Other Parts of the World. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-9036-2_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
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Parfitt SA, Ashton NM, Lewis SG, Abel RL, Coope GR, Field MH, Gale R, Hoare PG, Larkin NR, Lewis MD, Karloukovski V, Maher BA, Peglar SM, Preece RC, Whittaker JE, Stringer CB. Early Pleistocene human occupation at the edge of the boreal zone in northwest Europe. Nature 2010; 466:229-33. [DOI: 10.1038/nature09117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 289] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2009] [Accepted: 04/22/2010] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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A new Lower Pleistocene archeological site in Europe (Vallparadis, Barcelona, Spain). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010; 107:5762-7. [PMID: 20231433 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0913856107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Here we report the discovery of a new late Lower Pleistocene site named Vallparadís (Barcelona, Spain) that produced a rich archeological and paleontological sequence dated from the upper boundary of the Jaramillo subchron to the early Middle Pleistocene. This deposit contained a main archeological layer with numerous artifacts and a rich macromammalian assemblage, some of which bore cut marks, that could indicate that hominins had access to carcasses. Paleomagnetic analysis, electron spin resonance-uranium series (ESR-US), and the biostratigraphic chronological position of the macro- and micromammal and lithic assemblages of this layer reinforce the proposal that hominins inhabited Europe during the Lower Pleistocene. The archeological sequence provides key information on the successful adaptation of European hominins that preceded the well-known fossil population from Atapuerca and succeeded the finds from Orce basin. Hence, this discovery enables us to close a major chronological gap in the early prehistory of Iberia. According to the information in this paper and the available data from these other sites, we propose that Mediterranean Western Europe was repeatedly and perhaps continuously occupied during the late Matuyama chron.
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Preliminary study on the living environment of hominids at the Donggutuo site, Nihewan Basin. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/s11434-009-0646-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Lycett SJ. Understanding ancient hominin dispersals using artefactual data: a phylogeographic analysis of Acheulean handaxes. PLoS One 2009; 4:e7404. [PMID: 19826473 PMCID: PMC2756619 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2009] [Accepted: 09/16/2009] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Reconstructing the dispersal patterns of extinct hominins remains a challenging but essential goal. One means of supplementing fossil evidence is to utilize archaeological evidence in the form of stone tools. Based on broad dating patterns, it has long been thought that the appearance of Acheulean handaxe technologies outside of Africa was the result of hominin dispersals, yet independent tests of this hypothesis remain rare. Cultural transmission theory leads to a prediction of a strong African versus non-African phylogeographic pattern in handaxe datasets, if the African Acheulean hypothesis is to be supported. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Here, this prediction is tested using an intercontinental dataset of Acheulean handaxes and a biological phylogenetic method (maximum parsimony). The analyses produce a tree consistent with the phylogeographic prediction. Moreover, a bootstrap analysis provides evidence that this pattern is robust, and the maximum parsimony tree is also shown to be statistically different from a tree constrained by stone raw materials. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE These results demonstrate that nested analyses of behavioural data, utilizing methods drawn from biology, have the potential to shed light on ancient hominin dispersals. This is an encouraging prospect for human palaeobiology since sample sizes for lithic artefacts are many orders of magnitude higher than those of fossil data. These analyses also suggest that the sustained occurrence of Acheulean handaxe technologies in regions such as Europe and the Indian subcontinent resulted from dispersals by African hominin populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen J Lycett
- Department of Anthropology, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.
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Petraglia MD, Shipton C. Erratum to "Large cutting tool variation west and east of the Movius Line" J. H. Evol. 55 (2008) 962-966. J Hum Evol 2009; 57:326-30. [PMID: 19780210 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Scott GR, Gibert L. The oldest hand-axes in Europe. Nature 2009; 461:82-5. [DOI: 10.1038/nature08214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2008] [Accepted: 06/16/2009] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Gamble C. Human display and dispersal: A case study from biotidal Britain in the Middle and Upper Pleistocene. Evol Anthropol 2009. [DOI: 10.1002/evan.20209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Voje KL, Hemp C, Flagstad Ø, Saetre GP, Stenseth NC. Climatic change as an engine for speciation in flightless Orthoptera species inhabiting African mountains. Mol Ecol 2009; 18:93-108. [PMID: 19140967 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2008.04002.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Many East African mountains are characterized by an exceptionally high biodiversity. Here we assess the hypothesis that climatic fluctuations during the Plio-Pleistocene led to ecological fragmentation with subsequent genetic isolation and speciation in forest habitats in East Africa. Hypotheses on speciation in savannah lineages are also investigated. To do this, mitochondrial DNA sequences from a group of bush crickets consisting of both forest and savannah inhabiting taxa were analysed in relation to Plio-Pleistocene range fragmentations indicated by palaeoclimatic studies. Coalescent modelling and mismatch distributions were used to distinguish between alternative biogeographical scenarios. The results indicate two radiations: the earliest one overlaps in time with the global spread of C4 grasslands and only grassland inhabiting lineages originated in this radiation. Climatically induced retraction of forest to higher altitudes about 0.8 million years ago, promoting vicariant speciation in species inhabiting the montane zone, can explain the second radiation. Although much of the biodiversity in East Africa is presently threatened by climate change, past climatic fluctuations appear to have contributed to the species richness observed in the East African hot spots. Perceiving forests as centres of speciation reinforces the importance of conserving the remaining forest patches in the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kjetil Lysne Voje
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway
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Comparisons of Early Pleistocene Skulls from East Africa and the Georgian Caucasus: Evidence Bearing on the Origin and Systematics of Genus Homo. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9980-9_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
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Lieberman DE, Bramble DM, Raichlen DA, Shea JJ. Brains, Brawn, and the Evolution of Human Endurance Running Capabilities. VERTEBRATE PALEOBIOLOGY AND PALEOANTHROPOLOGY 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9980-9_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
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43
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Early Homo Occupation Near the Gate of Tears: Examining the Paleoanthropological Records of Djibouti and Yemen. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9060-8_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
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Petraglia MD, Shipton C. Large cutting tool variation west and east of the Movius Line. J Hum Evol 2008; 55:962-6. [PMID: 18801556 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2007.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2007] [Revised: 11/01/2007] [Accepted: 01/10/2008] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Norton et al. (2006) compared "handaxes" from Korea and two basins with Acheulean assemblages (Olorgesailie, Kenya and Hunsgi-Baichbal, India). The authors found significant morphological variance between Eastern and Western handaxes, leading them to conclude that East Asian tool forms were not morphologically similar to typical Acheulean implements. We test this finding using a larger array of localities, and find some metrical overlaps between handaxes and cleavers in the West and East. We indicate the role of convergence in lithic assemblage formation, but we also raise the possibility that handaxes and cleavers in the Luonan Basin (China) may represent evidence for Acheulean stone tool manufacturing methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael D Petraglia
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Henry Wellcome Building, Fitzwilliam Street, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1QH, England.
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Zhu RX, Potts R, Pan YX, Yao HT, Lü LQ, Zhao X, Gao X, Chen LW, Gao F, Deng CL. Early evidence of the genus Homo in East Asia. J Hum Evol 2008; 55:1075-85. [PMID: 18842287 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2007] [Revised: 07/03/2008] [Accepted: 05/23/2008] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The timing and route of the earliest dispersal from Africa to Eastern Asia are contentious topics in the study of early human evolution because Asian hominin fossil sites with precise age constraints are very limited. Here we report new high-resolution magnetostratigraphic results that place stringent age controls on excavated hominin incisors and stone tools from the Yuanmou Basin, southwest China. The hominin-bearing layer resides in a reverse polarity magnetozone just above the upper boundary of the Olduvai subchron, yielding an estimated age of 1.7Ma. The finding represents the age of the earliest documented presence of Homo, with affinities to Homo erectus, in mainland East Asia. This age estimate is roughly the same as for H. erectus in island Southeast Asia and immediately prior to the oldest archaeological evidence in northeast Asia. Mammalian fauna and pollen obtained directly from the hominin site indicate that the Yuanmou hominins lived in a varied habitat of open vegetation with patches of bushland and forest on an alluvial fan close to a lake or swamp. The age and location are consistent with a rapid southern migration route of initial hominin populations into Eastern Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- R X Zhu
- Paleomagnetism and Geochronology Laboratory (SKL-LE), Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.
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Berger G, Pérez-González A, Carbonell E, Arsuaga J, Bermúdez de Castro JM, Ku TL. Luminescence chronology of cave sediments at the Atapuerca paleoanthropological site, Spain. J Hum Evol 2008; 55:300-11. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 243] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2007] [Revised: 01/01/2008] [Accepted: 02/18/2008] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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47
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Wells JCK, Stock JT. The biology of the colonizing ape. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2008; Suppl 45:191-222. [PMID: 18046751 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.20735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Hominin evolutionary history is characterized by regular dispersals, cycles of colonization, and entry into novel environments. This article considers the relationship between such colonizing capacity and hominin biology. In general, colonizing strategy favors rapid rates of reproduction and generalized rather than specialized biology. Physiological viability across diverse environments favors a high degree of phenotypic plasticity, which buffers the genome from selective pressures. Colonizing also favors the capacity to access and process information about environmental variability. We propose that early hominin adaptive radiations were based upon the development of such capacities as adaptations to unstable Pliocene environments. These components came together, along with fundamental changes in morphology, behavior, and cognition in the genus Homo, who exploited them in subsequent wider dispersals. Middle Pleistocene hominins and modern humans also show development of further traits, which correspond with successful probing of, and dispersals into, stressful environments. These traits have their precursors in primate or ape biology, but have become more pronounced during hominin evolution. First, short interbirth intervals and slow childhood growth allow human females to provision several offspring simultaneously, increasing the rate of reproduction in favorable conditions. This allows rapid recovery from population crashes, or rapid population growth in new habitats. Second, despite high geographical phenotypic variability, humans have high genetic unity. This is achieved by a variety of levels of plasticity, including physiology, behavior, and technology, which reduce the need to commit to genetic adaptation. Hominin behavior may increasingly have shaped both the ecological niches occupied and the selective pressures acting back on the genome. Such selective pressures may have been exacerbated by population dynamics, predicted to both derive from, and favor, the colonizing strategy. Exposure to ecological variability is likely to have generated particular selective pressures on female biology, favoring increasing steering of offspring ontogeny by maternal phenotype. We propose that the concept of hominins as "colonizing apes" offers a novel unified model for interpreting the suite of traits characteristic of our genus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan C K Wells
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK.
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Kappelman J, Alçiçek MC, Kazanci N, Schultz M, Ozkul M, Sen S. First Homo erectus from Turkey and implications for migrations into temperate Eurasia. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2008; 135:110-6. [PMID: 18067194 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.20739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Remains of fossil hominins from temperate regions of the Old World are rare across both time and space, but such specimens are necessary for understanding basic issues in human evolution including linkages between their adaptations and early migration patterns. We report here the remarkable circumstances surrounding the discovery of the first fossil hominin calvaria from Turkey. The specimen was found in the Denizli province of western Turkey and recovered from within a solid block of travertine stone as it was being sawed into tile-sized slabs for the commercial natural stone building market. The new specimen fills an important geographical and temporal gap and displays several anatomical features that are shared with other Middle Pleistocene hominins from both Africa and Asia attributed to Homo erectus. It also preserves an unusual pathology on the endocranial surface of the frontal bone that is consistent with a diagnosis of Leptomeningitis tuberculosa (TB), and this evidence represents the most ancient example of this disease known for a fossil human. TB is exacerbated in dark-skinned peoples living in northern latitudes by a vitamin D deficiency because of reduced levels of ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Evidence for TB in the new specimen supports the thesis that reduced UVR was one of the many climatic variables presenting an adaptive challenge to ancient hominins during their migration into the temperate regions of Europe and Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Kappelman
- Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712-0303, USA
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Investigating early hominin dispersal patterns: developing a framework for climate data integration. J Hum Evol 2007; 53:465-74. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2005] [Revised: 10/04/2006] [Accepted: 12/12/2006] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Theropithecus and 'Out of Africa' dispersal in the Plio-Pleistocene. J Hum Evol 2007; 54:43-77. [PMID: 17868778 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2007.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2006] [Accepted: 05/25/2007] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Theropithecus oswaldi was one of the most widely distributed Plio-Pleistocene primates, found in southern, East, and North Africa, as well as in Spain, India, and possibly Italy. Such a large geographic range for a single primate species is highly unusual. Here, the nature and timing of its dispersal is examined using the Stepping Out cellular automata model. A hypothetical dispersal of T. darti is also modelled to assess whether the late Pliocene might have been a more favorable period for Afro-Eurasian dispersal than the early Pleistocene. Stepping Out draws on climatic and biome reconstruction to provide the paleovegetative and climatic background necessary for the simulations, and model parameters for T. oswaldi and T. darti were set a priori on the basis of their fossil records and paleobiologies. The simulations indicate that T. darti could have readily left Africa in the Pliocene, and that it swiftly reaches Asia. A European T. darti colonization was less certain and less rapid. The simulated T. oswaldi dispersal out of Africa was slower, but nonetheless T. oswaldi arrived at Mirzapur within the time period indicated by the fossil record. Using the a priori parameters, T. oswaldi did not arrive at the European sites of Cueva Victoria and Pirro Nord. It cannot be discounted, therefore, that some of the European fossils are a result of an earlier T. darti dispersal. The simulations also showed that in order for Theropithecus to reach Europe, it needed to be tolerant of a relatively wide range of habitats. In addition, our finding that Asian colonization was more rapid and more probable parallels the information from the hominin fossil record, in which the fossils from Asia predate those from Europe by several hundred thousand years.
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