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Hawkins S, Zetika GA, Kinaston R, Firmando YR, Sari DM, Suniarti Y, Lucas M, Roberts P, Reepmeyer C, Maloney T, Kealy S, Stirling C, Reid M, Barr D, Kleffmann T, Kumar A, Yuwono P, Litster M, Husni M, Ririmasse M, Mahirta, Mujabuddawat M, Harriyadi, O'Connor S. Earliest known funerary rites in Wallacea after the last glacial maximum. Sci Rep 2024; 14:282. [PMID: 38168501 PMCID: PMC10762057 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50294-y] [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: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The insular region of Wallacea has become a focal point for studying Pleistocene human ecological and cultural adaptations in island environments, however, little is understood about early burial traditions during the Pleistocene. Here we investigate maritime interactions and burial practices at Ratu Mali 2, an elevated coastal cave site on the small island of Kisar in the Lesser Sunda Islands of eastern Indonesia dated to 15,500-3700 cal. BP. This multidisciplinary study demonstrates extreme marine dietary adaptations, engagement with an extensive exchange network across open seas, and early mortuary practices. A flexed male and a female, interred in a single grave with abundant shellfish and obsidian at Ratu Mali 2 by 14.7 ka are the oldest known human burials in Wallacea with established funerary rites. These findings highlight the impressive flexibility of our species in marginal environments and provide insight into the earliest known ritualised treatment of the dead in Wallacea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart Hawkins
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia.
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia.
| | - Gabriella Ayang Zetika
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Rebecca Kinaston
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, P.O. Box 913, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
- Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
- BioArch South, Waitati, 9085, New Zealand
| | - Yulio Ray Firmando
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Devi Mustika Sari
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Yuni Suniarti
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Mary Lucas
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology DE, Jena, Germany
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology DE, Jena, Germany
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Christian Reepmeyer
- Commission for Archaeology of Non-European Cultures, German Archaeological Institute Division of Germany, Berlin, Germany
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, College of Arts, Society, and Education, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia
| | - Tim Maloney
- Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Southport, QLD, 4222, Australia
| | - Shimona Kealy
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Claudine Stirling
- Centre for Trace Element Analysis, Department of Geology, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Malcolm Reid
- Centre for Trace Element Analysis, Department of Geology, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - David Barr
- Centre for Trace Element Analysis, Department of Geology, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Torsten Kleffmann
- Centre for Protein Research, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Abhishek Kumar
- Centre for Protein Research, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Pratiwi Yuwono
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group (GARG), Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia
| | - Mirani Litster
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, College of Arts, Society, and Education, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia
| | - Muhammad Husni
- Balai Arkeologi Maluku, JI. Namalatu-Latuhalat, Ambon, Indonesia
| | - Marlon Ririmasse
- Balai Arkeologi Maluku, JI. Namalatu-Latuhalat, Ambon, Indonesia
| | - Mahirta
- Departemen Arkeologi Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | | | - Harriyadi
- Organisasi Riset Arkeologi Bahasa dan Sastra, Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Sue O'Connor
- Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
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2
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Hamilton R, Amano N, Bradshaw CJA, Saltré F, Patalano R, Penny D, Stevenson J, Wolfhagen J, Roberts P. Forest mosaics, not savanna corridors, dominated in Southeast Asia during the Last Glacial Maximum. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2311280120. [PMID: 38147645 PMCID: PMC10769823 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2311280120] [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: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The dominant paradigm is that large tracts of Southeast Asia's lowland rainforests were replaced with a "savanna corridor" during the cooler, more seasonal climates of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (23,000 to 19,000 y ago). This interpretation has implications for understanding the resilience of Asia's tropical forests to projected climate change, implying a vulnerability to "savannization". A savanna corridor is also an important foundation for archaeological interpretations of how humans moved through and settled insular Southeast Asia and Australia. Yet an up-to-date, multiproxy, and empirical examination of the palaeoecological evidence for this corridor is lacking. We conducted qualitative and statistical analyses of 59 palaeoecological records across Southeast Asia to test the evidence for LGM savannization and clarify the relationships between methods, biogeography, and ecological change in the region from the start of Late Glacial Period (119,000 y ago) to the present. The pollen records typically show montane forest persistence during the LGM, while δ13C biomarker proxies indicate the expansion of C4-rich grasslands. We reconcile this discrepancy by hypothesizing the expansion of montane forest in the uplands and replacement of rainforest with seasonally dry tropical forest in the lowlands. We also find that smooth forest transitions between 34,000 and 2,000 y ago point to the capacity of Southeast Asia's ecosystems both to resist and recover from climate stressors, suggesting resilience to savannization. Finally, the timing of ecological change observed in our combined datasets indicates an 'early' onset of the LGM in Southeast Asia from ~30,000 y ago.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Hamilton
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena07745, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena07745, Germany
- School of Geosciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW2050, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Wollongong, NSW2522, Australia
| | - Noel Amano
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena07745, Germany
| | - Corey J. A. Bradshaw
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Wollongong, NSW2522, Australia
- Global Ecology | Partuyarta Ngadluku Wardli Kuu, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA5001, Australia
| | - Frédérik Saltré
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Wollongong, NSW2522, Australia
- Global Ecology | Partuyarta Ngadluku Wardli Kuu, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA5001, Australia
| | - Robert Patalano
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena07745, Germany
- Biological and Biomedical Sciences, School of Health and Behavioral Sciences, Bryant University, Smithfield, RI02917
| | - Dan Penny
- School of Geosciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW2050, Australia
| | - Janelle Stevenson
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Wollongong, NSW2522, Australia
- School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT2601, Australia
| | - Jesse Wolfhagen
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena07745, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN47907
| | - Patrick Roberts
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena07745, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena07745, Germany
- School of Archaeology, University of the Philippines, Quezon City1101, The Philippines
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3
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Bacon AM, Bourgon N, Dufour E, Demeter F, Zanolli C, Westaway KE, Joannes-Boyau R, Duringer P, Ponche JL, Morley MW, Suzzoni E, Frangeul S, Boesch Q, Antoine PO, Boualaphane S, Sichanthongtip P, Sihanam D, Huong NTM, Tuan NA, Fiorillo D, Tombret O, Patole-Edoumba E, Zachwieja A, Luangkhoth T, Souksavatdy V, Dunn TE, Shackelford L, Hublin JJ. Palaeoenvironments and hominin evolutionary dynamics in southeast Asia. Sci Rep 2023; 13:16165. [PMID: 37758744 PMCID: PMC10533506 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43011-2] [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: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Secure environmental contexts are crucial for hominin interpretation and comparison. The discovery of a Denisovan individual and associated fauna at Tam Ngu Hao 2 (Cobra) Cave, Laos, dating back to 164-131 ka, allows for environmental comparisons between this (sub)tropical site and the Palearctic Denisovan sites of Denisova Cave (Russia) and Baishiya Karst Cave (China). Denisovans from northern latitudes foraged in a mix of forested and open landscapes, including tundra and steppe. Using stable isotope values from the Cobra Cave assemblage, we demonstrate that, despite the presence of nearby canopy forests, the Denisovan individual from Cobra Cave primarily consumed plants and/or animals from open forests and savannah. Using faunal evidence and proxy indicators of climates, results herein highlight a local expansion of rainforest at ~ 130 ka, raising questions about how Denisovans responded to this local climate change. Comparing the diet and habitat of the archaic hominin from Cobra Cave with those of early Homo sapiens from Tam Pà Ling Cave (46-43 ka), Laos, it appears that only our species was able to exploit rainforest resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Marie Bacon
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, BABEL UMR 8045, 75012, Paris, France.
| | - Nicolas Bourgon
- IsoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, 07745, Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Elise Dufour
- UMR 7209 Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique, Sociétés, Pratiques, Environnements, MNHN, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Fabrice Demeter
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Eco-anthropologie (EA), MNHN, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Musée de l'Homme, 75016, Paris, France
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33600, Pessac, France
| | - Kira E Westaway
- 'Traps' Luminescence Dating Facility, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Renaud Joannes-Boyau
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group (GARG), Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia
| | - Philippe Duringer
- Ecole et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre, Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg, UMR 7516 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Jean-Luc Ponche
- Laboratoire Image, Ville Environnement, UMR 7362 UdS CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Mike W Morley
- Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Archaeology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
| | - Eric Suzzoni
- Spitteurs Pan, Technical Cave Supervision and Exploration, La Chapelle en Vercors, France
| | - Sébastien Frangeul
- Spitteurs Pan, Technical Cave Supervision and Exploration, La Chapelle en Vercors, France
| | - Quentin Boesch
- Ecole et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre, Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg, UMR 7516 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Pierre-Olivier Antoine
- Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution de Montpellier, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | | | | | - Daovee Sihanam
- Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao PDR
| | | | | | - Denis Fiorillo
- UMR 7209 Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique, Sociétés, Pratiques, Environnements, MNHN, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Tombret
- UMR 7209 Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique, Sociétés, Pratiques, Environnements, MNHN, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Elise Patole-Edoumba
- Muséum d'histoire naturelle de La Rochelle, UMRU 24140 Dynamiques, interactions, interculturalité asiatiques (UBM, LRUniv), La Rochelle, France
| | - Alexandra Zachwieja
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth, Duluth, USA
| | | | | | - Tyler E Dunn
- Anatomical Sciences Education Center, Oregon Health & Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Laura Shackelford
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
- Carle Illinois College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
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4
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Cerasoni JN, Hallett EY, Orijemie EA, Ashastina K, Lucas M, Farr L, Höhn A, Kiahtipes CA, Blinkhorn J, Roberts P, Manica A, Scerri EM. Human interactions with tropical environments over the last 14,000 years at Iho Eleru, Nigeria. iScience 2023; 26:106153. [PMID: 36843842 PMCID: PMC9950523 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The Ihò Eléérú (or Iho Eleru) rock shelter, located in Southwest Nigeria, is the only site from which Pleistocene-age hominin fossils have been recovered in western Africa. Excavations at Iho Eleru revealed regular human occupations ranging from the Later Stone Age (LSA) to the present day. Here, we present chronometric, archaeobotanical, and paleoenvironmental findings, which include the taxonomic, taphonomic, and isotopic analyses of what is the only Pleistocene faunal assemblage documented in western Africa. Our results indicate that the local landscape surrounding Iho Eleru, although situated within a regional open-canopy biome, was forested throughout the past human occupation of the site. At a regional scale, a shift from forest- to savanna-dominated ecotonal environment occurred during a mid-Holocene warm event 6,000 years ago, with a subsequent modern reforestation of the landscape. Locally, no environmental shift was observable, placing Iho Eleru in a persistent forested "island" during the period of occupation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacopo Niccolò Cerasoni
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL 60660, USA,Pan-African Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, 07745 Jena, Germany,Corresponding author
| | - Emily Yuko Hallett
- Pan-African Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, 07745 Jena, Germany,Department of Anthropology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL 60660, USA,Corresponding author
| | - Emuobosa Akpo Orijemie
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan, 200132 Ibadan, Nigeria,Corresponding author
| | - Kseniia Ashastina
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Mary Lucas
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, 07745 Jena, Germany,Arctic University Museum of Norway, UiT-the Arctic University of Norway, 9019 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Lucy Farr
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, UK
| | - Alexa Höhn
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Goethe-Universität, 60323 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Christopher A. Kiahtipes
- Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture and the Environment, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
| | - James Blinkhorn
- Pan-African Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, 07745 Jena, Germany,isoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, 07745 Jena, Germany,School of Social Science, the University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Andrea Manica
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Eleanor M.L. Scerri
- Pan-African Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, 07745 Jena, Germany,Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta, 2080 Msida, Malta,Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, 50923 Cologne, Germany,Corresponding author
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5
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Le Moyne C, Roberts P, Hua Q, Bleasdale M, Desideri J, Boivin N, Crowther A. Ecological flexibility and adaptation to past climate change in the Middle Nile Valley: A multiproxy investigation of dietary shifts between the Neolithic and Kerma periods at Kadruka 1 and Kadruka 21. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0280347. [PMID: 36730175 PMCID: PMC9894462 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Human responses to climate change have long been at the heart of discussions of past economic, social, and political change in the Nile Valley of northeastern Africa. Following the arrival of Neolithic groups in the 6th millennium BCE, the Northern Dongola Reach of Upper Nubia witnessed a cultural florescence manifested through elaborate funerary traditions. However, despite the wealth of archaeological data available from funerary contexts, including evidence for domesticated animals and plants as grave goods, the paucity of stratified habitation contexts hinders interpretation of local subsistence trajectories. While it is recognised archaeologically that, against the backdrop of increasing environmental deterioration, the importance of agriculture based on Southwest Asian winter cereals increased throughout the Kerma period (2500-1450 BCE), the contribution of domesticated cereals to earlier Neolithic herding economies remains unclear. This paper presents direct dietary data from a total of 55 Middle Neolithic and Kerma period individuals from Kadruka 21 and Kadruka 1. Microbotanical data obtained from human dental calculus and grave sediments are integrated with human and faunal stable isotopes to explore changes in dietary breadth over time. The combined results demonstrate the consumption of wild plant species, including C4 wetland adapted grasses, by Middle Neolithic individuals at Kadruka 1. Despite existing evidence for domesticated barley in associated graves, the results obtained in this study provide no clear evidence for the routine consumption of domesticated cereals by Middle Neolithic individuals. Rather, direct microparticle evidence for the consumption of Triticeae cereals is only associated with a single Kerma period individual and corresponds with an isotopic shift indicating a greater contribution of C3-derived resources to diet. These results provide evidence for Neolithic dietary flexibility in Upper Nubia through the persistence of foraging activities and support existing evidence linking increased agricultural reliance to the development of the Kerma culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Le Moyne
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD, Australia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Patrick Roberts
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD, Australia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Quan Hua
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD, Australia
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Kirrawee DC, NSW, Australia
| | - Madeleine Bleasdale
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Jocelyne Desideri
- Laboratory of African Archaeology and Anthropology, Section of Biology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Nicole Boivin
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD, Australia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Alison Crowther
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD, Australia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
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6
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Picin A, Wedage O, Blinkhorn J, Amano N, Deraniyagala S, Boivin N, Roberts P, Petraglia M. Homo sapiens lithic technology and microlithization in the South Asian rainforest at Kitulgala Beli-lena (c. 45 - 8,000 years ago). PLoS One 2022; 17:e0273450. [PMID: 36227910 PMCID: PMC9560501 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent archaeological investigations in Sri Lanka have reported evidence for the exploitation and settlement of tropical rainforests by Homo sapiens since c. 48,000 BP. Information on technological approaches used by human populations in rainforest habitats is restricted to two cave sites, Batadomba-lena and Fa-Hien Lena. Here, we provide detailed study of the lithic assemblages of Kitulgala Beli-lena, a recently excavated rockshelter preserving a sedimentary sequence from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene. Our analysis indicates in situ lithic production and the recurrent use of the bipolar method for the production of microliths. Stone tool analyses demonstrate long-term technological stability from c. 45,000 to 8,000 years BP, a pattern documented in other rainforest locations. Foraging behaviour is characterised by the use of lithic bipolar by-products together with osseous projectile points for the consistent targeting of semi-arboreal/arboreal species, allowing for the widespread and recurrent settlement of the wet zone of Sri Lanka.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Picin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Bereich für Ur- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie, Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena, Jena, Germany
- * E-mail: (AP); (OW); (PR); (MP)
| | - Oshan Wedage
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Department of History and Archaeology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Gangodawila, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
- * E-mail: (AP); (OW); (PR); (MP)
| | - James Blinkhorn
- Pan-African Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Noel Amano
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- * E-mail: (AP); (OW); (PR); (MP)
| | - Michael Petraglia
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
- * E-mail: (AP); (OW); (PR); (MP)
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7
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Roberts P, Douka K, Tromp M, Bedford S, Hawkins S, Bouffandeau L, Ilgner J, Lucas M, Marzo S, Hamilton R, Ambrose W, Bulbeck D, Luu S, Shing R, Gosden C, Summerhayes G, Spriggs M. Fossils, fish and tropical forests: prehistoric human adaptations on the island frontiers of Oceania. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200495. [PMID: 35249390 PMCID: PMC8899615 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0495] [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] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Oceania is a key region for studying human dispersals, adaptations and interactions with other hominin populations. Although archaeological evidence now reveals occupation of the region by approximately 65–45 000 years ago, its human fossil record, which has the best potential to provide direct insights into ecological adaptations and population relationships, has remained much more elusive. Here, we apply radiocarbon dating and stable isotope approaches to the earliest human remains so far excavated on the islands of Near and Remote Oceania to explore the chronology and diets of the first preserved human individuals to step across these Pacific frontiers. We demonstrate that the oldest human (or indeed hominin) fossil outside of the mainland New Guinea-Aru area dates to approximately 11 800 years ago. Furthermore, although these early sea-faring populations have been associated with a specialized coastal adaptation, we show that Late Pleistocene–Holocene humans living on islands in the Bismarck Archipelago and in Vanuatu display a persistent reliance on interior tropical forest resources. We argue that local tropical habitats, rather than purely coasts or, later, arriving domesticates, should be emphasized in discussions of human diets and cultural practices from the onset of our species' arrival in this part of the world. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Tropical forests in the deep human past’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany.,School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Katerina Douka
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany.,Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Monica Tromp
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany.,Southern Pacific Archaeological Research, Archaeology Programme, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.,Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Stuart Bedford
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany.,College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Stuart Hawkins
- College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Laurie Bouffandeau
- UMR 7209 AASPE, CNRS, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France.,CIRAP, Université de la Polynésie française, Tahiti, French Polynesia
| | - Jana Ilgner
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany
| | - Mary Lucas
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany
| | - Sara Marzo
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany
| | - Rebecca Hamilton
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany.,College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Wallace Ambrose
- College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - David Bulbeck
- College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Sindy Luu
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.,Archaeology Programme, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | | | - Chris Gosden
- School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Glenn Summerhayes
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.,Archaeology Programme, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.,College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Matthew Spriggs
- School of Archaeology and Anthropology, College of Arts and Social Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.,Vanuatu Cultural Centre, Port Vila, Vanuatu
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8
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Scerri EML, Roberts P, Yoshi Maezumi S, Malhi Y. Tropical forests in the deep human past. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200500. [PMID: 35249383 PMCID: PMC8899628 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Since Darwin, studies of human evolution have tended to give primacy to open 'savannah' environments as the ecological cradle of our lineage, with dense tropical forests cast as hostile, unfavourable frontiers. These perceptions continue to shape both the geographical context of fieldwork as well as dominant narratives concerning hominin evolution. This paradigm persists despite new, ground-breaking research highlighting the role of tropical forests in the human story. For example, novel research in Africa's rainforests has uncovered archaeological sites dating back into the Pleistocene; genetic studies have revealed very deep human roots in Central and West Africa and in the tropics of Asia and the Pacific; an unprecedented number of coexistent hominin species have now been documented, including Homo erectus, the 'Hobbit' (Homo floresiensis), Homo luzonensis, Denisovans, and Homo sapiens. Some of the earliest members of our own species to reach South Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania and the tropical Americas have shown an unexpected rapidity in their adaptation to even some of the more 'extreme' tropical settings. This includes the early human manipulation of species and even habitats. This volume builds on these currently disparate threads and, for the first time, draws together a group of interdisciplinary, agenda-setting papers that firmly places a broader spectrum of tropical environments at the heart of the deep human past. This article is part of the theme issue 'Tropical forests in the deep human past'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor M L Scerri
- Pan-African Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.,Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta, Msida, Malta.,Department of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.,School of Social Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - S Yoshi Maezumi
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
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9
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Louys J, Duval M, Price GJ, Westaway K, Zaim Y, Rizal Y, Aswan, Puspaningrum M, Trihascaryo A, Breitenbach SFM, Kwiecien O, Cai Y, Higgins P, Albers PCH, de Vos J, Roberts P. Speleological and environmental history of Lida Ajer cave, western Sumatra. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200494. [PMID: 35249388 PMCID: PMC8922409 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Some of the earliest evidence for the presence of modern humans in rainforests has come from the fossil deposits of Lida Ajer in Sumatra. Two human teeth from this cave were estimated to be 73–63 thousand years old, which is significantly older than some estimates of modern human migration out of Africa based on genetic data. The deposits were interpreted as being associated with a rainforest environment based largely on the presence of abundant orangutan fossils. As well as the main fossil-bearing chamber, fossil-bearing passages are present below a sinkhole, although the relationship between the different fossil deposits has only been tenuously established. Here, we provide significant new sedimentological, geochronological and palaeoecological data aimed at reconstructing the speleological and environmental history of the cave and the clastic and fossil deposits therein. Our data suggest that the Lida Ajer fossils were deposited during Marine Isotope Stage 4, with fossils from the lower passages older than the main fossil chamber. Our use of stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of mammalian tooth enamel demonstrates that early humans probably occupied a closed-canopy forest very similar to those present in the region today, although the fossil orangutans may have occupied a slightly different niche. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Tropical forests in the deep human past’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Louys
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane 4111 Australia
| | - Mathieu Duval
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane 4111 Australia.,Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos 09002, Spain
| | - Gilbert J Price
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Kira Westaway
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Yahdi Zaim
- Geology Study Program, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jawa Barat 40132, Indonesia
| | - Yan Rizal
- Geology Study Program, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jawa Barat 40132, Indonesia
| | - Aswan
- Geology Study Program, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jawa Barat 40132, Indonesia
| | - Mika Puspaningrum
- Geology Study Program, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jawa Barat 40132, Indonesia
| | - Agus Trihascaryo
- Geology Study Program, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jawa Barat 40132, Indonesia
| | | | - Ola Kwiecien
- Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Yanjun Cai
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, People's Republic of China
| | - Penny Higgins
- EPOCH Isotopes, 6606 E Townline Road, Williamson, NY 14589, USA
| | | | - John de Vos
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Patrick Roberts
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Brisbane, Australia.,Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
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10
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Bourgon N, Jaouen K, Bacon AM, Dufour E, McCormack J, Tran NH, Trost M, Fiorillo D, Dunn TE, Zanolli C, Zachwieja A, Duringer P, Ponche JL, Boesch Q, Antoine PO, Westaway KE, Joannes-Boyau R, Suzzoni E, Frangeul S, Crozier F, Aubaile F, Patole-Edoumba E, Luangkhoth T, Souksavatdy V, Boualaphane S, Sayavonkhamdy T, Sichanthongtip P, Sihanam D, Demeter F, Shackelford LL, Hublin JJ, Tütken T. Trophic ecology of a Late Pleistocene early modern human from tropical Southeast Asia inferred from zinc isotopes. J Hum Evol 2021; 161:103075. [PMID: 34655947 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Tam Pà Ling, a cave site in northeastern Laos, has yielded the earliest skeletal evidence of Homo sapiens in mainland Southeast Asia. The reliance of Pleistocene humans in rainforest settings on plant or animal resources is still largely unstudied, mainly due to poor collagen preservation in fossils from tropical environments precluding stable nitrogen isotope analysis, the classical trophic level proxy. However, isotopic ratios of zinc (Zn) in bioapatite constitute a promising proxy to infer trophic and dietary information from fossil vertebrates, even under adverse tropical taphonomic conditions. Here, we analyzed the zinc isotope composition (66Zn/64Zn expressed as δ66Zn value) in the enamel of two teeth of the Late Pleistocene (63-46 ka) H. sapiens individual (TPL1) from Tam Pà Ling, as well as 76 mammal teeth from the same site and the nearby Nam Lot cave. The human individual exhibits relatively low enamel δ66Zn values (+0.24‰) consistent with an omnivorous diet, suggesting a dietary reliance on both plant and animal matter. These findings offer direct evidence of the broad utilization of resources from tropical rainforests by one of the earliest known anatomically modern humans in Southeast Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Bourgon
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Applied and Analytical Palaeontology, Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55099 Mainz, Germany; Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques, Environnements (AASPE), UMR 7209, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Klervia Jaouen
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Anne-Marie Bacon
- UMR 8045 BABEL, CNRS, Université de Paris, Faculté de Chirurgie Dentaire, 92120 Montrouge, France
| | - Elise Dufour
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques, Environnements (AASPE), UMR 7209, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Jeremy McCormack
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - N-Han Tran
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Manuel Trost
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Denis Fiorillo
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques, Environnements (AASPE), UMR 7209, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Tyler E Dunn
- Department of Medical Education, School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 68178, USA
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33615 Pessac, France
| | - Alexandra Zachwieja
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN 55812-3031, USA
| | - Philippe Duringer
- Ecole et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre (EOST), Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg (IPGS), UMR 7516 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Jean-Luc Ponche
- Image Ville et Environnement, UMR 7362, Institut de Géographie, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Quentin Boesch
- Ecole et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre (EOST), Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg (IPGS), UMR 7516 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Pierre-Olivier Antoine
- Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution de Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, Institut de Recherche et de Développement (IRD), Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Kira E Westaway
- Traps-MQ Luminescence Dating Facility, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Renaud Joannes-Boyau
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group (GARG), Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia; Centre for Anthropological Research, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa
| | - Eric Suzzoni
- Spitteurs Pan, Technical Cave Supervision and Exploration, 26420 La Chapelle en Vercors, France
| | - Sébastien Frangeul
- Spitteurs Pan, Technical Cave Supervision and Exploration, 26420 La Chapelle en Vercors, France
| | | | - Françoise Aubaile
- Laboratoire d'Eco-Anthropologie UMR 7206, CNRS, MNHN, Université de Paris, 75016 Paris, France
| | | | - Thonglith Luangkhoth
- Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao Democratic People's Republic
| | - Viengkeo Souksavatdy
- Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao Democratic People's Republic
| | - Souliphane Boualaphane
- Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao Democratic People's Republic
| | - Thongsa Sayavonkhamdy
- Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao Democratic People's Republic
| | - Phonephanh Sichanthongtip
- Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao Democratic People's Republic
| | - Daovee Sihanam
- Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao Democratic People's Republic
| | - Fabrice Demeter
- Laboratoire d'Eco-Anthropologie UMR 7206, CNRS, MNHN, Université de Paris, 75016 Paris, France; Lundbeck Foundation, GeoGenetics Centre, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Laura L Shackelford
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Paléoanthropologie, Collège de France, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Thomas Tütken
- Applied and Analytical Palaeontology, Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55099 Mainz, Germany
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11
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Late Pleistocene human paleoecology in the highland savanna ecosystem of mainland Southeast Asia. Sci Rep 2021; 11:16756. [PMID: 34408215 PMCID: PMC8373907 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-96260-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The late Pleistocene settlement of highland settings in mainland Southeast Asia by Homo sapiens has challenged our species's ability to occupy mountainous landscapes that acted as physical barriers to the expansion into lower-latitude Sunda islands during sea-level lowstands. Tham Lod Rockshelter in highland Pang Mapha (northwestern Thailand), dated between 34,000 and 12,000 years ago, has yielded evidence of Hoabinhian lithic assemblages and natural resource use by hunter-gatherer societies. To understand the process of early settlements of highland areas, we measured stable carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of Tham Lod human and faunal tooth enamel. Our assessment of the stable carbon isotope results suggests long-term opportunistic behavior among hunter-gatherers in foraging on a variety of food items in a mosaic environment and/or inhabiting an open forest edge during the terminal Pleistocene. This study reinforces the higher-latitude and -altitude extension of a forest-grassland mosaic ecosystem or savanna corridor (farther north into northwestern Thailand), which facilitated the dispersal of hunter-gatherers across mountainous areas and possibly allowed for consistency in a human subsistence strategy and Hoabinhian technology in the highlands of mainland Southeast Asia over a 20,000-year span near the end of the Pleistocene.
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12
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Ingman T, Eisenmann S, Skourtanioti E, Akar M, Ilgner J, Gnecchi Ruscone GA, le Roux P, Shafiq R, Neumann GU, Keller M, Freund C, Marzo S, Lucas M, Krause J, Roberts P, Yener KA, Stockhammer PW. Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh), Hatay, Turkey during the 2nd millennium BC: Integration of isotopic and genomic evidence. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0241883. [PMID: 34191795 PMCID: PMC8244877 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The Middle and Late Bronze Age, a period roughly spanning the 2nd millennium BC (ca. 2000-1200 BC) in the Near East, is frequently referred to as the first 'international age', characterized by intense and far-reaching contacts between different entities from the eastern Mediterranean to the Near East and beyond. In a large-scale tandem study of stable isotopes and ancient DNA of individuals excavated at Tell Atchana (Alalakh, located in Hatay, Turkey), we explored the role of mobility at the capital of a regional kingdom, named Mukish during the Late Bronze Age, which spanned the Amuq Valley and some areas beyond. We generated strontium and oxygen isotope data from dental enamel for 53 individuals and 77 individuals, respectively, and added ancient DNA data of 10 newly sequenced individuals to a dataset of 27 individuals published in 2020. Additionally, we improved the DNA coverage of one individual from this 2020 dataset. The DNA data revealed a very homogeneous gene pool. This picture of an overwhelmingly local ancestry was consistent with the evidence of local upbringing in most of the individuals indicated by the isotopic data, where only five were found to be non-local. High levels of contact, trade, and exchange of ideas and goods in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, therefore, seem not to have translated into high levels of individual mobility detectable at Tell Atchana.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara Ingman
- Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED), Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Stefanie Eisenmann
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Eirini Skourtanioti
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Murat Akar
- Department of Archaeology, Mustafa Kemal University, Alahan-Antakya, Hatay, Turkey
| | - Jana Ilgner
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Petrus le Roux
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - Rula Shafiq
- Anthropology Department, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gunnar U. Neumann
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Marcel Keller
- Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Cäcilia Freund
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Sara Marzo
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Mary Lucas
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Johannes Krause
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - K. Aslıhan Yener
- Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW), New York University, New York, NY, United States of America
| | - Philipp W. Stockhammer
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Institute for Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology and Archaeology of the Roman Provinces, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
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13
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Roberts P, Buhrich A, Caetano-Andrade V, Cosgrove R, Fairbairn A, Florin SA, Vanwezer N, Boivin N, Hunter B, Mosquito D, Turpin G, Ferrier Å. Reimagining the relationship between Gondwanan forests and Aboriginal land management in Australia's "Wet Tropics". iScience 2021; 24:102190. [PMID: 33718840 PMCID: PMC7921842 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The "Wet Tropics" of Australia host a unique variety of plant lineages that trace their origins to the super-continent of Gondwanaland. While these "ancient" evolutionary records are rightly emphasized in current management of the region, multidisciplinary research and lobbying by Rainforest Aboriginal Peoples have also demonstrated the significance of the cultural heritage of the "Wet Tropics." Here, we evaluate the existing archeological, paleoenvironmental, and historical evidence to demonstrate the diverse ways in which these forests are globally significant, not only for their ecological heritage but also for their preservation of traces of millennia of anthropogenic activities, including active burning and food tree manipulation. We argue that detailed paleoecological, ethnobotanical, and archeological studies, working within the framework of growing national and world heritage initiatives and active application of traditional knowledge, offer the best opportunities for sustainable management of these unique environments in the face of increasingly catastrophic climate change and bushfires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Alice Buhrich
- College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia
| | - Victor Caetano-Andrade
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany
| | - Richard Cosgrove
- Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Andrew Fairbairn
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - S. Anna Florin
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Nils Vanwezer
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Barry Hunter
- Djabugay Aboriginal Corporation, Kuranda, Australia
| | - Desley Mosquito
- Wabubadda Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, Jirrbal Aboriginal People, Atherton, Australia
| | - Gerry Turpin
- Tropical Indigenous Ethnobotany Centre, Australian Tropical Herbarium, James Cook University, McGregor Road, Smithfield, QLD 4879, Australia
- Queensland Herbarium, Department of Environment and Science, Mount Coot-tha Botanical Gardens, Mount Cooth-tha Road, Toowong, QLD 4066, Australia
| | - Åsa Ferrier
- Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
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14
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Amano N, Wang YV, Boivin N, Roberts P. 'Emptying Forests?' Conservation Implications of Past Human-Primate Interactions. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:345-359. [PMID: 33431163 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Non-human primates are among the most vulnerable tropical animals to extinction and ~50% of primate species are endangered. Human hunting is considered a major cause of increasingly 'empty forests', yet archaeological data remains under-utilised in testing this assertion over the longer-term. Zooarchaeological datasets allow investigation of human exploitation of primates and the reconstruction of extinction, extirpation, and translocation processes. We evaluate the application and limitations of data from zooarchaeological studies spanning the past 45 000 years in South and Southeast Asia in guiding primate conservation efforts. We highlight that environmental change was the primary threat to many South and Southeast Asian non-human primate populations during much of the Holocene, foreshadowing human-induced land-use and environmental change as major threats of the 21st century.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noel Amano
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.
| | - Yiming V Wang
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.
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15
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Bleasdale M, Wotzka HP, Eichhorn B, Mercader J, Styring A, Zech J, Soto M, Inwood J, Clarke S, Marzo S, Fiedler B, Linseele V, Boivin N, Roberts P. Isotopic and microbotanical insights into Iron Age agricultural reliance in the Central African rainforest. Commun Biol 2020; 3:619. [PMID: 33110164 PMCID: PMC7591565 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-01324-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Accepted: 09/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of agriculture in Central Africa has previously been associated with the migration of Bantu-speaking populations during an anthropogenic or climate-driven ‘opening’ of the rainforest. However, such models are based on assumptions of environmental requirements of key crops (e.g. Pennisetum glaucum) and direct insights into human dietary reliance remain absent. Here, we utilise stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O) of human and animal remains and charred food remains, as well as plant microparticles from dental calculus, to assess the importance of incoming crops in the Congo Basin. Our data, spanning the early Iron Age to recent history, reveals variation in the adoption of cereals, with a persistent focus on forest and freshwater resources in some areas. These data provide new dietary evidence and document the longevity of mosaic subsistence strategies in the region. Bleasdale et al. examine the introduction of agricultural crops in the Congo Basin with stable isotope analysis of human and animal remains, charred food remains, and plant microparticles from dental calculus. Their findings reveal variation in the adoption of cereals from the early Iron Age, and provide long-term insights into changing human reliance on different resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine Bleasdale
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Straße 10, 07745, Jena, Germany. .,Department of Archaeology, University of York, King's Manor, Exhibition Square, York, YO1 7EP, UK.
| | - Hans-Peter Wotzka
- Institute of Prehistory, University of Cologne, Weyertal 125, 50931, Cologne, Germany
| | - Barbara Eichhorn
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Goethe University, Norbert-Wollheim-Platz 1, D-60629, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Julio Mercader
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Straße 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.,Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, N.W. Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Amy Styring
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Goethe University, Norbert-Wollheim-Platz 1, D-60629, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3TG, UK
| | - Jana Zech
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Straße 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - María Soto
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, N.W. Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Jamie Inwood
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, N.W. Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Siobhán Clarke
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, N.W. Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Sara Marzo
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Straße 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Bianca Fiedler
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Straße 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Veerle Linseele
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Center for Archaeological Sciences, University of Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Straße 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.,Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, N.W. Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.,Department of Archaeology, University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD, 4072, Brisbane, Australia.,Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 10th Street & Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC, 20560, USA
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Straße 10, 07745, Jena, Germany. .,Department of Archaeology, University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD, 4072, Brisbane, Australia.
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16
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Louys J, Roberts P. Environmental drivers of megafauna and hominin extinction in Southeast Asia. Nature 2020; 586:402-406. [PMID: 33029012 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2810-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Southeast Asia has emerged as an important region for understanding hominin and mammalian migrations and extinctions. High-profile discoveries have shown that Southeast Asia has been home to at least five members of the genus Homo1-3. Considerable turnover in Pleistocene megafauna has previously been linked with these hominins or with climate change4, although the region is often left out of discussions of megafauna extinctions. In the traditional hominin evolutionary core of Africa, attempts to establish the environmental context of hominin evolution and its association with faunal changes have long been informed by stable isotope methodologies5,6. However, such studies have largely been neglected in Southeast Asia. Here we present a large-scale dataset of stable isotope data for Southeast Asian mammals that spans the Quaternary period. Our results demonstrate that the forests of the Early Pleistocene had given way to savannahs by the Middle Pleistocene, which led to the spread of grazers and extinction of browsers-although geochronological limitations mean that not all samples can be resolved to glacial or interglacial periods. Savannahs retreated by the Late Pleistocene and had completely disappeared by the Holocene epoch, when they were replaced by highly stratified closed-canopy rainforest. This resulted in the ascendency of rainforest-adapted species as well as Homo sapiens-which has a unique adaptive plasticity among hominins-at the expense of savannah and woodland specialists, including Homo erectus. At present, megafauna are restricted to rainforests and are severely threatened by anthropogenic deforestation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Louys
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. .,College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Capital Territory, Australia.
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany. .,School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. .,Archaeological Studies Programme, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, The Philippines.
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17
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Langley MC, Amano N, Wedage O, Deraniyagala S, Pathmalal M, Perera N, Boivin N, Petraglia MD, Roberts P. Bows and arrows and complex symbolic displays 48,000 years ago in the South Asian tropics. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaba3831. [PMID: 32582854 PMCID: PMC7292635 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba3831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Archaeologists contend that it was our aptitude for symbolic, technological, and social behaviors that was central to Homo sapiens rapidly expanding across the majority of Earth's continents during the Late Pleistocene. This expansion included movement into extreme environments and appears to have resulted in the displacement of numerous archaic human populations across the Old World. Tropical rainforests are thought to have been particularly challenging and, until recently, impenetrable by early H. sapiens. Here, we describe evidence for bow-and-arrow hunting toolkits alongside a complex symbolic repertoire from 48,000 years before present at the Sri Lankan site of Fa-Hien Lena-the earliest bow-and-arrow technology outside of Africa. As one of the oldest H. sapiens rainforest sites outside of Africa, this exceptional assemblage provides the first detailed insights into how our species met the extreme adaptive challenges that were encountered in Asia during global expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle C. Langley
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Noel Amano
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Oshan Wedage
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Department of History and Archaeology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Gangodawila, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
| | | | - M.M Pathmalal
- Department of Zoology, Centre for Water Quality and Algae Research, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Gangodawila, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
| | - Nimal Perera
- Department of Archaeology, Government of Sri Lanka, Colombo, Sri Lanka
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- School of Social Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Michael D. Petraglia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- School of Social Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- School of Social Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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18
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Roberts P, Louys J, Zech J, Shipton C, Kealy S, Carro SS, Hawkins S, Boulanger C, Marzo S, Fiedler B, Boivin N, Mahirta, Aplin K, OʼConnor S. Isotopic evidence for initial coastal colonization and subsequent diversification in the human occupation of Wallacea. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2068. [PMID: 32350284 PMCID: PMC7190613 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15969-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The resource-poor, isolated islands of Wallacea have been considered a major adaptive obstacle for hominins expanding into Australasia. Archaeological evidence has hinted that coastal adaptations in Homo sapiens enabled rapid island dispersal and settlement; however, there has been no means to directly test this proposition. Here, we apply stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis to human and faunal tooth enamel from six Late Pleistocene to Holocene archaeological sites across Wallacea. The results demonstrate that the earliest human forager found in the region c. 42,000 years ago made significant use of coastal resources prior to subsequent niche diversification shown for later individuals. We argue that our data provides clear insights into the huge adaptive flexibility of our species, including its ability to specialize in the use of varied environments, particularly in comparison to other hominin species known from Island Southeast Asia. There has been substantial debate of how hominins colonized Australasia through Wallacea, including their ability to utilize marine vs. terrestrial resources. Here, Roberts et al. use stable carbon and oxygen isotopes to reconstruct temporal shifts in the diets of early human inhabitants of Alor and Timor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany. .,School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
| | - Julien Louys
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Jana Zech
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Ceri Shipton
- School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
| | - Shimona Kealy
- School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
| | - Sofia Samper Carro
- School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia.,Centre d'Estudis del Patrimoni Arqueologic, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Stuart Hawkins
- School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
| | - Clara Boulanger
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia.,Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département Homme et Environment, CNRS UMR 7194, Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique, Paris, France
| | - Sara Marzo
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Bianca Fiedler
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Mahirta
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia.,Department of Archaeology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia
| | - Ken Aplin
- School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
| | - Sue OʼConnor
- School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia. .,ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia.
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19
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Florin SA, Fairbairn AS, Nango M, Djandjomerr D, Marwick B, Fullagar R, Smith M, Wallis LA, Clarkson C. The first Australian plant foods at Madjedbebe, 65,000-53,000 years ago. Nat Commun 2020; 11:924. [PMID: 32066741 PMCID: PMC7026095 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14723-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
There is little evidence for the role of plant foods in the dispersal of early modern humans into new habitats globally. Researchers have hypothesised that early movements of human populations through Island Southeast Asia and into Sahul were driven by the lure of high-calorie, low-handling-cost foods, and that the use of plant foods requiring processing was not common in Sahul until the Holocene. Here we present the analysis of charred plant food remains from Madjedbebe rockshelter in northern Australia, dated to between 65 kya and 53 kya. We demonstrate that Australia's earliest known human population exploited a range of plant foods, including those requiring processing. Our finds predate existing evidence for such subsistence practices in Sahul by at least 23ky. These results suggest that dietary breadth underpinned the success of early modern human populations in this region, with the expenditure of labour on the processing of plants guaranteeing reliable access to nutrients in new environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Anna Florin
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
| | - Andrew S Fairbairn
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia
- Depatrment of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaiche Strasse 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - May Nango
- Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, 5 Gregory Place, Jabiru, NT, 0886, Australia
| | - Djaykuk Djandjomerr
- Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, 5 Gregory Place, Jabiru, NT, 0886, Australia
| | - Ben Marwick
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Richard Fullagar
- Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia
| | - Mike Smith
- College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
- Centre for Historical Research, National Museum of Australia, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Lynley A Wallis
- Nulungu Research Institute, University of Notre Dame Australia, Broome, WA, 6725, Australia
- Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Chris Clarkson
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia.
- Depatrment of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaiche Strasse 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.
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20
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Wedage O, Picin A, Blinkhorn J, Douka K, Deraniyagala S, Kourampas N, Perera N, Simpson I, Boivin N, Petraglia M, Roberts P. Microliths in the South Asian rainforest ~45-4 ka: New insights from Fa-Hien Lena Cave, Sri Lanka. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0222606. [PMID: 31577796 PMCID: PMC6774521 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Microliths–small, retouched, often-backed stone tools–are often interpreted to be the product of composite tools, including projectile weapons, and efficient hunting strategies by modern humans. In Europe and Africa these lithic toolkits are linked to hunting of medium- and large-sized game found in grassland or woodland settings, or as adaptations to risky environments during periods of climatic change. Here, we report on a recently excavated lithic assemblage from the Late Pleistocene cave site of Fa-Hien Lena in the tropical evergreen rainforest of Sri Lanka. Our analyses demonstrate that Fa-Hien Lena represents the earliest microlith assemblage in South Asia (c. 48,000–45,000 cal. years BP) in firm association with evidence for the procurement of small to medium size arboreal prey and rainforest plants. Moreover, our data highlight that the lithic technology of Fa-Hien Lena changed little over the long span of human occupation (c. 48,000–45,000 cal. years BP to c. 4,000 cal. years BP) indicating a successful, stable technological adaptation to the tropics. We argue that microlith assemblages were an important part of the environmental plasticity that enabled Homo sapiens to colonise and specialise in a diversity of ecological settings during its expansion within and beyond Africa. The proliferation of diverse microlithic technologies across Eurasia c. 48–45 ka was part of a flexible human ‘toolkit’ that assisted our species’ spread into all of the world’s environments, and the development of specialised technological and cultural approaches to novel ecological situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oshan Wedage
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Department of History and Archaeology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Gangodawila, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
- * E-mail: (OW); (AP); (MP); (PR)
| | - Andrea Picin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- * E-mail: (OW); (AP); (MP); (PR)
| | - James Blinkhorn
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, England, United Kingdom
| | - Katerina Douka
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, United Kingdom
| | | | - Nikos Kourampas
- Biological and Environmental Science, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom
- Centre for Open Learning, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Nimal Perera
- Department of Archaeology, Government of Sri Lanka, Colombo, Sri Lanka
| | - Ian Simpson
- Biological and Environmental Science, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America
| | - Michael Petraglia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America
- * E-mail: (OW); (AP); (MP); (PR)
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- * E-mail: (OW); (AP); (MP); (PR)
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21
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Wedage O, Amano N, Langley MC, Douka K, Blinkhorn J, Crowther A, Deraniyagala S, Kourampas N, Simpson I, Perera N, Picin A, Boivin N, Petraglia M, Roberts P. Specialized rainforest hunting by Homo sapiens ~45,000 years ago. Nat Commun 2019; 10:739. [PMID: 30783099 PMCID: PMC6381157 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08623-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2018] [Accepted: 01/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Defining the distinctive capacities of Homo sapiens relative to other hominins is a major focus for human evolutionary studies. It has been argued that the procurement of small, difficult-to-catch, agile prey is a hallmark of complex behavior unique to our species; however, most research in this regard has been limited to the last 20,000 years in Europe and the Levant. Here, we present detailed faunal assemblage and taphonomic data from Fa-Hien Lena Cave in Sri Lanka that demonstrates specialized, sophisticated hunting of semi-arboreal and arboreal monkey and squirrel populations from ca. 45,000 years ago, in a tropical rainforest environment. Facilitated by complex osseous and microlithic technologies, we argue these data highlight that the early capture of small, elusive mammals was part of the plastic behavior of Homo sapiens that allowed it to rapidly colonize a series of extreme environments that were apparently untouched by its hominin relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oshan Wedage
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany.
- Department of History and Archaeology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Gangodawila, Nugegoda, Colombo, 10250, Sri Lanka.
| | - Noel Amano
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany.
| | - Michelle C Langley
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Katerina Douka
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK
| | - James Blinkhorn
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 OEX, UK
| | - Alison Crowther
- Department of Archaeology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Siran Deraniyagala
- Department of Archaeology, Government of Sri Lanka, Colombo, 00700, Sri Lanka
| | - Nikos Kourampas
- Biological & Environmental Science, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK
- Center for Open Learning, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 8AQ, UK
| | - Ian Simpson
- Biological & Environmental Science, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK
| | - Nimal Perera
- Department of Archaeology, Government of Sri Lanka, Colombo, 00700, Sri Lanka
| | - Andrea Picin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Michael Petraglia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany.
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20013-7012, USA.
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany.
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22
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Roberts P, Stewart M, Alagaili AN, Breeze P, Candy I, Drake N, Groucutt HS, Scerri EML, Lee-Thorp J, Louys J, Zalmout IS, Al-Mufarreh YSA, Zech J, Alsharekh AM, Al Omari A, Boivin N, Petraglia M. Fossil herbivore stable isotopes reveal middle Pleistocene hominin palaeoenvironment in 'Green Arabia'. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:1871-1878. [PMID: 30374171 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0698-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 09/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Despite its largely hyper-arid and inhospitable climate today, the Arabian Peninsula is emerging as an important area for investigating Pleistocene hominin dispersals. Recently, a member of our own species was found in northern Arabia dating to ca. 90 ka, while stone tools and fossil finds have hinted at an earlier, middle Pleistocene, hominin presence. However, there remain few direct insights into Pleistocene environments, and associated hominin adaptations, that accompanied the movement of populations into this region. Here, we apply stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis to fossil mammal tooth enamel (n = 21) from the middle Pleistocene locality of Ti's al Ghadah in Saudi Arabia associated with newly discovered stone tools and probable cutmarks. The results demonstrate productive grasslands in the interior of the Arabian Peninsula ca. 300-500 ka, as well as aridity levels similar to those found in open savannah settings in eastern Africa today. The association between this palaeoenvironmental information and the earliest traces for hominin activity in this part of the world lead us to argue that middle Pleistocene hominin dispersals into the interior of the Arabian Peninsula required no major novel adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.
| | - Mathew Stewart
- Palaeontology, Geobiology and Earth Archives Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Abdulaziz N Alagaili
- KSU Mammals Research Chair, Zoology Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Paul Breeze
- Department of Geography, King's College, London, UK
| | - Ian Candy
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, UK
| | - Nick Drake
- Department of Geography, King's College, London, UK
| | - Huw S Groucutt
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.,Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Eleanor M L Scerri
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.,Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Julia Lee-Thorp
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Julien Louys
- Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith Sciences - Centres and Institutes, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia
| | - Iyad S Zalmout
- Department of Paleontology, Saudi Geological Survey, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Jana Zech
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | | | | | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Michael Petraglia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany. .,Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA.
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23
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Ventresca Miller A, Fernandes R, Janzen A, Nayak A, Swift J, Zech J, Boivin N, Roberts P. Sampling and Pretreatment of Tooth Enamel Carbonate for Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Analysis. J Vis Exp 2018. [PMID: 30176003 DOI: 10.3791/58002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of human and animal tooth enamel carbonate has been applied in paleodietary, paleoecological, and paleoenvironmental research from recent historical periods back to over 10 million years ago. Bulk approaches provide a representative sample for the period of enamel mineralization, while sequential samples within a tooth can track dietary and environmental changes during this period. While these methodologies have been widely applied and described in archaeology, ecology, and paleontology, there have been no explicit guidelines to aid in the selection of necessary lab equipment and to thoroughly describe detailed laboratory sampling and protocols. In this article, we document textually and visually, the entire process from sampling through pretreatment and diagenetic screening to make the methodology more widely available to researchers considering its application in a variety of laboratory settings.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ricardo Fernandes
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History; School of Archaeology, University of Oxford
| | - Anneke Janzen
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
| | - Ayushi Nayak
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
| | - Jillian Swift
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
| | - Jana Zech
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
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24
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Defining the ‘generalist specialist’ niche for Pleistocene Homo sapiens. Nat Hum Behav 2018; 2:542-550. [DOI: 10.1038/s41562-018-0394-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2018] [Revised: 06/17/2018] [Accepted: 06/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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25
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Roberts P, Gillingwater TH, Lahr MM, Lee-Thorp J, MacCallum M, Petraglia M, Wedage O, Heenbanda U, Wainnya-laeto U. Historical Tropical Forest Reliance amongst the Wanniyalaeto (Vedda) of Sri Lanka: an Isotopic Perspective. HUMAN ECOLOGY: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL 2018; 46:435-444. [PMID: 29997411 PMCID: PMC6015624 DOI: 10.1007/s10745-018-9997-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Headland and Bailey (1991) argued in Human Ecology that tropical forests could not support long-term human foraging in the absence of agriculture. Part of their thesis was based on the fact that supposedly isolated 'forest' foragers, such as the Wanniyalaeto (or Vedda) peoples of Sri Lanka, could be demonstrated to be enmeshed within historical trade networks and rely on crops as part of their overall subsistence. Yet, in the same volume and in the years that followed scholars have presented ethnographic and archaeological evidence, including from Sri Lanka, that counter this proposition, demonstrating the occupation and exploitation of tropical rainforest environments back to 38,000 years ago (ka) in this part of the world. However, archaeological and ethnohistorical research has yet to quantify the overall reliance of human foragers on tropical forest resources through time. Here, we report stable carbon and oxygen isotope data from historical Wanniyalaeto individuals from Sri Lanka, in full collaboration with the present-day members of this group, that suggest that while a number of individuals made use of agricultural resources in the recent past, others subsisted primarily on tropical forest resources as late as the 1800s.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Roberts
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Thomas H. Gillingwater
- Anatomical Museum, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Marta Mirazon Lahr
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Julia Lee-Thorp
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Malcolm MacCallum
- Anatomical Museum, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Michael Petraglia
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Oshan Wedage
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Department of History and Archaeolpogy, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
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Roberts P, Fernandes R, Craig OE, Larsen T, Lucquin A, Swift J, Zech J. Calling all archaeologists: guidelines for terminology, methodology, data handling, and reporting when undertaking and reviewing stable isotope applications in archaeology. RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY : RCM 2018; 32:361-372. [PMID: 29235694 PMCID: PMC5838555 DOI: 10.1002/rcm.8044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Revised: 11/25/2017] [Accepted: 11/28/2017] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Stable isotope analysis has been utilized in archaeology since the 1970s, yet standardized protocols for terminology, sampling, pretreatment evaluation, calibration, quality assurance and control, data presentation, and graphical or statistical treatment still remain lacking in archaeological applications. Here, we present recommendations and requirements for each of these in the archaeological context of: bulk stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of organics; bulk stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of carbonates; single compound stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis on amino acids in collagen and keratin; and single compound stable carbon and hydrogen isotope analysis on fatty acids. The protocols are based on recommendations from the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) as well as an expanding geochemical and archaeological science experimental literature. We hope that this will provide a useful future reference for authors and reviewers engaging with the growing number of stable isotope applications and datasets in archaeology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Roberts
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human HistoryKahlaische Str. 10D‐07745JenaGermany
| | - Ricardo Fernandes
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human HistoryKahlaische Str. 10D‐07745JenaGermany
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological ResearchDowning StCambridgeCB2 3ERUK
| | | | - Thomas Larsen
- Leibniz‐Laboratory for Isotope ResearchChristian‐Albrechts‐UniversitätD‐24118KielGermany
| | | | - Jillian Swift
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human HistoryKahlaische Str. 10D‐07745JenaGermany
| | - Jana Zech
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human HistoryKahlaische Str. 10D‐07745JenaGermany
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Rabett RJ. The success of failed Homo sapiens dispersals out of Africa and into Asia. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:212-219. [PMID: 29348642 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0436-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2017] [Accepted: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
The evidence for an early dispersal of Homo sapiens from Africa into the Levant during Marine Isotope Stage 5 (MIS-5) 126-74 ka (thousand years ago) was characterized for many years as an 'abortive' expansion: a precursor to a sustained dispersal from which all extant human populations can be traced. Recent archaeological and genetic data from both western and eastern parts of Eurasia and from Australia are starting to challenge that interpretation. This Perspective reviews the current evidence for a scenario where the MIS-5 dispersal encompassed a much greater geographic distribution and temporal duration. The implications of this for tracking and understanding early human dispersal in Southeast Asia specifically are considered, and the validity of measuring dispersal success only through genetic continuity into the present is examined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan J Rabett
- Archaeology & Palaeoecology, School of Natural & Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast, Elmwood Avenue, Belfast, BT7 1NN, UK.
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28
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Introduction au dossier Regards sur le passé : 30 ans de la Société Francophone de Primatologie. REVUE DE PRIMATOLOGIE 2017. [DOI: 10.4000/primatologie.2856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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