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Pop E, Noerwidi S, Spoor F. Naming Homo erectus: A review. J Hum Evol 2024; 190:103516. [PMID: 38547747 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103516] [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: 01/03/2024] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Following the discovery of hominin fossils at Trinil (Java, Indonesia) in 1891 and 1892, Eugène Dubois named a new species, now known as Homo erectus. Although the main historical events are well-known, there appears to be no consensus regarding two important aspects of the naming of the species, including what constitutes the original publication of the name, and what is the name-bearing type specimen. These issues are addressed in this paper with reference to original sources and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Our review confirms earlier studies that cite the published quarterly fieldwork report covering the 3rd quarter of 1892 as the original publication naming the species erectus. However, until recently, the correct publication year of 1893 has consistently been cited as 1892, and it has rarely been recognized that the author of the publication was anonymous, even though the author of the species is specifically named. Importantly, Dubois assigns all three hominin fossils found at Trinil up to that moment to the new species, explicitly stating that they belong to a single individual. The three fossils, a molar, a calotte, and a femur, therefore jointly constitute the original holotype. However, the femur most likely derives from younger strata than the other hominins and shows fully modern human-like morphology, unlike subsequently discovered H. erectus femora. Moreover, there is no consensus over the affinities of the molar, and if it is H. erectus rather than an extinct ape, there is no evidence that it belongs to the same individual as the calotte. Excluding these two fossils from the holotype, the calotte is the appropriate fossil to retain the role as name-bearing specimen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduard Pop
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA, Leiden, the Netherlands; Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9514, 2300 RA, Leiden, the Netherlands.
| | - Sofwan Noerwidi
- Research Center for Archaeometry, National Research and Innovation Agency, Jl. Condet Pejaten 4, Pasar Minggu, Jakarta Selatan 12510, Indonesia
| | - Fred Spoor
- Centre for Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7 5BD London, United Kingdom; Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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Davies TW, Gunz P, Spoor F, Alemseged Z, Gidna A, Hublin JJ, Kimbel WH, Kullmer O, Plummer WP, Zanolli C, Skinner MM. Dental morphology in Homo habilis and its implications for the evolution of early Homo. Nat Commun 2024; 15:286. [PMID: 38177110 PMCID: PMC10767101 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44375-9] [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: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The phylogenetic position of Homo habilis is central to debates over the origin and early evolution of the genus Homo. A large portion of the species hypodigm consists of dental remains, but they have only been studied at the often worn enamel surface. We investigate the morphology of the H. habilis enamel-dentine junction (EDJ), which is preserved in cases of moderate tooth wear and known to carry a strong taxonomic signal. Geometric morphometrics is used to characterise dentine crown shape and size across the entire mandibular and maxillary tooth rows, compared with a broad comparative sample (n = 712). We find that EDJ morphology in H. habilis is for the most part remarkably primitive, supporting the hypothesis that the H. habilis hypodigm has more in common with Australopithecus than later Homo. Additionally, the chronologically younger specimen OH 16 displays a suite of derived features; its inclusion in H. habilis leads to excessive levels of variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas W Davies
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
| | - Philipp Gunz
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Fred Spoor
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre for Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Zeresenay Alemseged
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Agness Gidna
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, P. O. Box 1, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Collège de France, Paris, France
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - William H Kimbel
- Institute of Human Origins, and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Ottmar Kullmer
- Palaeobiology and Environment workgroup, Institute of Ecology, Evolution, and Diversity, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
- Division of Palaeoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - William P Plummer
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33600, Pessac, France
| | - Matthew M Skinner
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Aramendi J, Mabulla A, Baquedano E, Domínguez-Rodrigo M. Biomechanical and taxonomic diversity in the Early Pleistocene in East Africa: Structural analysis of a recently discovered femur shaft from Olduvai Gorge (bed I). J Hum Evol 2024; 186:103469. [PMID: 38071888 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103469] [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: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
Recent Plio-Pleistocene hominin findings have revealed the complexity of human evolutionary history and the difficulties involved in its interpretation. Moreover, the study of hominin long bone remains is particularly problematic, since it commonly depends on the analysis of fragmentary skeletal elements that in many cases are merely represented by small diaphyseal portions and appear in an isolated fashion in the fossil record. Nevertheless, the study of the postcranial skeleton is particularly important to ascertain locomotor patterns. Here we report on the discovery of a robust hominin femoral fragment (OH 84) at the site of Amin Mturi Korongo dated to 1.84 Ma (Olduvai Bed I). External anatomy and internal bone structure of OH 84 were analyzed and compared with previously published data for modern humans and chimpanzees, as well as for Australopithecus, Paranthropus and Homo specimens ranging from the Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene. Biomechanical analyses based on transverse cross-sections and the comparison of OH 84 with another robust Olduvai specimen (OH 80) suggest that OH 84 might be tentatively allocated to Paranthropus boisei. More importantly, the identification of a unique combination of traits in OH 84 could indicate both terrestrial bipedalism and an arboreal component in the locomotor repertoire of this individual. If interpreted correctly, OH 84 could thus add to the already mounting evidence of substantial locomotor diversity among Early Pleistocene hominins. Likewise, our results also highlight the difficulties in accurately interpreting the link between form and function in the human fossil record based on fragmentary remains, and ultimately in distinguishing between coeval hominin groups due to the heterogeneous pattern of inter- and intraspecific morphological variability detected among fossil femora.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Aramendi
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, CB2 1TN, UK.
| | - Audax Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar Es Salaam, P.O. Box 35050, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Enrique Baquedano
- Archaeological and Paleontological Museum of the Community of Madrid, Plaza de Las Bernardas s/n, 28801, Alcalá de Henares, Spain; Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), University of Alcalá and Archaeological and Paleontological Museum of the Community of Madrid, C/Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), University of Alcalá and Archaeological and Paleontological Museum of the Community of Madrid, C/Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain; University of Alcalá, Department of History and Philosophy, Area of Prehistory, C/Colegios 2, 28801, Alcalá de Henares, Spain; Rice University, Department of Anthropology, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX, 77005 1827, USA
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Zanolli C, Taylor AB. Fifty years of paleoanthropology in Journal of Human Evolution: Historical perspectives and future directions. J Hum Evol 2023; 182:103415. [PMID: 37556932 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600, Pessac, France
| | - Andrea B Taylor
- Foundational Biomedical Sciences Department, Touro University California, 1310, Vallejo, CA, 94592, USA; Department of Anthropology, Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA, 94118, USA.
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