1
|
Shipton C, Morley MW, Kealy S, Norman K, Boulanger C, Hawkins S, Litster M, Withnell C, O'Connor S. Abrupt onset of intensive human occupation 44,000 years ago on the threshold of Sahul. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4193. [PMID: 38778054 PMCID: PMC11111772 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48395-x] [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: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Archaeological evidence attests multiple early dispersals of Homo sapiens out of Africa, but genetic evidence points to the primacy of a single dispersal 70-40 ka. Laili in Timor-Leste is on the southern dispersal route between Eurasia and Australasia and has the earliest record of human occupation in the eastern Wallacean archipelago. New evidence from the site shows that, unusually in the region, sediment accumulated in the shelter without human occupation, in the window 59-54 ka. This was followed by an abrupt onset of intensive human habitation beginning ~44 ka. The initial occupation is distinctive from overlying layers in the aquatic focus of faunal exploitation, while it has similarities in material culture to other early Homo sapiens sites in Wallacea. We suggest that the intensive early occupation at Laili represents a colonisation phase, which may have overwhelmed previous human dispersals in this part of the world.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ceri Shipton
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK.
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
- Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
| | - Mike W Morley
- Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
| | - Shimona Kealy
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
- Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
| | - Kasih Norman
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Griffith, QLD, Australia
- Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Clara Boulanger
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Department of Modern Society and Civilization, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, 565-8511, Japan
- UMR 7194 Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Stuart Hawkins
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Mirani Litster
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | | | - Sue O'Connor
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Smith TM, Arora M, Austin C, Nunes Ávila J, Duval M, Lim TT, Piper PJ, Vaiglova P, de Vos J, Williams IS, Zhao JX, Green DR. Oxygen isotopes in orangutan teeth reveal recent and ancient climate variation. eLife 2024; 12:RP90217. [PMID: 38457350 PMCID: PMC10942278 DOI: 10.7554/elife.90217] [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] [Indexed: 03/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Studies of climate variation commonly rely on chemical and isotopic changes recorded in sequentially produced growth layers, such as in corals, shells, and tree rings, as well as in accretionary deposits-ice and sediment cores, and speleothems. Oxygen isotopic compositions (δ18O) of tooth enamel are a direct method of reconstructing environmental variation experienced by an individual animal. Here, we utilize long-forming orangutan dentitions (Pongo spp.) to probe recent and ancient rainfall trends on a weekly basis over ~3-11 years per individual. We first demonstrate the lack of any consistent isotopic enrichment effect during exclusive nursing, supporting the use of primate first molar teeth as environmental proxies. Comparisons of δ18O values (n=2016) in twelve molars from six modern Bornean and Sumatran orangutans reveal a high degree of overlap, with more consistent annual and bimodal rainfall patterns in the Sumatran individuals. Comparisons with fossil orangutan δ18O values (n=955 measurements from six molars) reveal similarities between modern and late Pleistocene fossil Sumatran individuals, but differences between modern and late Pleistocene/early Holocene Bornean orangutans. These suggest drier and more open environments with reduced monsoon intensity during this earlier period in northern Borneo, consistent with other Niah Caves studies and long-term speleothem δ18O records in the broader region. This approach can be extended to test hypotheses about the paleoenvironments that early humans encountered in southeast Asia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tanya M Smith
- Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith UniversitySouthportAustralia
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith UniversitySouthportAustralia
| | - Manish Arora
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkUnited States
| | - Christine Austin
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkUnited States
| | - Janaína Nunes Ávila
- Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith UniversitySouthportAustralia
- School of the Environment, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Mathieu Duval
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith UniversitySouthportAustralia
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH)BurgosSpain
- Palaeoscience Labs, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe UniversityMelbourneAustralia
| | - Tze Tshen Lim
- Department of Geology, Universiti MalayaKuala LumpurMalaysia
| | - Philip J Piper
- School of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
| | - Petra Vaiglova
- Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith UniversitySouthportAustralia
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith UniversitySouthportAustralia
- School of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
| | - John de Vos
- Department of Geology, Naturalis Biodiversity CenterLeidenNetherlands
| | - Ian S Williams
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
| | - Jian-xin Zhao
- Radiogenic Isotope Facility, School of the Environment, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Daniel R Green
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith UniversitySouthportAustralia
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Zhang Y, Westaway KE, Haberle S, Lubeek JK, Bailey M, Ciochon R, Morley MW, Roberts P, Zhao JX, Duval M, Dosseto A, Pan Y, Rule S, Liao W, Gully GA, Lucas M, Mo J, Yang L, Cai Y, Wang W, Joannes-Boyau R. The demise of the giant ape Gigantopithecus blacki. Nature 2024; 625:535-539. [PMID: 38200315 PMCID: PMC10794149 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06900-0] [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: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
The largest ever primate and one of the largest of the southeast Asian megafauna, Gigantopithecus blacki1, persisted in China from about 2.0 million years until the late middle Pleistocene when it became extinct2-4. Its demise is enigmatic considering that it was one of the few Asian great apes to go extinct in the last 2.6 million years, whereas others, including orangutan, survived until the present5. The cause of the disappearance of G. blacki remains unresolved but could shed light on primate resilience and the fate of megafauna in this region6. Here we applied three multidisciplinary analyses-timing, past environments and behaviour-to 22 caves in southern China. We used 157 radiometric ages from six dating techniques to establish a timeline for the demise of G. blacki. We show that from 2.3 million years ago the environment was a mosaic of forests and grasses, providing ideal conditions for thriving G. blacki populations. However, just before and during the extinction window between 295,000 and 215,000 years ago there was enhanced environmental variability from increased seasonality, which caused changes in plant communities and an increase in open forest environments. Although its close relative Pongo weidenreichi managed to adapt its dietary preferences and behaviour to this variability, G. blacki showed signs of chronic stress and dwindling populations. Ultimately its struggle to adapt led to the extinction of the greatest primate to ever inhabit the Earth.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yingqi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Kira E Westaway
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Simon Haberle
- School of Culture, History and Languages, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Juliën K Lubeek
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Marian Bailey
- GARG, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Russell Ciochon
- Department of Anthropology and Museum of Natural History, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Mike W Morley
- College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Patrick Roberts
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- School of Social Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jian-Xin Zhao
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mathieu Duval
- National Research Centre on Human Evolution CENIEH, Burgos, Spain
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution (ARCHE), Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Anthony Dosseto
- Wollongong Isotope Geochronology Laboratory, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Yue Pan
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Sue Rule
- School of Culture, History and Languages, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Wei Liao
- Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
| | - Grant A Gully
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Mary Lucas
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Jinyou Mo
- Natural History Museum of Guangxi, Nanning, China
| | - Liyun Yang
- Chongzuo Zhuang Ethnological Musuem, Chongzuo, China
| | - Yanjun Cai
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, Qingdao, China.
| | - Renaud Joannes-Boyau
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- GARG, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia.
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Talking Dead. New burials from Tron Bon Lei (Alor Island, Indonesia) inform on the evolution of mortuary practices from the terminal Pleistocene to the Holocene in Southeast Asia. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0267635. [PMID: 36001542 PMCID: PMC9401180 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Burial elaborations are a human behaviour that, in recent contexts can inform on social diversification, belief systems, and the introduction of new practices resulting from migration or cultural transmission. The study of mortuary practices in Mainland and Island Southeast Asia has revealed complex and diverse treatments of the deceased. This paper contributes to this topic with the description of three new burials excavated in Tron Bon Lei (Alor Island, Indonesia) dated to 7.5, 10, and 12 kya cal BP. In addition to the bioskeletal profiles and palaeohealth observations, we propose the adoption of archaeothanatological methods to characterise burial types in the region. Through the analysis of skeletal element representation, body position, articulation, and grave associations, we provide an example of a holistic approach to mortuary treatments in the Lesser Sunda Islands. Our results provide significant new data for understanding the evolution and diversification of burial practices in Southeast Asia, contributing to a growing body of literature describing prehistoric socio-cultural behaviour in this region.
Collapse
|
8
|
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’.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
A Review of Human-Elephant Ecological Relations in the Malay Peninsula: Adaptations for Coexistence. DIVERSITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/d14010036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the relationship between humans and elephants is of particular interest for reducing conflict and encouraging coexistence. This paper reviews the ecological relationship between humans and Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in the rainforests of the Malay Peninsula, examining the extent of differentiation of spatio-temporal and trophic niches. We highlight the strategies that people and elephants use to partition an overlapping fundamental niche. When elephants are present, forest-dwelling people often build above-the-ground shelters; and when people are present, elephants avoid open areas during the day. People are able to access several foods that are out of reach of elephants or inedible; for example, people use water to leach poisons from tubers of wild yams, use blowpipes to kill arboreal game, and climb trees to access honey. We discuss how the transition to agriculture affected the human–elephant relationship by increasing the potential for competition. We conclude that the traditional foraging cultures of the Malay Peninsula are compatible with wildlife conservation.
Collapse
|
10
|
Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene sites in the montane forests of New Guinea yield early record of cassowary hunting and egg harvesting. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2100117118. [PMID: 34580213 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2100117118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
How early human foragers impacted insular forests is a topic with implications across multiple disciplines, including resource management. Paradoxically, terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene impacts of foraging communities have been characterized as both extreme-as in debates over human-driven faunal extinctions-and minimal compared to later landscape transformations by farmers and herders. We investigated how rainforest hunter-gatherers managed resources in montane New Guinea and present some of the earliest documentation of Late Pleistocene through mid-Holocene exploitation of cassowaries (Aves: Casuariidae). Worldwide, most insular ratites were extirpated by the Late Holocene, following human arrivals, including elephant birds of Madagascar (Aepyornithidae) and moa of Aotearoa/New Zealand (Dinornithiformes)-icons of anthropogenic island devastation. Cassowaries are exceptional, however, with populations persisting in New Guinea and Australia. Little is known of past human exploitation and what factors contributed to their survival. We present a method for inferring past human interaction with mega-avifauna via analysis of microstructural features of archaeological eggshell. We then contextualize cassowary hunting and egg harvesting by montane foragers and discuss the implications of human exploitation. Our data suggest cassowary egg harvesting may have been more common than the harvesting of adults. Furthermore, our analysis of cassowary eggshell microstructural variation reveals a distinct pattern of harvesting eggs in late ontogenetic stages. Harvesting eggs in later stages of embryonic growth may reflect human dietary preferences and foraging seasonality, but the observed pattern also supports the possibility that-as early as the Late Pleistocene-people were collecting eggs in order to hatch and rear cassowary chicks.
Collapse
|
11
|
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.
Collapse
|
12
|
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.
Collapse
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.
| |
Collapse
|