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van Holstein LA, Foley RA. Diversity-dependent speciation and extinction in hominins. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:1180-1190. [PMID: 38632435 PMCID: PMC11166571 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02390-z] [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: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
The search for drivers of hominin speciation and extinction has tended to focus on the impact of climate change. Far less attention has been paid to the role of interspecific competition. However, research across vertebrates more broadly has shown that both processes are often correlated with species diversity, suggesting an important role for interspecific competition. Here we ask whether hominin speciation and extinction conform to the expected patterns of negative and positive diversity dependence, respectively. We estimate speciation and extinction rates from fossil occurrence data with preservation variability priors in a validated Bayesian framework and test whether these rates are correlated with species diversity. We supplement these analyses with calculations of speciation rate across a phylogeny, again testing whether these are correlated with diversity. Our results are consistent with clade-wide diversity limits that governed speciation in hominins overall but that were not quite reached by the Australopithecus and Paranthropus subclade before its extinction. Extinction was not correlated with species diversity within the Australopithecus and Paranthropus subclade or within hominins overall; this is concordant with climate playing a greater part in hominin extinction than speciation. By contrast, Homo is characterized by positively diversity-dependent speciation and negatively diversity-dependent extinction-both exceedingly rare patterns across all forms of life. The genus Homo expands the set of reported associations between diversity and macroevolution in vertebrates, underscoring that the relationship between diversity and macroevolution is complex. These results indicate an important, previously underappreciated and comparatively unusual role of biotic interactions in Homo macroevolution, and speciation in particular. The unusual and unexpected patterns of diversity dependence in Homo speciation and extinction may be a consequence of repeated Homo range expansions driven by interspecific competition and made possible by recurrent innovations in ecological strategies. Exploring how hominin macroevolution fits into the general vertebrate macroevolutionary landscape has the potential to offer new perspectives on longstanding questions in vertebrate evolution and shed new light on evolutionary processes within our own lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura A van Holstein
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Robert A Foley
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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2
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Reda HG, Frost SR, Simons EA, Quade J, Simpson SW. Description and taxonomic assessment of fossil Cercopithecidae from the Pliocene Galili Formation (Ethiopia). J Hum Evol 2024; 190:103508. [PMID: 38599140 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103508] [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: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
The Mount Galili Formation in the Afar region, Ethiopia, samples a critical time in hominin evolution, 4.4 to 3.8 Ma, documenting the last appearance of Ardipithecus and the origin of Australopithecus. This period is also important in the evolution of cercopithecids, especially the origin of Theropithecus in general and Theropithecus oswaldi lineage in particular. Galili has provided a total of 655 cercopithecid specimens that include crania, mandibles, isolated teeth and postcrania. All the fossils were recovered from the Lasdanan (5.3-4.43 Ma), Dhidinley (4.43-3.9 Ma) and Shabeley Laag (∼3.92-3.8 Ma) Members. Here, we described and analyzed 362 fossils employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. Descriptions of the material were supplemented with dental metrics and cranial shape analysis using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics. Results indicate the presence of at least six cercopithecid taxa: Theropithecus oswaldi serengetensis (n = 28), Theropithecus sp. (n = 2), three non-Theropithecus papionin groups (n = 134) and one colobine-size group (n = 58). The T. o. serengetensis represents the earliest form of the lineage, documented from ∼3.9 Ma Galili sediments. The three Galili papionins include a smaller taxon, a medium-sized taxon comparable to Pliopapio alemui and a large papionin overlapping in size with Soromandrillus, Gorgopithecus and Dinopithecus. The majority of Galili colobines have closest affinities to Kuseracolobus aramisi and some overlap with other taxa. Papionins dominate the Galili cercopithecid collection, although colobines are still fairly common (approximately 25% of the sample). Thus, Galili sample is like Kanapoi (4.2-4.1 Ma) and Gona (5.2-3.9 Ma) localities but distinct from Aramis, suggesting paleoecological similarity to the former sites. On the other hand, Theropithecus is less abundant at Galili than geologically younger Hadar (3.4-3.2 Ma) and Woranso-Mille (3.8-3.6 Ma) sites. Whether this difference is due to sampling, time or landscape variation requires further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hailay G Reda
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403-1218, USA.
| | - Stephen R Frost
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403-1218, USA
| | - Evan A Simons
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, L470, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Jay Quade
- Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, 1040 E. 4th Street, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Scott W Simpson
- Department of Anatomy, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106-4930, USA; Laboratory of Physical Anthropology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
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3
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Martin JM, Leece AB, Baker SE, Herries AIR, Strait DS. A lineage perspective on hominin taxonomy and evolution. Evol Anthropol 2024; 33:e22018. [PMID: 38217397 DOI: 10.1002/evan.22018] [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: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 12/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
An uncritical reliance on the phylogenetic species concept has led paleoanthropologists to become increasingly typological in their delimitation of new species in the hominin fossil record. As a practical matter, this approach identifies species as diagnosably distinct groups of fossils that share a unique suite of morphological characters but, ontologically, a species is a metapopulation lineage segment that extends from initial divergence to eventual extinction or subsequent speciation. Working from first principles of species concept theory, it is clear that a reliance on morphological diagnosabilty will systematically overestimate species diversity in the fossil record; because morphology can evolve within a lineage segment, it follows that early and late populations of the same species can be diagnosably distinct from each other. We suggest that a combination of morphology and chronology provides a more robust test of the single-species null hypothesis than morphology alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse M Martin
- Palaeoanthropology Lab, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - A B Leece
- Palaeoanthropology Lab, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group, Southern Cross Geoscience, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Stephanie E Baker
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Andy I R Herries
- Palaeoanthropology Lab, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - David S Strait
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- DFG Center for Advanced Studies "Words, Bones, Genes, Tools", University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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4
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Tattersall I. Endocranial volumes and human evolution. F1000Res 2023; 12:565. [PMID: 37744765 PMCID: PMC10517302 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.131636.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Enlarging brains have been held up as the classic (if not the only) example of a consistent long-term trend in human evolution. And hominin endocranial volumes certainly expanded four-fold over the subfamily's seven-million-year history, while on a very coarse scale later hominids showed a strong tendency to have larger brains than earlier ones. However, closer scrutiny of this apparent trend reveals that it was extremely episodic and irregular, a fact that argues against the notion that it was driven by social interactions internal to the hominin clade. In addition, an overall tendency to brain volume increase was expressed independently and concurrently within at least three separate lineages of the genus Homo - suggesting that, whatever the exact influences were that promoted this global trend, they need to be sought among stimuli that acted comprehensively over the entire vast range of periods, geographies and environments that members of our subfamily occupied. Significantly, though, the dramatic recent shrinkage of the brain within the species Homo sapiens implies that the emergence of modern human cognition (via the adoption of the symbolic information processing mode, likely driven by the spontaneous invention of language in an exaptively enabled brain) was not the culmination of the overall hominin trend towards brain enlargement, but rather a departure from it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Tattersall
- Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, 10014, USA
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5
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Alemseged Z. Reappraising the palaeobiology of Australopithecus. Nature 2023; 617:45-54. [PMID: 37138108 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05957-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The naming of Australopithecus africanus in 1925, based on the Taung Child, heralded a new era in human evolutionary studies and turned the attention of the then Eurasian-centric palaeoanthropologists to Africa, albeit with reluctance. Almost one hundred years later, Africa is recognized as the cradle of humanity, where the entire evolutionary history of our lineage prior to two million years ago took place-after the Homo-Pan split. This Review examines data from diverse sources and offers a revised depiction of the genus and characterizes its role in human evolution. For a long time, our knowledge of Australopithecus came from both A. africanus and Australopithecus afarensis, and the members of this genus were portrayed as bipedal creatures that did not use stone tools, with a largely chimpanzee-like cranium, a prognathic face and a brain slightly larger than that of chimpanzees. Subsequent field and laboratory discoveries, however, have altered this portrayal, showing that Australopithecus species were habitual bipeds but also practised arboreality; that they occasionally used stone tools to supplement their diet with animal resources; and that their infants probably depended on adults to a greater extent than what is seen in apes. The genus gave rise to several taxa, including Homo, but its direct ancestor remains elusive. In sum, Australopithecus had a pivotal bridging role in our evolutionary history owing to its morphological, behavioural and temporal placement between the earliest archaic putative hominins and later hominins-including the genus Homo.
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Meyer MR, Jung JP, Spear JK, Araiza IF, Galway-Witham J, Williams SA. Knuckle-walking in Sahelanthropus? Locomotor inferences from the ulnae of fossil hominins and other hominoids. J Hum Evol 2023; 179:103355. [PMID: 37003245 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Because the ulna supports and transmits forces during movement, its morphology can signal aspects of functional adaptation. To test whether, like extant apes, some hominins habitually recruit the forelimb in locomotion, we separate the ulna shaft and ulna proximal complex for independent shape analyses via elliptical Fourier methods to identify functional signals. We examine the relative influence of locomotion, taxonomy, and body mass on ulna contours in Homo sapiens (n = 22), five species of extant apes (n = 33), two Miocene apes (Hispanopithecus and Danuvius), and 17 fossil hominin specimens including Sahelanthropus, Ardipithecus, Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and early Homo. Ulna proximal complex contours correlate with body mass but not locomotor patterns, while ulna shafts significantly correlate with locomotion. African apes' ulna shafts are more robust and curved than Asian apes and are unlike other terrestrial mammals (including other primates), curving ventrally rather than dorsally. Because this distinctive curvature is absent in orangutans and hylobatids, it is likely a function of powerful flexors engaged in wrist and hand stabilization during knuckle-walking, and not an adaptation to climbing or suspensory behavior. The OH 36 (purported Paranthropus boisei) and TM 266 (assigned to Sahelanthropus tchadensis) fossils differ from other hominins by falling within the knuckle-walking morphospace, and thus appear to show forelimb morphology consistent with terrestrial locomotion. Discriminant function analysis classifies both OH 36 and TM 266 with Pan and Gorilla with high posterior probability. Along with its associated femur, the TM 266 ulna shaft contours and its deep, keeled trochlear notch comprise a suite of traits signaling African ape-like quadrupedalism. While implications for the phylogenetic position and hominin status of S. tchadensis remain equivocal, this study supports the growing body of evidence indicating that S. tchadensis was not an obligate biped, but instead represents a late Miocene hominid with knuckle-walking adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc R Meyer
- Department of Anthropology, Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91737, USA.
| | - Jason P Jung
- Department of Biology, California State University, San Bernardino, CA 92407, USA
| | - Jeffrey K Spear
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Isabella Fx Araiza
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Julia Galway-Witham
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Scott A Williams
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
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7
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Beaudet A. The Australopithecus assemblage from Sterkfontein Member 4 (South Africa) and the concept of variation in palaeontology. Evol Anthropol 2023. [PMID: 36632711 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Interpreting morphological variation within the early hominin fossil record is particularly challenging. Apart from the fact that there is no absolute threshold for defining species boundaries in palaeontology, the degree of variation related to sexual dimorphism, temporal depth, geographic variation or ontogeny is difficult to appreciate in a fossil taxon mainly represented by fragmentary specimens, and such variation could easily be conflated with taxonomic diversity. One of the most emblematic examples in paleoanthropology is the Australopithecus assemblage from the Sterkfontein Caves in South Africa. Whereas some studies support the presence of multiple Australopithecus species at Sterkfontein, others explore alternative hypotheses to explain the morphological variation within the hominin assemblage. In this review, I briefly summarize the ongoing debates surrounding the interpretation of morphological variation at Sterkfontein Member 4 before exploring two promising avenues that would deserve specific attention in the future, that is, temporal depth and nonhuman primate diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Beaudet
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Sabadell, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
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8
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Comparative description and taxonomic affinity of 3.7-million-year-old hominin mandibles from Woranso-Mille (Ethiopia). J Hum Evol 2022; 173:103265. [PMID: 36306541 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Fossil discoveries of early Australopithecus species from Woranso-Mille have played a significant role in improving our understanding of mid-Pliocene hominin evolution and diversity. Here, we describe two mandibles with dentitions, recovered from sediments immediately above a tuff radiometrically dated to 3.76 ± 0.02 Ma, and assess their taxonomic affinity. The two mandibles (MSD-VP-5/16 and MSD-VP-5/50) show morphological similarities with both Australopithecus anamensis and Australopithecus afarensis. Some of the unique features that distinguish Au. anamensis from Au. afarensis are present in the mandibles, which also share a few derived features with Au. afarensis. Their retention of more Kanapoi Au. anamensis-like traits, compared to the fewer derived features they share with Au. afarensis, and the presence of Au. anamensis at Woranso-Mille in 3.8-million-year-old deposits, lends support to their assignment to Au. anamensis. However, it is equally arguable that the few derived dentognathic features they share with Au. afarensis could be taxonomically more significant, making it difficult to conclusively assign these specimens to either species. Regardless of which species they are assigned to, the mosaic nature of the dentognathic morphology and geological age of the two mandibles lends further support to the hypothesized ancestor-descendant relationship between Au. anamensis and Au. afarensis. However, there is now limited fossil evidence indicating that these two species may have overlapped in time. Hence, the last appearance of Au. anamensis and first appearance of Au. afarensis are currently unknown. Recovery of Australopithecus fossils from 4.1 to 3.8 Ma is critical to further address the timing of these events.
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9
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Balzeau A, Albessard-Ball L, Kubicka AM, Filippo A, Beaudet A, Santos E, Bienvenu T, Arsuaga JL, Bartsiokas A, Berger L, Bermúdez de Castro JM, Brunet M, Carlson KJ, Daura J, Gorgoulis VG, Grine FE, Harvati K, Hawks J, Herries A, Hublin JJ, Hui J, Ives R, Joordens JA, Kaifu Y, Kouloukoussa M, Léger B, Lordkipanidze D, Margvelashvili A, Martin J, Martinón-Torres M, May H, Mounier A, du Plessis A, Rae T, Röding C, Sanz M, Semal P, Stratford D, Stringer C, Tawane M, Temming H, Tsoukala E, Zilhão J, Zipfel B, Buck LT. Frontal sinuses and human evolution. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabp9767. [PMID: 36269821 PMCID: PMC9586476 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abp9767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The frontal sinuses are cavities inside the frontal bone located at the junction between the face and the cranial vault and close to the brain. Despite a long history of study, understanding of their origin and variation through evolution is limited. This work compares most hominin species' holotypes and other key individuals with extant hominids. It provides a unique and valuable perspective of the variation in sinuses position, shape, and dimensions based on a simple and reproducible methodology. We also observed a covariation between the size and shape of the sinuses and the underlying frontal lobes in hominin species from at least the appearance of Homo erectus. Our results additionally undermine hypotheses stating that hominin frontal sinuses were directly affected by biomechanical constraints resulting from either chewing or adaptation to climate. Last, we demonstrate their substantial potential for discussions of the evolutionary relationships between hominin species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Balzeau
- UMR 7194 Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique, CNRS, PaleoFED Team, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
- Department of African Zoology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
| | - Lou Albessard-Ball
- UMR 7194 Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique, CNRS, PaleoFED Team, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Anna Maria Kubicka
- UMR 7194 Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique, CNRS, PaleoFED Team, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
- Department of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Andréa Filippo
- UMR 7194 Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique, CNRS, PaleoFED Team, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Amélie Beaudet
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Elena Santos
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- Cátedra de Otoacústica Evolutiva y Paleoantropología (HM Hospitales - Universidad de Alcalá), Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo de la Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain
| | - Thibault Bienvenu
- Department of Anthropology and Anthropological Museum, University of Zurich, CH-8052 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Juan-Luis Arsuaga
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonis Bartsiokas
- Department of History and Ethnology, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece
| | - Lee Berger
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo de la Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London, UK
| | - Michel Brunet
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie Humaine, Collège de France, Paris, France
- UMR 7262 CNRS, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
| | - Kristian J. Carlson
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Palaeosciences Centre, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Joan Daura
- Departament d’Història i Arqueologia, Facultat de Geografia i Història, Universitat de Barcelona, c/Montalegre 6, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa (UNIARQ), Faculdade de Letras de Lisboa, Universidade de Lisboa, Alameda da Universidade, 1600-214 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Vassilis G. Gorgoulis
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
- Division of Cancer Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M20 4GJ, UK
| | - Frederick E. Grine
- Departments of Anthropology and Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Katerina Harvati
- Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment and Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - John Hawks
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Andy Herries
- Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, Collège de France, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Jiaming Hui
- UMR 7194 Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique, CNRS, PaleoFED Team, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Rachel Ives
- Centre for Human Evolution Research, History Museum, London, UK
| | - Josephine A. Joordens
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, Netherlands
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Maastricht University, Netherlands
| | - Yousuke Kaifu
- The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Mirsini Kouloukoussa
- Museum of Anthropology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Baptiste Léger
- Columbia University, 116 Street & Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - David Lordkipanidze
- Georgian National Museum, Purtseladze Str. 3, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia
- Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Chavchavadze Av. 1, 0179 Tbilisi, Georgia
| | - Ann Margvelashvili
- Georgian National Museum, Purtseladze Str. 3, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia
- Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Chavchavadze Av. 1, 0179 Tbilisi, Georgia
| | - Jesse Martin
- Palaeoscience, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo de la Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London, UK
| | - Hila May
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Post Office Box 39040, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
- Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Aurélien Mounier
- UMR 7194 Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique, CNRS, PaleoFED Team, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
- Department of History and Ethnology, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece
| | - Anton du Plessis
- Physics Department, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Todd Rae
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, Roehampton University, Holybourne Avenue, London SW15 4JD, UK
| | - Carolin Röding
- Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Montserrat Sanz
- Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa (UNIARQ), Faculdade de Letras de Lisboa, Universidade de Lisboa, Alameda da Universidade, 1600-214 Lisboa, Portugal
- Grup de Recerca del Quaternari (GRQ-SERP), Departament d’Història i Arqueologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Carrer Montalegre, 6, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Patrick Semal
- Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels 1000, Belgium
| | - Dominic Stratford
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
| | - Chris Stringer
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mirriam Tawane
- Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Heiko Temming
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Evangelia Tsoukala
- Laboratory of Geology and Palaeontology, School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - João Zilhão
- UNIARQ-Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-214 Lisbon, Portugal
- Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
- Department of History and Archaeology, University of Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Bernhard Zipfel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Laura T. Buck
- Research Centre for Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
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10
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Teeth, prenatal growth rates, and the evolution of human-like pregnancy in later Homo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2200689119. [PMID: 36191229 PMCID: PMC9564099 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2200689119] [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: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Evidence of how gestational parameters evolved is essential to understanding this fundamental stage of human life. Until now, these data seemed elusive given the skeletal bias of the fossil record. We demonstrate that dentition provides a window into the life of neonates. Teeth begin to form in utero and are intimately associated with gestational development. We measured the molar dentition for 608 catarrhine primates and collected data on prenatal growth rate (PGR) and endocranial volume (ECV) for 19 primate genera from the literature. We found that PGR and ECV are highly correlated (R2 = 0.93, P < 0.001). Additionally, we demonstrated that molar proportions are significantly correlated with PGR (P = 0.004) and log-transformed ECV (P = 0.001). From these correlations, we developed two methods for reconstructing PGR in the fossil record, one using ECV and one using molar proportions. Dental proportions reconstruct hominid ECV (R2 = 0.81, P < 0.001), a result that can be extrapolated to PGR. As teeth dominate fossil assemblages, our findings greatly expand our ability to investigate life history in the fossil record. Fossil ECVs and dental measurements from 13 hominid species both support significantly increasing PGR throughout the terminal Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene, reflecting known evolutionary changes. Together with pelvic and endocranial morphology, reconstructed PGRs indicate the need for increasing maternal energetics during pregnancy over the last 6 million years, reaching a human-like PGR (i.e., more similar to humans than to other extant apes) and ECV in later Homo less than 1 million years ago.
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11
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Pérez-Claros JA, Palmqvist P. Heterochronies and allometries in the evolution of the hominid cranium: a morphometric approach using classical anthropometric variables. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13991. [PMID: 36042865 PMCID: PMC9420405 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
This article studies the evolutionary change of allometries in the relative size of the two main cranial modules (neurocranium and splanchnocranium) in the five living hominid species and a diverse sample of extinct hominins. We use six standard craniometric variables as proxies for the length, width and height of each cranial module. Factor analysis and two-block partial least squares (2B-PLS) show that the great apes and modern humans share a pervasive negative ontogenetic allometry in the neurocranium and a positive one in the splanchnocranium. This developmental constraint makes it possible to interpret the cranial heterochronies in terms of ontogenetic scaling processes (i.e., extensions or truncations of the ancestral ontogenetic trajectory) and lateral transpositions (i.e., parallel translations of the entire trajectory starting from a different shape for a given cranial size). We hypothesize that ontogenetic scaling is the main evolutionary modality in the australopithecines while in the species of Homo it is also necessary to apply transpositions. Both types of processes are coordinated in Homo, which result in an evolutionary trend toward an increase in brain size and in the degree of paedomorphosis from the earliest habilines.
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12
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Monson TA, Brasil MF, Mahaney MC, Schmitt CA, Taylor CE, Hlusko LJ. Keeping 21st Century Paleontology Grounded: Quantitative Genetic Analyses and Ancestral State Reconstruction Re-Emphasize the Essentiality of Fossils. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:1218. [PMID: 36009845 PMCID: PMC9404954 DOI: 10.3390/biology11081218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Advances in genetics and developmental biology are revealing the relationship between genotype and dental phenotype (G:P), providing new approaches for how paleontologists assess dental variation in the fossil record. Our aim was to understand how the method of trait definition influences the ability to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history in the Cercopithecidae, the Linnaean Family of monkeys currently living in Africa and Asia. We compared the two-dimensional assessment of molar size (calculated as the mesiodistal length of the crown multiplied by the buccolingual breadth) to a trait that reflects developmental influences on molar development (the inhibitory cascade, IC) and two traits that reflect the genetic architecture of postcanine tooth size variation (defined through quantitative genetic analyses: MMC and PMM). All traits were significantly influenced by the additive effects of genes and had similarly high heritability estimates. The proportion of covariate effects was greater for two-dimensional size compared to the G:P-defined traits. IC and MMC both showed evidence of selection, suggesting that they result from the same genetic architecture. When compared to the fossil record, Ancestral State Reconstruction using extant taxa consistently underestimated MMC and PMM values, highlighting the necessity of fossil data for understanding evolutionary patterns in these traits. Given that G:P-defined dental traits may provide insight to biological mechanisms that reach far beyond the dentition, this new approach to fossil morphology has the potential to open an entirely new window onto extinct paleobiologies. Without the fossil record, we would not be able to grasp the full range of variation in those biological mechanisms that have existed throughout evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tesla A. Monson
- Department of Anthropology, Western Washington University, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
| | - Marianne F. Brasil
- Berkeley Geochronology Center, 2455 Ridge Road, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA
- Human Evolution Research Center, Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California Berkeley, MC-3140, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Michael C. Mahaney
- Department of Human Genetics, South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA
| | - Christopher A. Schmitt
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, 232 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Catherine E. Taylor
- Human Evolution Research Center, Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California Berkeley, MC-3140, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Leslea J. Hlusko
- Human Evolution Research Center, Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California Berkeley, MC-3140, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- National Center for Research on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain
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13
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Abstract
Sterkfontein is the most prolific single source of Australopithecus fossils, the vast majority of which were recovered from Member 4, a cave breccia now exposed by erosion and weathering at the landscape surface. A few other Australopithecus fossils, including the StW 573 skeleton, come from subterranean deposits [T. C. Partridge et al., Science 300, 607-612 (2003); R. J. Clarke, K. Kuman, J. Hum. Evol. 134, 102634 (2019)]. Here, we report a cosmogenic nuclide isochron burial date of 3.41 ± 0.11 million years (My) within the lower middle part of Member 4, and simple burial dates of 3.49 ± 0.19 My in the upper middle part of Member 4 and 3.61 ± 0.09 My in Jacovec Cavern. Together with a previously published isochron burial date of 3.67 ± 0.16 My for StW 573 [D. E. Granger et al., Nature 522, 85-88 (2015)], these results place nearly the entire Australopithecus assemblage at Sterkfontein in the mid-Pliocene, contemporaneous with Australopithecus afarensis in East Africa. Our ages for the fossil-bearing breccia in Member 4 are considerably older than the previous ages of ca. 2.1 to 2.6 My interpreted from flowstones associated with the same deposit. We show that these previously dated flowstones are stratigraphically intrusive within Member 4 and that they therefore underestimate the true age of the fossils.
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14
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Tracing the mobility of a Late Epigravettian (~ 13 ka) male infant from Grotte di Pradis (Northeastern Italian Prealps) at high-temporal resolution. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8104. [PMID: 35577834 PMCID: PMC9110381 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12193-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
We present the results of a multi-disciplinary investigation on a deciduous human tooth (Pradis 1), recently recovered from the Epigravettian layers of the Grotte di Pradis archaeological site (Northeastern Italian Prealps). Pradis 1 is an exfoliated deciduous molar (Rdm2), lost during life by an 11–12-year-old child. A direct radiocarbon date provided an age of 13,088–12,897 cal BP (95% probability, IntCal20). Amelogenin peptides extracted from tooth enamel and analysed through LC–MS/MS indicate that Pradis 1 likely belonged to a male. Time-resolved 87Sr/86Sr analyses by laser ablation mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICPMS), combined with dental histology, were able to resolve his movements during the first year of life (i.e. the enamel mineralization interval). Specifically, the Sr isotope ratio of the tooth enamel differs from the local baseline value, suggesting that the child likely spent his first year of life far from Grotte di Pradis. Sr isotopes are also suggestive of a cyclical/seasonal mobility pattern exploited by the Epigravettian human group. The exploitation of Grotte di Pradis on a seasonal, i.e. summer, basis is also indicated by the faunal spectra. Indeed, the nearly 100% occurrence of marmot remains in the entire archaeozoological collection indicates the use of Pradis as a specialized marmot hunting or butchering site. This work represents the first direct assessment of sub-annual movements observed in an Epigravettian hunter-gatherer group from Northern Italy.
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15
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Pugh KD. Phylogenetic analysis of Middle-Late Miocene apes. J Hum Evol 2022; 165:103140. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 12/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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16
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Mosaic habitats at Woranso-Mille (Ethiopia) during the Pliocene and implications for Australopithecus paleoecology and taxonomic diversity. J Hum Evol 2022; 163:103076. [PMID: 34998271 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 08/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Many important Pliocene hominin specimens have been recovered from Woranso-Mille, a paleontological research area in the Afar region of Ethiopia, including the complete cranium of Australopithecus anamensis, a partial skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis, mandibular and maxillary elements representing a new species, Australopithecus deyiremeda, and a partial foot of an as-yet-unnamed species. Woranso-Mille is the only site, so far, to have reported the co-existence of more than one early hominin species between 3.8 and 3.3 Ma and the temporal overlap between A. anamensis and A. afarensis. Thus, the site has important implications for our understanding of the paleoecology and taxonomic diversity of early hominins and their ecological niche. This paper explores the paleohabitats of Woranso-Mille through its faunal community ecological structure and taxonomic composition using correspondence analysis and Forbes modified similarity index. The results suggest that Pliocene Woranso-Mille was a mosaic of different habitat types, with riparian woodland and floodplain grassland along rivers draining into a lake, along with less mesic habitats such as woodland, grassland, and shrubland. The apparent high level of vegetation heterogeneity may have promoted dietary specializations and niche differentiation among the different Australopithecus species at Woranso-Mille and allowed for their co-existence at the site.
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17
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Morse PE. Fossil primate research at the 81st Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Evol Anthropol 2022; 31:9-11. [PMID: 34994493 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Paul E Morse
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.,Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
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18
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Haile-Selassie Y. From Trees to the Ground: The Significance of Australopithecus anamensis in Human Evolution. JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2021. [DOI: 10.1086/716743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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19
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Talamo S, Urbanowski M, Picin A, Nowaczewska W, Vazzana A, Binkowski M, Cercatillo S, Diakowski M, Fewlass H, Marciszak A, Paleček D, Richards MP, Ryder CM, Sinet-Mathiot V, Smith GM, Socha P, Sponheimer M, Stefaniak K, Welker F, Winter H, Wiśniewski A, Żarski M, Benazzi S, Nadachowski A, Hublin JJ. A 41,500 year-old decorated ivory pendant from Stajnia Cave (Poland). Sci Rep 2021; 11:22078. [PMID: 34837003 PMCID: PMC8626500 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01221-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Evidence of mobiliary art and body augmentation are associated with the cultural innovations introduced by Homo sapiens at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic. Here, we report the discovery of the oldest known human-modified punctate ornament, a decorated ivory pendant from the Paleolithic layers at Stajnia Cave in Poland. We describe the features of this unique piece, as well as the stratigraphic context and the details of its chronometric dating. The Stajnia Cave plate is a personal 'jewellery' object that was created 41,500 calendar years ago (directly radiocarbon dated). It is the oldest known of its kind in Eurasia and it establishes a new starting date for a tradition directly connected to the spread of modern Homo sapiens in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sahra Talamo
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. .,Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy.
| | | | - Andrea Picin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Wioletta Nowaczewska
- Department of Human Biology, University of Wrocław, ul. Przybyszewskiego 63, 51-148, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Antonino Vazzana
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, 48121, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Marcin Binkowski
- X-Ray Microtomography Lab, Department of Biomedical Computer Systems, Institute of Computer Science, Faculty of Computer and Materials Science, University of Silesia, Będzińska 39, 41-200, Sosnowiec, Poland
| | - Silvia Cercatillo
- Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Marcin Diakowski
- Department of Stone Age Archaeology, Institute of Archeology, University of Wrocław, Szewska 48, 50-139, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Helen Fewlass
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Adrian Marciszak
- Department of Paleozoology, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Dragana Paleček
- Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Michael P Richards
- Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A, 1S6, Canada
| | - Christina M Ryder
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Virginie Sinet-Mathiot
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Geoff M Smith
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Paweł Socha
- Department of Paleozoology, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Matt Sponheimer
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA.,Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Krzysztof Stefaniak
- Department of Paleozoology, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Frido Welker
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Evolutionary Genomics Section, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Hanna Winter
- Polish Geological Institute-National Research Institute, Rakowiecka 4, 00-975, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Andrzej Wiśniewski
- Department of Stone Age Archaeology, Institute of Archeology, University of Wrocław, Szewska 48, 50-139, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Marcin Żarski
- Polish Geological Institute-National Research Institute, Rakowiecka 4, 00-975, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, 48121, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Adam Nadachowski
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17, 016, Kraków, Poland
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Collège de France, 11 Place Marcellin Berthelot, 75005, Paris, France
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20
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Abstract
The earliest South African hominids (humans and their ancestral kin) belong to the genera Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Homo, with the oldest being a ca. 3.67 million-year-old nearly complete skeleton of Australopithecus (StW 573) from Sterkfontein Caves. This skeleton has provided, for the first time in almost a century of research, the full anatomy of an Australopithecus individual with indisputably associated skull and postcranial bones that give complete limb lengths. The three genera are also found in East Africa, but scholars have disagreed on the taxonomic assignment for some fossils owing to historical preconceptions. Here we focus on the South African representatives to help clarify these debates. The uncovering of the StW 573 skeleton in situ revealed significant clues concerning events that had affected it over time and demonstrated that the associated stalagmite flowstones cannot provide direct dating of the fossil, as they are infillings of voids caused by postdepositional collapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald J. Clarke
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Travis Rayne Pickering
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
| | - Jason L. Heaton
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Biology, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama 35254, USA
| | - Kathleen Kuman
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
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21
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Cook RW, Vazzana A, Sorrentino R, Benazzi S, Smith AL, Strait DS, Ledogar JA. The cranial biomechanics and feeding performance of Homo floresiensis. Interface Focus 2021; 11:20200083. [PMID: 34938433 PMCID: PMC8361579 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2020.0083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Homo floresiensis is a small-bodied hominin from Flores, Indonesia, that exhibits plesiomorphic dentognathic features, including large premolars and a robust mandible, aspects of which have been considered australopith-like. However, relative to australopith species, H. floresiensis exhibits reduced molar size and a cranium with diminutive midfacial dimensions similar to those of later Homo, suggesting a reduction in the frequency of forceful biting behaviours. Our study uses finite-element analysis to examine the feeding biomechanics of the H. floresiensis cranium. We simulate premolar (P3) and molar (M2) biting in a finite-element model (FEM) of the H. floresiensis holotype cranium (LB1) and compare the mechanical results with FEMs of chimpanzees, modern humans and a sample of australopiths (MH1, Sts 5, OH5). With few exceptions, strain magnitudes in LB1 resemble elevated levels observed in modern Homo. Our analysis of LB1 suggests that H. floresiensis could produce bite forces with high mechanical efficiency, but was subject to tensile jaw joint reaction forces during molar biting, which perhaps constrained maximum postcanine bite force production. The inferred feeding biomechanics of H. floresiensis closely resemble modern humans, suggesting that this pattern may have been present in the last common ancestor of Homo sapiens and H. floresiensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca W Cook
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Antonino Vazzana
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Rita Sorrentino
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Amanda L Smith
- Department of Anatomy, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, Yakima, WA, USA
| | - David S Strait
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Justin A Ledogar
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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22
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Melillo SM, Gibert L, Saylor BZ, Deino A, Alene M, Ryan TM, Haile-Selassie Y. New Pliocene hominin remains from the Leado Dido'a area of Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia. J Hum Evol 2021; 153:102956. [PMID: 33711722 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Revised: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Fossiliferous deposits at Woranso-Mille span the period when Australopithecus anamensis gave rise to Australopithecus afarensis (3.8-3.6 Ma) and encompass the core of the A. afarensis range (ca. 3.5-3.2 Ma). Within the latter period, fossils described to date include the intriguing but taxonomically unattributed Burtele foot, dentognathic fossils attributed to Australopithecus deyiremeda, and one specimen securely attributed to A. afarensis (the Nefuraytu mandible). These fossils suggest that at least one additional hominin lineage lived alongside A. afarensis in the Afar Depression. Here we describe a collection of hominin fossils from a new locality in the Leado Dido'a area of Woranso-Mille (LDD-VP-1). The strata in this area are correlated to the same chron as those in the Burtele area (C2An.3n; 3.59-3.33 Ma), and similar in age to the Maka Sands and the Basal through lower Sidi Hakoma Members of the Hadar Formation. We attribute all but one of the LDD hominin specimens to A. afarensis, based on diagnostic morphology of the mandible, maxilla, canines, and premolars. The LDD specimens generally fall within the range of variation previously documented for A. afarensis but increase the frequency of some rare morphological variants. However, one isolated M3 is extremely small, and its taxonomic affinity is currently unknown. The new observations support previous work on temporal trends in A. afarensis and demonstrate that the large range of variation accepted for this species is present even within a limited spatiotemporal range. The value added with this sample lies in its contribution to controlling for spatiotemporal differences among site samples in the A. afarensis hypodigm and its contemporaneity with non-A. afarensis specimens at Woranso-Mille.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie M Melillo
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Luis Gibert
- Departament de Mineralogia, Petrologia i Geologia Aplicada Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Beverly Z Saylor
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Alan Deino
- Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Mulugeta Alene
- School of Earth Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Timothy M Ryan
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Yohannes Haile-Selassie
- Department of Physical Anthropology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH, USA; Departments of Anthropology and Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
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23
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Dumouchel L, Bobe R, Wynn JG, Barr WA. The environments of Australopithecus anamensis at Allia Bay, Kenya: A multiproxy analysis of early Pliocene Bovidae. J Hum Evol 2021; 151:102928. [PMID: 33453510 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Australopithecus anamensis, among the earliest fully bipedal hominin species, lived in eastern Africa around 4 Ma. Much of what is currently known about the paleoecology of A. anamensis comes from the type locality, Kanapoi, Kenya. Here, we extend knowledge of the range of environments occupied by A. anamensis by presenting the first multiproxy paleoecological analysis focusing on Bovidae excavated from another important locality where A. anamensis was recovered, locality 261-1 (ca. 3.97 Ma) at Allia Bay, East Turkana, Kenya. Paleoenvironments are reconstructed using astragalar ecomorphology, mesowear, hypsodonty index, and oxygen and carbon isotopes from dental enamel. We compare our results to those obtained from Kanapoi. Our results show that the bovid community composition is similar between the two fossil assemblages. Allia Bay and Kanapoi bovid astragalar ecomorphology spans the spectrum of modern morphologies indicative of grassland, woodland, and even forest-adapted forms. Dietary reconstructions based on stable isotopes, mesowear, and hypsodonty reveal that these bovids' diet encompassed the full C3 to C4 dietary spectrum and overlap in the two data sets. Our results allow us to confidently extend our reconstructions of the paleoenvironments of A. anamensis at Kanapoi to Allia Bay, where this pivotal hominin species is associated with heterogeneous settings including habitats with varying degrees of tree cover, including grasslands, bushlands, and woodlands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurence Dumouchel
- Department of Anthropology, Wichita State University, 1845 Fairmount Street, Wichita, KS 67260, USA.
| | - René Bobe
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology, School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, 64 Banbury Rd, Park Town, Oxford, OX2 6PN, UK; Paleo-Primate Project Gorongosa, Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique; Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB), Universidade Do Algarve, Campus de Penha, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal
| | - Jonathan G Wynn
- Division of Earth Sciences, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - W Andrew Barr
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, 800 22(nd)Street Northwest, Suite 6000, Washington, DC 20052, USA
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Rak Y, Kimbel WH, Moggi-Cecchi J, Lockwood CA, Menter C. The DNH 7 skull of Australopithecus robustus from Drimolen (Main Quarry), South Africa. J Hum Evol 2020; 151:102913. [PMID: 33388495 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Revised: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Although the early hominin species Australopithecus robustus has been known for more than eight decades and is represented by hundreds of fossils from sites in South Africa, a complete, well-preserved skull has been elusive. DNH 7, an adult cranium and mandible from the Drimolen site, was identified, on the basis of its small size, as a presumptive female of A. robustus. Here, we provide a detailed comparative description of the specimen. In cranial, facial, and dental size, DNH 7 is confirmed to lie at the extreme small end of the A. robustus range of variation, along with a few fragmentary maxillofacial specimens from Swartkrans. In addition, relative to the classically derived craniofacial features of the Swartkrans+Kromdraai portions of the A. robustus hypodigm, primitive anatomy pervades the DNH 7 face, braincase, and cranial base. Taken together, these pieces of evidence place DNH 7 in a previously unfilled position on the robust Australopithecus morphocline, where the specimen highlights the morphological distinctions between southern and eastern African species of this group and epitomizes the anatomy expected of the group's last common ancestor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoel Rak
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel; Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, PO Box 874101, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - William H Kimbel
- Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, PO Box 874101, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA; School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, PO Box 872402, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA.
| | - Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122, Florence, Italy
| | - Charles A Lockwood
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Colin Menter
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122, Florence, Italy
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Martin JM, Leece AB, Neubauer S, Baker SE, Mongle CS, Boschian G, Schwartz GT, Smith AL, Ledogar JA, Strait DS, Herries AIR. Drimolen cranium DNH 155 documents microevolution in an early hominin species. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 5:38-45. [PMID: 33168991 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-01319-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Paranthropus robustus is a small-brained extinct hominin from South Africa characterized by derived, robust craniodental morphology. The most complete known skull of this species is DNH 7 from Drimolen Main Quarry, which differs from P. robustus specimens recovered elsewhere in ways attributed to sexual dimorphism. Here, we describe a new fossil specimen from Drimolen Main Quarry, dated from approximately 2.04-1.95 million years ago, that challenges this view. DNH 155 is a well-preserved adult male cranium that shares with DNH 7 a suite of primitive and derived features unlike those seen in adult P. robustus specimens from other chronologically younger deposits. This refutes existing hypotheses linking sexual dimorphism, ontogeny and social behaviour within this taxon, and clarifies hypotheses concerning hominin phylogeny. We document small-scale morphological changes in P. robustus associated with ecological change within a short time frame and restricted geography. This represents the most highly resolved evidence yet of microevolutionary change within an early hominin species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse M Martin
- Palaeoscience, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - A B Leece
- Palaeoscience, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - Simon Neubauer
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stephanie E Baker
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Carrie S Mongle
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.,Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Giovanni Boschian
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Gary T Schwartz
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Amanda L Smith
- Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Justin A Ledogar
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - David S Strait
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa. .,Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Andy I R Herries
- Palaeoscience, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.,Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa
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A genotype:phenotype approach to testing taxonomic hypotheses in hominids. Naturwissenschaften 2020; 107:40. [PMID: 32870408 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-020-01696-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 04/20/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Paleontology has long relied on assumptions about the genetic and developmental influences on skeletal variation. The last few decades of developmental genetics have elucidated the genetic pathways involved in making teeth and patterning the dentition. Quantitative genetic analyses have refined this genotype:phenotype map even more, especially for primates. We now have the ability to define dental traits with a fair degree of fidelity to the underlying genetic architecture; for example, the molar module component (MMC) and the premolar-molar module (PMM) that have been defined through quantitative genetic analyses. We leverage an extensive dataset of extant and extinct hominoid dental variation to explore how these two genetically patterned phenotypes have evolved through time. We assess MMC and PMM to test the hypothesis that these two traits reveal a more biologically informed taxonomy at the genus and species levels than do more traditional measurements. Our results indicate that MMC values for hominids fall into two categories and that Homo is derived compared with earlier taxa. We find a more variable, species-level pattern for PMM. These results, in combination with previous research, demonstrate that MMC reflects the phenotypic output of a more evolutionarily stable, or phylogenetically congruent, genetic mechanism, and PMM is a reflection of a more evolutionarily labile mechanism. These results suggest that the human lineage since the split with chimpanzees may not represent as much genus-level variation as has been inferred from traits whose etiologies are not understood.
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Schroeder L. Revolutionary Fossils, Ancient Biomolecules, and Reflections in Ethics and Decolonization: Paleoanthropology in 2019. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/aman.13410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Schroeder
- Department of Anthropology University of Toronto Mississauga Mississauga ON Canada
- Human Evolution Research Institute University of Cape Town Rondebosch Western Cape South Africa
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Zanolli C, Schillinger B, Kullmer O, Schrenk F, Kelley J, Rössner GE, Macchiarelli R. When X-Rays Do Not Work. Characterizing the Internal Structure of Fossil Hominid Dentognathic Remains Using High-Resolution Neutron Microtomographic Imaging. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
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The ecology of Australopithecus anamensis in the early Pliocene of Kanapoi, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2020; 140:102717. [PMID: 31916996 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Revised: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Australopithecus anamensis is a pivotal species in human evolution. It is likely to be the direct ancestor of Australopithecus afarensis and the species that may have given rise to the Homo and Paranthropus lineages. It had a suite of adaptations for habitual bipedalism and a diet that differed from that of earlier hominin species. Under what environmental and ecological conditions did this suite of adaptations arise? The early Pliocene site of Kanapoi in the Lake Turkana Basin of Kenya has the largest sample of A. anamensis in eastern Africa and a rich record of fossil vertebrates. Most Kanapoi fossils are chronologically well constrained by radiometrically dated tephras between the ages of 4.2 and 4.1 million years ago. Sedimentological, isotopic, and faunal data indicate that the environments of Kanapoi during the early Pliocene had a complex range of vegetation types that included closed woodlands, shrubs, and grasslands near a river (for most of the sequence) or lake. These were dynamic landscapes that could shift rapidly from fluvial to lacustrine conditions, and then back. Australopithecus anamensis shared its environments with at least 10 species of very large herbivores, which undoubtedly played a major role in modifying the landscape by opening wooded areas and providing pathways for bipedal hominins. Hominins may have competed for terrestrial resources with abundant suids (Nyanzachoerus and Notochoerus) and for arboreal resources with monkeys (Parapapio being the most common cercopithecid). Kanapoi had a formidable group of predators that included a very abundant species of hyena (Parahyaena howelli), two sabre-tooth felids (Dinofelis and Homotherium), a giant otter (Enhydriodon cf. dikikae), and three species of crocodiles. Various measures of abundance indicate that A. anamensis was an important component of the Kanapoi early Pliocene ecosystems, and that its key adaptations allowed this species to thrive in complex and dynamic landscapes.
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Spoor F. Elusive cranium of early hominin found. Nature 2019; 573:200-202. [DOI: 10.1038/d41586-019-02520-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Age and context of mid-Pliocene hominin cranium from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia. Nature 2019; 573:220-224. [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1514-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Barras C. Rare 3.8-million-year-old skull recasts origins of iconic 'Lucy' fossil. Nature 2019:10.1038/d41586-019-02573-w. [PMID: 32848233 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-019-02573-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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