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Liu W, Athreya S, Xing S, Wu X. Hominin evolution and diversity: a comparison of earlier-Middle and later-Middle Pleistocene hominin fossil variation in China. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210040. [PMID: 35125004 PMCID: PMC8819364 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0040] [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] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Historical views of Asia as an evolutionary 'backwater' are associated with the idea that Homo erectus experienced long periods of stasis and ultimately went extinct. However, recent discoveries of well-dated Middle Pleistocene hominin fossils in China have considerably challenged these ideas and provide sufficient data to propose a testable model that explains the patterning of variation in Middle Pleistocene China, and why it changed over time. A series of hominin fossil studies comparing earlier-Middle and later-Middle Pleistocene groups confirm that the expressions of certain traits shift around 300 ka. Fossils from the later Middle Pleistocene are more variable with a mix of archaic traits as well as ones that are common in Western Eurasian early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. The period around 300 ka appears to have been a critical turning point for later-Middle Pleistocene morphological changes in China. It coincides with a phase of climatic instability in the Northern Hemisphere between Marine Isotope Stages 12 and 10 that would have led to changes in gene flow patterning, and regional population survival/extinction. This localized and testable model can be used for future explorations of hominin evolution in later Pleistocene eastern Eurasia. This article is part of the theme issue 'The impact of Chinese palaeontology on evolutionary research'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wu Liu
- Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
| | - Sheela Athreya
- Liberal Arts Program, Texas A&M University-Qatar, Doha, Qatar
| | - Song Xing
- Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiujie Wu
- Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
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Comparative dental study between Homo antecessor and Chinese Homo erectus: Nonmetric features and geometric morphometrics. J Hum Evol 2021; 161:103087. [PMID: 34742110 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The Chinese Middle Pleistocene fossils from Hexian, Xichuan, Yiyuan, and Zhoukoudian have been generally classified as Homo erectus s.s. These hominins share some primitive features with other Homo specimens, but they also display unique cranial and dental traits. Thus, the Chinese Middle Pleistocene hominins share with other European and Asian hominin populations the so-called 'Eurasian dental pattern'. The late Early Pleistocene hominins from Gran Dolina-TD6.2 (Spain), representing the species Homo antecessor, also exhibit the Eurasian dental pattern, which may suggest common roots. To assess phylogenetic affinities of these two taxa, we evaluated and compared nonmetric and metric dental features and interpreted morphological differences within a comparative hominin framework. We determined that the robust roots of the molars, the shelf-like protostylid, the dendrite-like pattern of the enamel-dentine junction surface of the upper fourth premolars and molars, the strongly folded dentine of the labial surface of the upper incisors, and the rare occurrence of a mid-trigonid crest in the lower molars, are all characteristic of Chinese H. erectus. With regard to H. antecessor, we observed the consistent expression of a continuous mid-trigonid crest, the absence of a cingulum in the upper canines, a complex root pattern of the lower premolars, and a rhomboidal occlusal contour and occlusal polygon and protrusion in the external outline of a large a bulging hypocone in the first and second upper molars. Using two-dimensional geometric morphometrics, we further demonstrated that H. antecessor falls outside the range of variation of Chinese H. erectus for occlusal crown outline shape, the orientation of occlusal grooves, and relative locations of anterior and posterior foveae in the P4s, P3s, M1s, M2s, and M2s. Given their geographic and temporal separation, the differences between these two species suggest their divergence occurred at some point in the Early Pleistocene, and thereafter they followed different evolutionary paths.
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Abstract
We review the state of paleoanthropology research in Asia. We survey the fossil record, articulate the current understanding, and delineate the points of contention. Although Asia received less attention than Europe and Africa did in the second half of the twentieth century, an increase in reliably dated fossil materials and the advances in genetics have fueled new research. The long and complex evolutionary history of humans in Asia throughout the Pleistocene can be explained by a balance of mechanisms, between gene flow among different populations and continuity of regional ancestry. This pattern is reflected in fossil morphology and paleogenomics. Critical understanding of the sociocultural forces that shaped the history of hominin fossil research in Asia is important in charting the way forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sang-Hee Lee
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, USA
| | - Autumn Hudock
- Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina 28223, USA
- Current affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
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Xing S, Martinón-Torres M, Deng C, Shao Q, Wang Y, Luo Y, Zhou X, Pan L, Ge J, Bermúdez de Castro JM, Liu W. Early Pleistocene hominin teeth from Meipu, southern China. J Hum Evol 2021; 151:102924. [PMID: 33418452 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2020] [Revised: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The rarity and poor preservation of hominin fossils from the East Asian Early Pleistocene hamper our understanding of their taxonomy and possible phylogenetic relationship with other members of the genus Homo. In the 1970s, four isolated hominin teeth were recovered from the Meipu site, southern China, which biostratigraphic analysis placed in the late Early Pleistocene. Early reports assigned the teeth to late Homo erectus. Since then, the teeth have not been re-evaluated, nor has reliable dating been performed at the Meipu site. Here, biostratigraphic and paleomagnetic dating allow for a more precise chronological constraint of the Meipu hominins in the late Early Pleistocene, between 780 ka and 990 ka, making them one of the few known hominins for this time in mainland Asia. The comparison of the morphology of the Meipu teeth with other members of the genus Homo reveals that the Meipu teeth preserve traits such as moderate shoveling of the I1, the square crown contour of M1, and a buccolingually wider lingual cusp in P4 that make them closer to early Homo specimens from Africa and Homo ergaster from Dmanisi (Georgia). In addition, the Meipu teeth exhibit features that are more typical for late mainland East Asian H. erectus, such as the moderately convex I1 labial surface and a pronouncedly convex I2 labial surface. In these features, the Meipu hominins are morphologically intermediate between African/Dmanisi early Homo and East Asian Middle Pleistocene hominins. This study contributes to a better understanding of the morphologies and the taxonomic status of East Asian Early Pleistocene hominins, a time period for which the hominin evidence with secure stratigraphic context is scarce.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Xing
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China; Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre La Evolución Humana, Paseo de La Sierra de Atapuerca S/n, Burgos, Spain
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre La Evolución Humana, Paseo de La Sierra de Atapuerca S/n, Burgos, Spain; University College London Anthropology, London, UK
| | - Chenglong Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Qingfeng Shao
- College of Geographical Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yuan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Yunbing Luo
- Institute of Archeology and Cultural Relics of Hubei Province, Wuhan, China
| | | | - Lei Pan
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Junyi Ge
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China.
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre La Evolución Humana, Paseo de La Sierra de Atapuerca S/n, Burgos, Spain; University College London Anthropology, London, UK
| | - Wu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
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Árnason Ú, Hallström B. The reversal of human phylogeny: Homo left Africa as erectus, came back as sapiens sapiens. Hereditas 2020; 157:51. [PMID: 33341120 PMCID: PMC7749984 DOI: 10.1186/s41065-020-00163-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The molecular out of Africa hypothesis, OOAH, has been considered as an established fact amid population geneticists for some 25–30 years despite the early concern with it among phylogeneticists with experience beyond that of Homo. The palaeontological support for the hypothesis is also questionable, a circumstance that in the light of expanding Eurasian palaeontological knowledge has become accentuated through the last decades. Results The direction of evolution in the phylogenetic tree of modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens, Hss) was established inter alia by applying progressive phylogenetic analysis to an mtDNA sampling that included a Eurasian, Lund, and the African Mbuti, San and Yoruba. The examination identified the African populations as paraphyletic, thereby compromising the OOAH. The finding, which was consistent with the out of Eurasia hypothesis, OOEH, was corroborated by the mtDNA introgression from Hss into Hsnn (Neanderthals) that demonstrated the temporal and physical Eurasian coexistence of the two lineages. The results are consistent with the palaeontologically established presence of H. erectus in Eurasia, a Eurasian divergence between H. sapiens and H. antecessor ≈ 850,000 YBP, an Hs divergence between Hss and Hsn (Neanderthals + Denisovans) ≈ 800,000 YBP, an mtDNA introgression from Hss into Hsnn* ≈ 500,000 YBP and an Eurasian divergence among the ancestors of extant Hss ≈ 250,000 YBP at the exodus of Mbuti/San into Africa. Conclusions The present study showed that Eurasia was not the receiver but the donor in Hss evolution. The findings that Homo left Africa as erectus and returned as sapiens sapiens constitute a change in the understanding of Hs evolution to one that conforms to the extensive Eurasian record of Hs palaeontology and archaeology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Úlfur Árnason
- Department of Brain Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lund, Lund, Sweden.
| | - Björn Hallström
- Center for Translational Genomics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lund, Lund, Sweden
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Wang B, Li K, He Z. The genetic differentiation of a cricket ( Velarifictorus micado) with two modes of life cycle in East Asia after the middle Pleistocene and the invasion origin of the United States of America. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:13767-13786. [PMID: 33391679 PMCID: PMC7771141 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2020] [Revised: 08/29/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The cricket Velarifictorus micado is widely distributed in East Asia and colonized the United States of America (the USA) in 1959. It has two life cycles: egg and nymph diapause. We aimed to investigate the biogeographic boundary between them and determine when and why V. micado diverged. Mitochondrial fragments including COI and CytB were used for haplotype network, demographic analysis, and divergence time estimation in individuals of East Asia. We selected several samples from the USA to find out the colonization origin. The haplotype network indicated there were three lineages based on COI, NE lineage (the egg diapause and mainly distributed in the northern regions), SE lineage (the egg diapause and mainly distributed in the southern regions), and SN lineage (the nymph diapause and mainly distributed in the southern regions). The molecular chronograms indicated that the first divergence of V. micado into two main lineages, NE and southern lineages (SE and SN), was essentially bounded by the Yangtze River. It occurred around ~0.79 Ma (95% HPD: 1.13-0.46 Ma) in the Middle Pleistocene Transition. This was followed by the divergence of the southern lineage into two sublineages, SE and SN lineage, occurred around ~0.50 Ma (95% HPD: 0.71-0.25 Ma), corresponding to the time of development of glaciers in various parts of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) (0.73-0.46 Ma). SE lineage might originate from southwestern China based on the comparison between the haplotype network based on COI and CytB. Our study suggested that divergences of lineages have twice co-occurred with tendency of cooling climatic in Asia after the Mid-Pleistocene, and the life-history strategy may play an important role in lineage diversification. Additionally, our results indicated that the USA populations were revealed at least twice separate Asian invasions. These both belonged to the egg diapause, which might provide a new perspective for invasion control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baiqiu Wang
- School of Life SciencesEast China Normal UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Kai Li
- School of Life SciencesEast China Normal UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Zhu‐Qing He
- School of Life SciencesEast China Normal UniversityShanghaiChina
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