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Husson L, Salles T, Lebatard AE, Zerathe S, Braucher R, Noerwidi S, Aribowo S, Mallard C, Carcaillet J, Natawidjaja DH, Bourlès D, Bourlès D, Keddadouche K. Javanese Homo erectus on the move in SE Asia circa 1.8 Ma. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19012. [PMID: 36347897 PMCID: PMC9643487 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23206-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The migration of Homo erectus in Southeast Asia during Early Pleistocene is cardinal to our comprehension of the evolution of the genus Homo. However, the limited consideration of the rapidly changing physical environment, together with controversial datings of hominin bearing sites, make it challenging to secure the robust timeline needed to unveil the behavior of early humans. Here, we reappraise the first appearance datum of Javanese H. erectus by adding the most reliable age constraints based on cosmogenic nuclides [Formula: see text]Be and [Formula: see text]Al produced in situ to a compilation of earlier estimates. We find that H. erectus reached Java and dwelled at Sangiran, Java, ca. 1.8 Ma. Using this age as a baseline, we develop a probabilistic approach to reconstruct their dispersal routes, coupling ecological movement simulations to landscape evolution models forced by reconstructed geodynamic and climatic histories. We demonstrate that the hospitable terra firma conditions of Sundaland facilitated the prior dispersal of hominins to the edge of Java, where they conversely could not settle until the Javanese archipelago emerged from the sea and connected to Sundaland. The dispersal of H. erectus across Sundaland occurred over at least tens to hundreds kyr, a time scale over which changes in their physical environment, whether climatic or physiographic, may have become primary forcings on their behavior. Our comprehensive reconstruction method to unravel the peopling timeline of SE Asia provides a novel framework to evaluate the evolution of early humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Husson
- grid.450307.50000 0001 0944 2786ISTerre, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Tristan Salles
- grid.1013.30000 0004 1936 834XSchool of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia
| | - Anne-Elisabeth Lebatard
- grid.5399.60000 0001 2176 4817CEREGE, Aix-Marseille Université CNRS-IRD-Collège de France-INRAE, Technopôle de l’Environnement Arbois-Méditerrannée, 13545 Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Swann Zerathe
- grid.450307.50000 0001 0944 2786ISTerre, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Régis Braucher
- grid.5399.60000 0001 2176 4817CEREGE, Aix-Marseille Université CNRS-IRD-Collège de France-INRAE, Technopôle de l’Environnement Arbois-Méditerrannée, 13545 Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Sofwan Noerwidi
- Research Center for Archaeometry, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Sonny Aribowo
- grid.450307.50000 0001 0944 2786ISTerre, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France ,Research Center for Geological Disasters, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Claire Mallard
- grid.1013.30000 0004 1936 834XSchool of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia
| | - Julien Carcaillet
- grid.450307.50000 0001 0944 2786ISTerre, CNRS, IRD, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Danny H. Natawidjaja
- Research Center for Geological Disasters, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Didier Bourlès
- grid.5399.60000 0001 2176 4817CEREGE, Aix-Marseille Université CNRS-IRD-Collège de France-INRAE, Technopôle de l’Environnement Arbois-Méditerrannée, 13545 Aix-en-Provence, France
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2
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Azzarà B, Cherin M, Adams J, Boschian G, Crotti M, Denys C, Fressoia L, Kimambo JS, Kwekason A, Iurino DA, Manzi G, Masao FT, Melaku S, Menconero S, Mori E, Zipfel B. The Thorny Issue of African Porcupines: a New Mandible of Hystrix makapanensis from Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) and Rediagnosis of the Species. J MAMM EVOL 2022; 29:447-474. [PMID: 35079214 PMCID: PMC8776392 DOI: 10.1007/s10914-021-09588-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Several porcupine taxa are reported from the middle Miocene to the early Holocene in the Old World. Among these, five species of the subfamily Hystricinae occurred in Africa approximately in the last 6 Ma: the extinct Hystrix makapanensis, Hystrix leakeyi, and Xenohystrix crassidens and the still living Hystrix africaeaustralis and Hystrix cristata. The large-sized H. makapanensis is reported from numerous sites in East and South Africa between the early Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. In this paper, we describe a new mandible of H. makapanensis from the world-renowned Tanzanian paleontological and archeological site of Olduvai Gorge (HWK West; lowermost Bed II; ca. 1.8-1.7 Ma). The discovery of the new mandible triggered a comprehensive review of the entire African record of H. makapanensis. In particular, we describe or re-analyze the samples from South Africa (Makapansgat Limeworks, Gondolin, Kromdraai, Swartkrans, and Sterkfontein), Tanzania (Olduvai and Laetoli), Ethiopia (Omo Shungura and Hadar), and Kenya (Chemeron), enriching the quantity of specimens confidently referable to this species and above all improving the information on its craniodental anatomy. On this basis, we: (1) propose an emended diagnosis of H. makapanensis; (2) point out the morphological and biometric differences between H. makapanensis and other African Hystricinae (also in terms of body mass); and (3) broaden the knowledge on the geographical and chronological distribution of this extinct species. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10914-021-09588-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice Azzarà
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Via A. Pascoli, Perugia, 06123 Italy
| | - Marco Cherin
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Via A. Pascoli, Perugia, 06123 Italy
| | - Justin Adams
- Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, 3800 Australia
- Museums Victoria, Melbourne, 3053 Australia
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, 2006 South Africa
| | - Giovanni Boschian
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, 2006 South Africa
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Pisa, Via Derna, Pisa, 56126 Italy
| | - Marco Crotti
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ UK
| | - Christiane Denys
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université Des Antilles, CP 51, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Lorenzo Fressoia
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Via A. Pascoli, Perugia, 06123 Italy
| | - Jackson S. Kimambo
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Via A. Pascoli, Perugia, 06123 Italy
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Amandus Kwekason
- National Museum of Tanzania, Shaban Robert Street, P.O. Box 511, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Dawid A. Iurino
- PaleoFactory, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale A. Moro 5, Roma, 00185 Italy
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale A. Moro 5, Roma, 00185 Italy
| | - Fidelis T. Masao
- Department of Archaeology & Heritage, College of Humanities, University of Dar Es Salaam, P.O. Box 35050, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Sahleselasie Melaku
- Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH), National Museum of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Paleoanthropology and Paleoenvironment Program, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Sofia Menconero
- Dipartimento di Storia, Disegno e Restauro dell’Architettura, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazza Borghese 9, Roma, 00186 Italy
| | - Emiliano Mori
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri, Via Madonna del Piano 10, Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), 50019 Italy
| | - Bernhard Zipfel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
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3
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Hammond AS, Mavuso SS, Biernat M, Braun DR, Jinnah Z, Kuo S, Melaku S, Wemanya SN, Ndiema EK, Patterson DB, Uno KT, Palcu DV. New hominin remains and revised context from the earliest Homo erectus locality in East Turkana, Kenya. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1939. [PMID: 33850143 PMCID: PMC8044126 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22208-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The KNM-ER 2598 occipital is among the oldest fossils attributed to Homo erectus but questions have been raised about whether it may derive from a younger horizon. Here we report on efforts to relocate the KNM-ER 2598 locality and investigate its paleontological and geological context. Although located in a different East Turkana collection area (Area 13) than initially reported, the locality is stratigraphically positioned below the KBS Tuff and the outcrops show no evidence of deflation of a younger unit, supporting an age of >1.855 Ma. Newly recovered faunal material consists primarily of C4 grazers, further confirmed by enamel isotope data. A hominin proximal 3rd metatarsal and partial ilium were discovered <50 m from the reconstructed location where KNM-ER 2598 was originally found but these cannot be associated directly with the occipital. The postcrania are consistent with fossil Homo and may represent the earliest postcrania attributable to Homo erectus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley S Hammond
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.
- New York Consortium of Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), New York, NY, USA.
| | | | - Maryse Biernat
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - David R Braun
- Department of Anthropology and Center for Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Zubair Jinnah
- School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Sharon Kuo
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Sahleselasie Melaku
- Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH), National Museum of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Paleoanthropology and Paleoenvironment Program, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Sylvia N Wemanya
- Archaeology Section, Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
- Department of Archaeology and History, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Emmanuel K Ndiema
- Archaeology Section, Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - David B Patterson
- Department of Biology, University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, GA, USA
| | - Kevin T Uno
- Division of Biology and Paleo Environment, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
| | - Dan V Palcu
- Paleomagnetic Laboratory 'Fort Hoofddijk', Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
- Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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4
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Scardia G, Neves WA, Tattersall I, Blumrich L. What kind of hominin first left Africa? Evol Anthropol 2020; 30:122-127. [PMID: 32893976 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21863] [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: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Recent discoveries of stone tools from Jordan (2.5 Ma) and China (2.1 Ma) document hominin presence in Asia at the beginning of the Pleistocene, well before the conventional Dmanisi datum at 1.8 Ma. Although no fossil hominins documenting this earliest Out of Africa phase have been found, on chronological grounds a pre-Homo erectus hominin must be considered the most likely maker of those artifacts. If so, this sheds new light on at least two disputed subjects in paleoanthropology, namely the remarkable variation among the five Dmanisi skulls, and the ancestry of Homo floresiensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giancarlo Scardia
- Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas, Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - Walter A Neves
- Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Instituto de Estudos Avançados, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ian Tattersall
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, USA
| | - Lukas Blumrich
- Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Instituto de Estudos Avançados, São Paulo, Brazil
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5
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Matsu’ura S, Kondo M, Danhara T, Sakata S, Iwano H, Hirata T, Kurniawan I, Setiyabudi E, Takeshita Y, Hyodo M, Kitaba I, Sudo M, Danhara Y, Aziz F. Age control of the first appearance datum for Javanese
Homo erectus
in the Sangiran area. Science 2020; 367:210-214. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aau8556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2018] [Revised: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 11/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shuji Matsu’ura
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki 305-0005, Japan
| | - Megumi Kondo
- Laboratory of Physical Anthropology, Ochanomizu University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8610, Japan
| | - Tohru Danhara
- Kyoto Fission-Track Corporation, Ltd., Omiya, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8832, Japan
| | - Shuhei Sakata
- Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan
| | - Hideki Iwano
- Kyoto Fission-Track Corporation, Ltd., Omiya, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8832, Japan
| | - Takafumi Hirata
- Geochemical Research Center, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | | | | | - Yoshihiro Takeshita
- Institute of Education, Shinshu University, Nagano City, Nagano 380-8544, Japan
| | - Masayuki Hyodo
- Research Center for Inland Seas, Kobe University, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
- Department of Planetology, Faculty of Science, Kobe University, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
| | - Ikuko Kitaba
- Research Center for Inland Seas, Kobe University, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
- Research Centre for Palaeoclimatology, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu City, Shiga 525-8577, Japan
| | - Masafumi Sudo
- Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, 14476 Golm, Germany
| | - Yugo Danhara
- Kyoto Fission-Track Corporation, Ltd., Omiya, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8832, Japan
| | - Fachroel Aziz
- Centre for Geological Survey, Bandung 40122, Indonesia
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6
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Hammond AS, Almécija S, Libsekal Y, Rook L, Macchiarelli R. A partial Homo pelvis from the Early Pleistocene of Eritrea. J Hum Evol 2018; 123:109-128. [PMID: 30017175 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2018] [Revised: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 06/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Here we analyze 1.07-0.99 million-year-old pelvic remains UA 173/405 from Buia, Eritrea. Based on size metrics, UA 173/405 is likely associated with an already described pubic symphysis (UA 466) found nearby. The morphology of UA 173/405 was quantitatively characterized using three-dimensional landmark-based morphometrics and linear data. The Buia specimen falls within the range of variation of modern humans for all metrics investigated, making it unlikely that the shared last common ancestor of Late Pleistocene Homo species would have had an australopith-like pelvis. The discovery of UA 173/405 adds to the increasing number of fossils suggesting that the postcranial morphology of Homo erectus s.l. was variable and, in some cases, nearly indistinguishable from modern human morphology. This Eritrean fossil demonstrates that modern human-like pelvic morphology may have had origins in the Early Pleistocene, potentially within later African H. erectus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley S Hammond
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA; Center for Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
| | - Sergio Almécija
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA; Center for Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola Del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Lorenzo Rook
- Dipartimento di Scienze Della Terra, Università di Firenze, Via G. La Pira, 4, 50121 Firenze, Italy
| | - Roberto Macchiarelli
- UMR 7194 CNRS, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Palais de Chaillot, 17 Place du Trocadero, 75116 Paris, France; Unité de Formation Géosciences, Université de Poitiers, Bât. B35 Sciences Naturelles, 86073 Poitiers, France.
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7
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Garvin HM, Elliott MC, Delezene LK, Hawks J, Churchill SE, Berger LR, Holliday TW. Body size, brain size, and sexual dimorphism in Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber. J Hum Evol 2017; 111:119-138. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2016] [Revised: 06/19/2017] [Accepted: 06/23/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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8
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Baab KL. The role of neurocranial shape in defining the boundaries of an expanded Homo erectus hypodigm. J Hum Evol 2016; 92:1-21. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2014] [Revised: 11/05/2015] [Accepted: 11/06/2015] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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9
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Lepre CJ, Kent DV. Chronostratigraphy of KNM-ER 3733 and other Area 104 hominins from Koobi Fora. J Hum Evol 2015; 86:99-111. [PMID: 26190282 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2014] [Revised: 06/14/2015] [Accepted: 06/16/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
A magnetostratigraphy for ∼ 60 m of Koobi Fora Formation sediment in Area 104 was derived from 46 oriented samples that produced well-resolved characteristic magnetizations from progressive thermal demagnetization. Approximately 59 m below the Morte Tuff, previously dated to ∼ 1.51 Ma (millions of years ago), the Olduvai-Matuyama boundary (∼ 1.78 Ma) was found to be at the level of marker bed A2--inconsistent with the Area 102 type section and thus contrary to fossil dating schemes that utilize temporal equivalence between A2 [104] and A2 [102]. The magnetostratigraphic data, coupled with the Morte Tuff, provide a means to interpolate new ages for marker beds A2 [104] and the White Tuff, as well as multiple Area 104 hominin fossils. Noteworthy is the new date of ∼ 1.63 Ma for KNM-ER 3733, which now implicates KNM-ER 2598 as the sole early African Homo erectus fossil demonstrably older than Dmanisi and Java Homo specimens. Re-dating KNM-ER 3733 creates a ∼ 300-kyr gap at 1.9 to 1.6 Ma in the African fossil record of H. erectus, which might be partially spanned by hand axes recently dated at ∼ 1.76 Ma, if the Acheulian is indeed proprietary to this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J Lepre
- Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA.
| | - Dennis V Kent
- Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
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10
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Spatial and temporal variation of body size among early Homo. J Hum Evol 2015; 82:15-33. [PMID: 25818180 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2014] [Revised: 01/05/2015] [Accepted: 02/10/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The estimation of body size among the earliest members of the genus Homo (2.4-1.5Myr [millions of years ago]) is central to interpretations of their biology. It is widely accepted that Homo ergaster possessed increased body size compared with Homo habilis and Homo rudolfensis, and that this may have been a factor involved with the dispersal of Homo out of Africa. The study of taxonomic differences in body size, however, is problematic. Postcranial remains are rarely associated with craniodental fossils, and taxonomic attributions frequently rest upon the size of skeletal elements. Previous body size estimates have been based upon well-preserved specimens with a more reliable species assessment. Since these samples are small (n < 5) and disparate in space and time, little is known about geographical and chronological variation in body size within early Homo. We investigate temporal and spatial variation in body size among fossils of early Homo using a 'taxon-free' approach, considering evidence for size variation from isolated and fragmentary postcranial remains (n = 39). To render the size of disparate fossil elements comparable, we derived new regression equations for common parameters of body size from a globally representative sample of hunter-gatherers and applied them to available postcranial measurements from the fossils. The results demonstrate chronological and spatial variation but no simple temporal or geographical trends for the evolution of body size among early Homo. Pronounced body size increases within Africa take place only after hominin populations were established at Dmanisi, suggesting that migrations into Eurasia were not contingent on larger body sizes. The primary evidence for these marked changes among early Homo is based upon material from Koobi Fora after 1.7Myr, indicating regional size variation. The significant body size differences between specimens from Koobi Fora and Olduvai support the cranial evidence for at least two co-existing morphotypes in the Early Pleistocene of eastern Africa.
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11
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Abstract
The bushy nature of the human evolutionary tree in the past 3 million years is widely accepted. Yet, a spectacular new fossil of early Homo has prompted some paleoanthropologists to prune our family tree.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany.
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12
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Ao H, Dekkers MJ, Wei Q, Qiang X, Xiao G. New evidence for early presence of hominids in North China. Sci Rep 2014; 3:2403. [PMID: 23948715 PMCID: PMC3744199 DOI: 10.1038/srep02403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2013] [Accepted: 07/25/2013] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The Nihewan Basin in North China has a rich source of Early Pleistocene Paleolithic sites. Here, we report a high-resolution magnetostratigraphic dating of the Shangshazui Paleolithic site that was found in the northeastern Nihewan Basin in 1972. The artifact layer is suggested to be located in the Matuyama reversed polarity chron just above the upper boundary of the Olduvai polarity subchron, yielding an estimated age of ca 1.7–1.6 Ma. This provides new evidence for hominid occupation in North China in the earliest Pleistocene. The earliest hominids are argued to have lived in a habitat of open grasslands mixed with patches of forests close to the bank of the Nihewan paleolake as indicated from faunal compositions. Hominid migrations to East Asia during the Early Pleistocene are suggested to be a consequence of increasing cooling and aridity in Africa and Eurasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Ao
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710075, China
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13
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Montgomery SH. Primate brains, the ‘island rule’ and the evolution of Homo floresiensis. J Hum Evol 2013; 65:750-60. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2012] [Revised: 08/21/2013] [Accepted: 08/26/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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14
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Abstract
Two new fossil jawbones from Kenya are claimed to confirm a diversity of early Homo species. However, archaic species concepts and an inadequate fossil record continue to obscure the origins of our genus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim White
- Human Evolution Research Center (HERC) and Department of Integrative Biology, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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15
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High-resolution record of the Matuyama-Brunhes transition constrains the age of Javanese Homo erectus in the Sangiran dome, Indonesia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2011; 108:19563-8. [PMID: 22106291 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1113106108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A detailed paleomagnetic study conducted in the Sangiran area, Java, has provided a reliable age constraint on hominid fossil-bearing formations. A reverse-to-normal polarity transition marks a 7-m thick section across the Upper Tuff in the Bapang Formation. The transition has three short reversal episodes and is overlain by a thick normal polarity magnetozone that was fission-track dated to the Brunhes chron. This pattern closely resembles another high-resolution Matuyama-Brunhes (MB) transition record in an Osaka Bay marine core. In the Sangiran sediments, four successive transitional polarity fields lie just below the presumed main MB boundary. Their virtual geomagnetic poles cluster in the western South Pacific, partly overlapping the transitional virtual geomagnetic poles from Hawaiian and Canary Islands' lavas, which have a mean (40)Ar/(39)Ar age of 776 ± 2 ka. Thus, the polarity transition is unambiguously the MB boundary. A revised correlation of tuff layers in the Bapang Formation reveals that the hominid last occurrence and the tektite level in the Sangiran area are nearly coincident, just below the Upper Middle Tuff, which underlies the MB transition. The stratigraphic relationship of the tektite level to the MB transition in the Sangiran area is consistent with deep-sea core data that show that the meteorite impact preceded the MB reversal by about 12 ka. The MB boundary currently defines the uppermost horizon yielding Homo erectus fossils in the Sangiran area.
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