1
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Muttoni G, Kent DV. Hominin population bottleneck coincided with migration from Africa during the Early Pleistocene ice age transition. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2318903121. [PMID: 38466876 PMCID: PMC10990135 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2318903121] [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: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Two recently published analyses make cases for severe bottlenecking of human populations occurring in the late Early Pleistocene, one case at about 0.9 Mya based on a genomic analysis of modern human populations and the low number of hominin sites of this age in Africa and the other at about 1.1 Mya based on an age inventory of sites of hominin presence in Eurasia. Both models point to climate change as the bottleneck trigger, albeit manifested at very different times, and have implications for human migrations as a mechanism to elude extinction at bottlenecking. Here, we assess the climatic and chronologic components of these models and suggest that the several hundred-thousand-year difference is largely an artifact of biases in the chronostratigraphic record of Eurasian hominin sites. We suggest that the best available data are consistent with the Galerian hypothesis expanded from Europe to Eurasia as a major migration pulse of fauna including hominins in the late Early Pleistocene as a consequence of the opening of land routes from Africa facilitated by a large sea level drop associated with the first major ice age of the Pleistocene and concurrent with widespread aridity across Africa that occurred during marine isotope stage 22 at ~0.9 Mya. This timing agrees with the independently dated bottleneck from genomic analysis of modern human populations and allows speculations about the relative roles of climate forcing on the survival of hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Muttoni
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra ‘Ardito Desio’, University of Milan, MilanI-20133, Italy
| | - Dennis V. Kent
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY10964
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ08854
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2
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Ma DD, Pei SW, Xie F, Ye Z, Wang FG, Xu JY, Deng CL, de la Torre I. Earliest Prepared core technology in Eurasia from Nihewan (China): Implications for early human abilities and dispersals in East Asia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2313123121. [PMID: 38437546 PMCID: PMC10945746 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313123121] [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: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Organized flaking techniques to obtain predetermined stone tools have been traced back to the early Acheulean (also known as mode 2) in Africa and are seen as indicative of the emergence of advanced technical abilities and in-depth planning skills among early humans. Here, we report one of the earliest known examples of prepared core technology in the archaeological record, at the Cenjiawan (CJW) site in the Nihewan basin of China, dated 1.1 Mya. The operational schemes reconstructed from the CJW refit sets, together with shaping patterns observed in the retouched tools, suggest that Nihewan basin toolmakers had the technical abilities of mode 2 hominins, and developed different survival strategies to adapt to local raw materials and environments. This finding predates the previously earliest known prepared core technology from Eurasia by 0.3 My, and the earliest known mode 2 sites in East Asia by a similar amount of time, thus suggesting that hominins with advanced technologies may have migrated into high latitude East Asia as early as 1.1 Mya.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong-Dong Ma
- Department of Archaeology, Institute of History, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid28037, Spain
| | - Shu-Wen Pei
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100044, China
| | - Fei Xie
- Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Shijiazhuang050033, China
| | - Zhi Ye
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100044, China
- School of Humanities, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
| | - Fa-Gang Wang
- Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Shijiazhuang050033, China
| | - Jing-Yue Xu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100044, China
- School of Humanities, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
| | - Cheng-Long Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100029, China
| | - Ignacio de la Torre
- Department of Archaeology, Institute of History, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid28037, Spain
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3
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Li W, Li X, Mei X, Zhang F, Xu J, Liu C, Wei C, Liu Q. A review of current and emerging approaches for Quaternary marine sediment dating. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 780:146522. [PMID: 33770600 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Dating methodologies for Quaternary marine sediments play increasingly important roles in the reconstruction of paleoenvironments and paleoclimate in (paleo)oceanography. Previous reviews or studies have focused mainly on one or two methodologies, and their applications in one specific environment. With the continuing technological and methodological advances in different methods over the past few decades, an up-to-date comparison of the pros and cons of each dating methodology is needed to clearly understand their applications in marine geoscience research. In this review, we first briefly summarized the common methods of absolute dating and relative dating. These are (1) radioisotope dating with different half-lives using natural nuclides of 234Th, 210Pb, 230Th, and 226Ra, cosmogenic nuclides of 7Be, 14C, 10Be, 32Si, 26Al, 36Cl and 21Ne, and the artificial radionuclides of 137Cs, 239, 240Pu, 241Am and 129I that have been induced by atmospheric nuclear tests, accidents in nuclear plants, and discharges of radioactive wastes; (2) radiation exposure dating of luminescence and electron paramagnetic resonance (ESR) dating; and (3) stratigraphic dating of δ18O and paleomagnetic sequence. Applications and limitations from the marine terraces, estuaries, to hadal trenches have been summarized to each technique in the study of Quaternary marine geoscience extending from the Anthropocene through the Pleistocene. Finally, we introduced some emerging event dating methods, namely the arrivals of microplastics, mercury isotopes, and organic pollutant deposition that all appeared after the industrial resolution in our now changing ocean influenced by acidification, global warming, and anthropogenic activities. We ended by discussing future perspectives for reliable and high-resolution chronology by interdisciplinary methods including computer programming to better understand the natural geological evolution and predict the future changes in earth science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenpeng Li
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Xinxin Li
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, Guangdong, China.
| | - Xi Mei
- Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology, Qingdao 266071, China; Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology/Evaluation and Detection Technology Laboratory of Marine Mineral Resources, Qingdao 266237, China
| | - Fan Zhang
- Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Jingping Xu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, Guangdong, China
| | - Chunru Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Chuanyi Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Qingsong Liu
- Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
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4
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Wang F, Guo Y, Xian Q, Li M, Rui X, Xie F. Luminescence chronology for the Paleolithic site of Xinmiaozhuang Locality 1 (XMZ1) in the Nihewan Basin, northern China, and its paleoenvironmental and archaeological implications. J Hum Evol 2021; 157:103033. [PMID: 34246050 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103033] [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: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
In contrast to the prevailing view that the Chinese Paleolithic has been dominated by the Mode 1 technology-with a slow and conservative development from the Early to the Late Pleistocene-recent discoveries indicate that the lithic technology might have developed into an 'advanced' phase in some parts of China, at least since the early Late Pleistocene. The Xinmiaozhuang Locality 1 (XMZ1), located on the southern edge of the Nihewan Basin in northern China, is one of the examples belonging to such an 'advanced' phase. Although the stone artifacts at this site still belong to the long-existing 'small-tool' industry (core-and-flake) in this basin, some 'advanced' traits, including discoidal cores, elongated flakes, and 'Mousterian-like' triangular points and scrapers, are present. We provide a dating of the XMZ1 using the multiple elevated temperatures (MET) post infrared (pIR) infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) procedure (MET-pIRIR) on both multigrained single aliquots and 'individual' grains of potassium-rich feldspars (K-feldspars). The consistency between the single-aliquot and single-grain K-feldspar equivalent dose results mutually confirmed the reliability of the obtained ages. Our chronology indicates that the cultural layer falls within the period of ca. 63-75 ka, corresponding to the early stage of the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4. Based on the correlation of the cultural age to the environmental proxies of loess and stalagmites from China, we suggest that the site might have witnessed dramatic fluctuations of paleoclimate during the site formation. Additionally, based on the discoidal cores distribution, a potential corridor along the Xuefeng-Wu-Tainhang-Great Khingan Mountains for ancient humans migrating between South and North China is suggested. However, more archaeological and chronological studies are required to figure out the origin and the dispersal patterns of the discoidal core associated with lithic assemblage and the tool-makers in East Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fagang Wang
- Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Shijiazhuang, 050031, China
| | - Yujie Guo
- Institute of Nihewan Archaeology, College of History and Culture, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, China.
| | - Qi Xian
- Institute of Nihewan Archaeology, College of History and Culture, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, China
| | - Manyue Li
- Institute of Nihewan Archaeology, College of History and Culture, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, China
| | - Xue Rui
- College of Earth Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130061, China
| | - Fei Xie
- Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Shijiazhuang, 050031, China
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5
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Yang SX, Wang FG, Xie F, Yue JP, Deng CL, Zhu RX, Petraglia MD. Technological innovations at the onset of the Mid-Pleistocene Climate Transition in high-latitude East Asia. Natl Sci Rev 2020; 8:nwaa053. [PMID: 34691547 PMCID: PMC8288396 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwaa053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Revised: 03/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The interplay between Pleistocene climatic variability and hominin adaptations to diverse terrestrial ecosystems is a key topic in human evolutionary studies. Early and Middle Pleistocene environmental change and its relation to hominin behavioural responses has been a subject of great interest in Africa and Europe, though little information is available for other key regions of the Old World, particularly from Eastern Asia. Here we examine key Early Pleistocene sites of the Nihewan Basin, in high-latitude northern China, dating between ∼1.4 and 1.0 million years ago (Ma). We compare stone-tool assemblages from three Early Pleistocene sites in the Nihewan Basin, including detailed assessment of stone-tool refitting sequences at the ∼1.1-Ma-old site of Cenjiawan. Increased toolmaking skills and technological innovations are evident in the Nihewan Basin at the onset of the Mid-Pleistocene Climate Transition (MPT). Examination of the lithic technology of the Nihewan sites, together with an assessment of other key Palaeolithic sites of China, indicates that toolkits show increasing diversity at the outset of the MPT and in its aftermath. The overall evidence indicates the adaptive flexibility of early hominins to ecosystem changes since the MPT, though regional abandonments are also apparent in high latitudes, likely owing to cold and oscillating environmental conditions. The view presented here sharply contrasts with traditional arguments that stone-tool technologies of China are homogeneous and continuous over the course of the Early Pleistocene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shi-Xia Yang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Fa-Gang Wang
- Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics, Shijiazhuang 050031, China
| | - Fei Xie
- Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics, Shijiazhuang 050031, China
| | - Jian-Ping Yue
- Department of History, Anhui University, Hefei 230039, China
| | - Cheng-Long Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Ri-Xiang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Michael D Petraglia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena 07745, Germany
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6
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Yang S, Deng C, Zhu R, Petraglia MD. The Paleolithic in the Nihewan Basin, China: Evolutionary history of an Early to Late Pleistocene record in Eastern Asia. Evol Anthropol 2019; 29:125-142. [DOI: 10.1002/evan.21813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Revised: 06/04/2019] [Accepted: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shi‐Xia Yang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and PaleoanthropologyChinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Department of ArchaeologyMax Planck Institute for the Science of Human History Jena Germany
- Chinese Academy of SciencesCenter for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment Beijing China
| | - Cheng‐Long Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and GeophysicsChinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Innovation Academy for Earth ScienceChinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- College of Earth and Planetary SciencesUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Ri‐Xiang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and GeophysicsChinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Innovation Academy for Earth ScienceChinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- College of Earth and Planetary SciencesUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Michael D. Petraglia
- Department of ArchaeologyMax Planck Institute for the Science of Human History Jena Germany
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural HistorySmithsonian Institution Washington District of Columbia
- School of Social ScienceUniversity of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
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7
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26Al/ 10Be Burial Dating of the Middle Pleistocene Yiyuan Hominin Fossil Site, Shandong Province, Northern China. Sci Rep 2019; 9:6961. [PMID: 31061440 PMCID: PMC6502808 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-43401-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The Yiyuan hominin fossil site is one of the few localities in China where a partial skullcap and several loose teeth of Homo erectus have been discovered. Yiyuan was previously assigned broadly to the Middle Pleistocene by biostratigraphical correlation and ESR/U-series dating. Here, we report the first application of a radio-isotopic dating method to the site. 26Al/10Be burial dating results derived from two sand samples from the fossiliferous deposits show that the hominin fossils can be confidently dated to 0.64 ± 0.08 Ma (million years ago). The reliability of this age is supported by the zero age of modern fluvial sediment near the cave. Our result is consistent with the age estimation based on biostratigraphic correlation and supports the argument that the Yiyuan and Zhoukoudian Locality 1 H. erectus fossils are contemporaneous. The results presented here, along with other recent chronological studies on Chinese Middle Pleistocene hominin sites, indicate that the time span from 600–400 ka (thousand years ago) is a critical period for human evolution in East Asia. Importantly, this time bracket includes several major climatic changes that would have influenced hominins, both morphologically and behaviorally.
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8
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Kong Y, Deng C, Liu W, Wu X, Pei S, Sun L, Ge J, Yi L, Zhu R. Magnetostratigraphic dating of the hominin occupation of Bailong Cave, central China. Sci Rep 2018; 8:9699. [PMID: 29946102 PMCID: PMC6018768 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-28065-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Intermontane basins in the southern piedmont of the Qinling Mountains are important sources of information on hominin occupation and settlement, and provide an excellent opportunity to study early human evolution and behavioral adaptation. Here, we present the results of a detailed magnetostratigraphic investigation of the sedimentary sequence of hominin-bearing Bailong Cave in Yunxi Basin, central China. Correlation to the geomagnetic polarity time scale was achieved using previously published biostratigraphy, 26Al/10Be burial dating, and coupled electron spin resonance (ESR) and U-series dating. The Bailong Cave hominin-bearing layer is dated to the early Brunhes Chron, close to the Matuyama-Brunhes geomagnetic reversal at 0.78 Ma. Our findings, coupled with other records, indicate the flourishing of early humans in mainland East Asia during the Mid-Pleistocene climate transition (MPT). This suggests that early humans were adapted to diverse and variable environments over a broad latitudinal range during the MPT, from temperate northern China to subtropical southern China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanfen Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China.,Institutions of Earth Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China.,College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Chenglong Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China. .,Institutions of Earth Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China. .,College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
| | - Wu Liu
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Xiujie Wu
- College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.,Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Shuwen Pei
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Lu Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China.,Institutions of Earth Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Junyi Ge
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Liang Yi
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Rixiang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China.,Institutions of Earth Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China.,College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
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9
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Pei S, Xie F, Deng C, Jia Z, Wang X, Guan Y, Li X, Ma D, de la Torre I. Early Pleistocene archaeological occurrences at the Feiliang site, and the archaeology of human origins in the Nihewan Basin, North China. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0187251. [PMID: 29166402 PMCID: PMC5699830 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Early Pleistocene archaeological evidence from the fluvio-lacustrine sequence of the Nihewan Basin (North China) offers an excellent opportunity to explore early human evolution and behavior in a temperate setting in East Asia, following the earliest ‘Out of Africa’. Here we present the first comprehensive study of the Feiliang (FL) site, with emphasis on the archaeological sequence, site integrity, and stone artifact assemblages. Magnetostratigraphic dating results show that early humans occupied the site ca. 1.2 Ma. Archaeological deposits were buried rapidly in primary context within shallow lake margin deposits, with only minor post-depositional disturbance from relatively low energy hydraulic forces. The FL lithic assemblage is characterized by a core and flake, Oldowan-like or Mode 1 technology, with a low degree of standardization, expedient knapping techniques, and casually retouched flakes. The bone assemblage suggests that hominin occupation of the FL site was in an open habitat of temperate grassland with areas of steppe and water. The main features of the FL assemblage are discussed in the context of the early Pleistocene archaeology of Nihewan, for which an assessment of current and future research is also presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuwen Pei
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- * E-mail:
| | - Fei Xie
- Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Chenglong Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhenxiu Jia
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaomin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Guan
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoli Li
- Beijing Museum of Natural History, Beijing, China
| | - Dongdong Ma
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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10
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Yang SX, Petraglia MD, Hou YM, Yue JP, Deng CL, Zhu RX. The lithic assemblages of Donggutuo, Nihewan basin: Knapping skills of early pleistocene hominins in North China. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0185101. [PMID: 28934295 PMCID: PMC5608319 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 09/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Donggutuo (DGT) is one of the richest archaeological localities in the Nihewan Basin of North China, thereby providing key information about the technological behaviours of early hominins in eastern Asia. Although DGT has been subject of multiple excavations and technological studies over the past several decades, few detailed studies on the lithic assemblages have been published. Here we summarize and describe the DGT lithic assemblages, examining stone tool reduction methods and technological skills. DGT dates to ca. 1.1 Ma, close to the onset of the mid-Pleistocene climate transition (MPT), indicating that occupations at DGT coincided with increased environmental instability. During this time interval, the DGT knappers began to apply innovative flaking methods, using free hand hard hammer percussion (FHHP) to manufacture pre-determined core shapes, small flakes and finely retouched tools, while occasionally using the bipolar technique, in contrast to the earlier and nearby Nihewan site of Xiaochangliang (XCL). Evidence for some degree of planning and predetermination in lithic reduction at DGT parallels technological developments in African Oldowan sites, suggesting that innovations in early industries may be situational, sometimes corresponding with adaptations to changes in environments and local conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shi-Xia Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Michael D Petraglia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Ya-Mei Hou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jian-Ping Yue
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Cheng-Long Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ri-Xiang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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11
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Consistent C3 plant habitat of hominins during 400–300 ka at the Longyadong Cave site (Luonan Basin, central China) revealed by stable carbon isotope analyses of loess deposits. J Hum Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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12
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Yang SX, Hou YM, Yue JP, Petraglia MD, Deng CL, Zhu RX. The Lithic Assemblages of Xiaochangliang, Nihewan Basin: Implications for Early Pleistocene Hominin Behaviour in North China. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0155793. [PMID: 27205881 PMCID: PMC4874576 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2016] [Accepted: 05/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Xiaochangliang (XCL), located in the Nihewan Basin of North China, is a key archaeological locality for understanding the behavioural evolution of early humans. XCL dates to ca. 1.36 Ma, making it one of the earliest sites in Northeast Asia. Although XCL represents the first excavation of an Early Pleistocene site in the Nihewan Basin, identified and excavated in the 1970’s, the lithic assemblages have never been published in full detail. Here we describe the lithic assemblages from XCL, providing information on stone tool reduction techniques and the influence of raw materials on artefact manufacture. The XCL hominins used both bipolar and freehand reduction techniques to manufacture small flakes, some of which show retouch. Bipolar reduction methods at XCL were used more frequently than previously recognized. Comparison of XCL with other Early Pleistocene sites in the Nihewan Basin indicates the variable use of bipolar and freehand reduction methods, thereby indicating a flexible approach in the utilization of raw materials. The stone tools from XCL and the Nihewan sites are classifiable as Mode I lithic assemblages, readily distinguished from bifacial industries manufactured by hominins in Eastern Asia by ca. 800 ka.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shi-Xia Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origin of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- * E-mail: ;
| | - Ya-Mei Hou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origin of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jian-Ping Yue
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origin of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | | | - Cheng-Long Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ri-Xiang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Lister AM, Sher AV. Evolution and dispersal of mammoths across the Northern Hemisphere. Science 2015; 350:805-9. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aac5660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Davoudi D, Bazgir B, Abbasnejad R, Barsky D, Ollé A, Otte M. The Lower Paleolithic of Iran: Probing New Finds from Mar Gwergalan Cave (Holeylan, Central Zagros)1. ARCHAEOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY OF EURASIA 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.aeae.2015.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Lee SH. Homo erectus in Salkhit, Mongolia? HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY 2015; 66:287-98. [PMID: 25813423 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchb.2015.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2014] [Accepted: 02/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In 2006, a skullcap was discovered in Salkhit, Mongolia. The Salkhit skullcap has a mostly complete frontal, two partially complete parietals, and nasals. No chronometric dating has been published yet, and suggested dates range from early Middle Pleistocene to terminal Late Pleistocene. While no chronometric date has been published, the presence of archaic features has led to a potential affiliation with archaic hominin species. If it is indeed Homo erectus or archaic Homo sapiens, Salkhit implies a much earlier spread of hominins farther north and inland Asia than previously thought. In this paper, the nature of the archaic features in Salkhit is investigated. The Salkhit skullcap morphology and metrics were compared with Middle and Late Pleistocene hominin fossils from northeast Asia: Zhoukoudian Locality 1, Dali, and Zhoukoudian Upper Cave. Results show an interesting pattern: on one hand, the archaic features that Salkhit shares with the Zhoukoudian Locality 1 sample also are shared with other later hominins; on the other hand, Salkhit is different from the Middle Pleistocene materials in the same way later hominins differ from the Middle Pleistocene sample, in having a broader frontal and thinner supraorbital region. This may reflect encephalization and gracilization, a modernization trend found in many places. It is concluded that the archaic features observed in Salkhit are regionally predominant features rather than diagnostic features of an archaic species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sang-Hee Lee
- Department of Anthropology, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521-0418, USA.
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ESR dating of the Majuangou and Banshan Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin, North China. J Hum Evol 2014; 73:58-63. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.05.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2013] [Revised: 05/12/2014] [Accepted: 05/14/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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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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The Ban Don Mun artifacts: A chronological reappraisal of human occupations in the Lampang province of Northern Thailand. J Hum Evol 2013; 65:10-20. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2012] [Revised: 02/11/2013] [Accepted: 02/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Lu H, Sun X, Wang S, Cosgrove R, Zhang H, Yi S, Ma X, Wei M, Yang Z. Ages for hominin occupation in Lushi Basin, middle of South Luo River, central China. J Hum Evol 2011; 60:612-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2009] [Revised: 07/29/2010] [Accepted: 12/12/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Mgeladze A, Lordkipanidze D, Moncel MH, Despriee J, Chagelishvili R, Nioradze M, Nioradze G. Hominin occupations at the Dmanisi site, Georgia, Southern Caucasus: raw materials and technical behaviours of Europe's first hominins. J Hum Evol 2011; 60:571-96. [PMID: 21277002 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2010] [Revised: 10/05/2010] [Accepted: 10/09/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Dmanisi is the oldest site outside of Africa that records unquestioned hominin occupations as well as the dispersal of hominins in Europe and Asia. The site has yielded large numbers of artefacts from several periods of hominin occupation. This analysis of Dmanisi stone tool technology includes a review of all the pieces recovered during the last 15 years of excavations. This lithic assemblage gives insights into the hominin behaviour at 1.7-1.8 Ma in Eurasia. Dmanisi hominins exploited local rocks derived from either nearby riverbeds or outcrops, and petrographic study provides data on patterns of stone procurement. Recent geological surveys and technological studies of the artefacts illustrate the roles of hominins in composing the assemblage. Dmanisi hominins selected two types of blanks, including cobbles and angular blocks, of basalt, andesite, and tuffs. Many complete cobbles, pebbles, and rolled blocks in basalt were unmodified, and geological analyses and surveys indicate that hominins brought manuports back to the site, suggesting a complex procurement strategy. Cores, flakes and debris show that all stages of flaking activity took place at the site. Numerous unifacial cores suggest that knapping was not very elaborate. Centripetal knapping is observed on some flake-cores. Knapping was influenced by the blank shape and natural angles. Most flaked objects were either cores or chopper-cores. Flakes predominate while flake tools are rare. The Dmanisi lithic assemblage is comparable to Oldowan sites in Africa in terms of reduction sequence, organisation of the removals, platform types, and the lack of retouched flakes. Dmanisi artefacts and may have been produced by the original hominins in Europe and Asia.
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Early Pleistocene Mammalian Faunas of India and Evidence of Connections with Other Parts of the World. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-9036-2_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
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23
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Potts R, Teague R. Behavioral and Environmental Background to ‘Out-of-Africa I’ and the Arrival of Homo erectus in East Asia. OUT OF AFRICA I 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-9036-2_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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Divorcing Hominins from the Stegodon-Ailuropoda Fauna: New Views on the Antiquity of Hominins in Asia. OUT OF AFRICA I 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-9036-2_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
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25
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Preliminary study on the living environment of hominids at the Donggutuo site, Nihewan Basin. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/s11434-009-0646-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Abstract
This review has three main aims: (1) to make specific predictions about the habitat of the hypothetical last common ancestor of the chimpanzee/bonobo-human clade; (2) to outline the major trends in environments between 8-6 Ma and the late Pleistocene; and (3) to pinpoint when, and in some cases where, human ancestors evolved to cope with the wide range of habitats they presently tolerate. Several lines of evidence indicate that arboreal environments, particularly woodlands, were important habitats for late Miocene hominids and hominins, and therefore possibly for the last common ancestor of the chimpanzee/bonobo-human clade. However, as there is no clear candidate for this last common ancestor, and because the sampling of fossils and past environments is inevitably patchy, this prediction remains a working hypothesis at best. Nonetheless, as a primate, it is expected that the last common ancestor was ecologically dependent on trees in some form. Understanding past environments is important, as palaeoenvironmental reconstructions provide the context for human morphological and behavioural evolution. Indeed, the impact of climate on the evolutionary history of our species has long been debated. Since the mid-Miocene, the Earth has been experiencing a general cooling trend accompanied by aridification, which intensified during the later Pliocene and Pleistocene. Numerous climatic fluctuations, as well as local, regional and continental geography that influenced weather patterns and vegetation, created hominin environments that were dynamic in space and time. Behavioural flexibility and cultural complexity were crucial aspects of hominin expansion into diverse environments during the Pleistocene, but the ability to exploit varied and varying habitats was established much earlier in human evolutionary history. The development of increasingly complex tool technology facilitated re-expansion into tropical forests. These environments are difficult for obligate bipeds to negotiate, but their exploitation was accomplished by archaic and/or anatomically modern humans independently in Africa and south-east Asia. Complex social behaviour and material culture also allowed modern humans to reach some of the most hostile regions of the globe, above the Arctic Circle, by the late Pleistocene. This, with colonization of the Americas and Australasia, established Homo sapiens as a truly cosmopolitan species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Elton
- Functional Morphology and Evolution Unit, Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, Hull, UK.
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Derevianko AP. The lower paleolithic small tool industry in Eurasia: Migration or convergent evolution? ARCHAEOLOGY ETHNOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY OF EURASIA 2006. [DOI: 10.1134/s1563011006010014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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30
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Magnetostratigraphy of borehole EY02-2 in the southern Yellow Sea and its paleoenvironmental significance. Sci Bull (Beijing) 2006. [DOI: 10.1007/s11434-006-0855-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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31
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Rightmire GP, Lordkipanidze D, Vekua A. Anatomical descriptions, comparative studies and evolutionary significance of the hominin skulls from Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia. J Hum Evol 2006; 50:115-41. [PMID: 16271745 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2004] [Accepted: 07/13/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Evidence for ancient hominin occupation in Eurasia comes from Dmanisi in the Georgian Caucasus. Stratigraphic and sedimentological arguments, geochemical observations, paleomagnetic sampling and radiometric dates all point to the conclusion that bones and artifacts were deposited at this site during a brief interval following the close of the Olduvai Subchron (1.77 million years ago). In this report we present further descriptive and comparative studies of the D2280 braincase, the D2282 partial cranium, now linked with the D211 mandible, and the skull D2700/D2735. The crania have capacities ranging from 600 cm3 to 775 cm3. Supraorbital tori and other vault superstructures are only moderately developed. The braincase is expanded laterally in the mastoid region, but the occiput is rounded. The pattern of sagittal keeling is distinctive. D2700 displays a prominent midfacial profile and has a very short nasoalveolar clivus. Also, the M3 crowns are reduced in size. Although there is variation probably related to growth status and sex dimorphism, it is appropriate to group the Dmanisi hominins together. With the possible exception of the large D2600 mandible, the individuals are sampled from one paleodeme. This population resembles Homo habilis in brain volume and some aspects of craniofacial morphology, but many of these features can be interpreted as symplesiomorphies. Other discrete characters and measurements suggest that the Dmanisi skulls are best placed with H. erectus. There are numerous similarities to individuals from the Turkana Basin in Kenya, but a few features link Dmanisi to Sangiran in Java. Some traits expressed in the Dmanisi assemblage appear to be unique. Reconstructing the evolutionary relationships of these ancient populations of Africa and Eurasia is difficult, as the record is quite patchy, and determination of character polarities is not straightforward. Nevertheless, the evidence from anatomical analysis and measurements supports the hypothesis that Dmanisi is close to the stem from which H. erectus evolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Philip Rightmire
- Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University (SUNY), P.O. Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA.
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Wang H, Deng C, Zhu R, Xie F. Paleomagnetic dating of the Cenjiawan Paleolithic site in the Nihewan Basin, northern China. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2006. [DOI: 10.1007/s11430-006-0295-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Kaifu Y, Baba H, Aziz F, Indriati E, Schrenk F, Jacob T. Taxonomic affinities and evolutionary history of the early Pleistocene hominids of Java: Dentognathic evidence. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2005; 128:709-26. [PMID: 15761880 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.10425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Temporal changes, within-group variation, and phylogenetic positions of the Early Pleistocene Javanese hominids remain unclear. Recent debate focused on the age of the oldest Javanese hominids, but the argument so far includes little morphological basis for the fossils. To approach these questions, we analyzed a comprehensive dentognathic sample from Sangiran, which includes most of the existing hominid mandibles and teeth from the Early Pleistocene of Java. The sample was divided into chronologically younger and older groups. We examined morphological differences between these chronological groups, and investigated their affinities with other hominid groups from Africa and Eurasia. The results indicated that 1) there are remarkable morphological differences between the chronologically younger and older groups of Java, 2) the chronologically younger group is morphologically advanced, showing a similar degree of dentognathic reduction to that of Middle Pleistocene Chinese H. erectus, and 3) the chronologically older group exhibits some features that are equally primitive as or more primitive than early H. erectus of Africa. These findings suggest that the evolutionary history of early Javanese H. erectus was more dynamic than previously thought. Coupled with recent discoveries of the earliest form of H. erectus from Dmanisi, Georgia, the primitive aspects of the oldest Javanese hominid remains suggest that hominid groups prior to the grade of ca. 1.8-1.5 Ma African early H. erectus dispersed into eastern Eurasia during the earlier Early Pleistocene, although the age of the Javanese hominids themselves is yet to be resolved. Subsequent periods of the Early Pleistocene witnessed remarkable changes in the Javanese hominid record, which are ascribed either to significant in situ evolution or replacement of populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yousuke Kaifu
- Department of Anthropology, National Science Museum, Tokyo 169-0073, Japan.
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Zhu RX, Potts R, Xie F, Hoffman KA, Deng CL, Shi CD, Pan YX, Wang HQ, Shi RP, Wang YC, Shi GH, Wu NQ. New evidence on the earliest human presence at high northern latitudes in northeast Asia. Nature 2004; 431:559-62. [PMID: 15457258 DOI: 10.1038/nature02829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 275] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2004] [Accepted: 07/08/2004] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The timing of early human dispersal to Asia is a central issue in the study of human evolution. Excavations in predominantly lacustrine sediments at Majuangou, Nihewan basin, north China, uncovered four layers of indisputable hominin stone tools. Here we report magnetostratigraphic results that constrain the age of the four artefact layers to an interval of nearly 340,000 yr between the Olduvai subchron and the Cobb Mountain event. The lowest layer, about 1.66 million years old (Myr), provides the oldest record of stone-tool processing of animal tissues in east Asia. The highest layer, at about 1.32 Myr, correlates with the stone tool layer at Xiaochangliang, previously considered the oldest archaeological site in this region. The findings at Majuangou indicate that the oldest known human presence in northeast Asia at 40 degrees N is only slightly younger than that in western Asia. This result implies that a long yet rapid migration from Africa, possibly initiated during a phase of warm climate, enabled early human populations to inhabit northern latitudes of east Asia over a prolonged period.
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Affiliation(s)
- R X Zhu
- Paleomagnetism Laboratory, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.
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Wang Y, Chi Z, Lee T, Min L, Chu H. Relative paleointensity of the geomagnetic field during the past 0.8 Ma from Nihewan Basin, Hebei Province, China. CHINESE SCIENCE BULLETIN-CHINESE 2004. [DOI: 10.1007/bf03184017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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36
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Dennell R. Dispersal and colonisation, long and short chronologies: how continuous is the Early Pleistocene record for hominids outside East Africa? J Hum Evol 2003; 45:421-40. [PMID: 14643672 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2003.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 216] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
This paper examines the evidence for hominids outside East Africa during the Early Pleistocene. Most attention has focused recently on the evidence for or against a late Pliocene dispersal, ca. 1.8 Ma., of hominids out of Africa into Asia and possibly southern Europe. Here, the focus is widened to include North Africa as well as southern Asia and Europe, as well as the evidence in these regions for hominids after their first putative appearance ca. 1.8 Ma. It suggests that overall there is very little evidence for hominids in most of these regions before the Middle Pleistocene. Consequently, it concludes that the colonising capabilities of Homo erectus may have been seriously over-rated, and that even if hominids did occupy parts of North Africa, southern Europe and southern Asia shortly after 2 Ma, there is little evidence of colonisation. Whilst further fieldwork will doubtless slowly fill many gaps in a poorly documented Lower Pleistocene hominid record, it appears premature to conclude that the appearance of hominids in North Africa, Europe and Asia was automatically followed by permanent settlement. Rather, current data are more consistent with the view that Lower Pleistocene hominid populations outside East Africa were often spatially and temporally discontinuous, that hominid expansion was strongly constrained by latitude, and that occupation of temperate latitudes north of latitude 40 degrees was largely confined to interglacial periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Dennell
- Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4ET, UK.
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Abstract
Great apes, our closest living relatives, live longer and mature later than most other mammals and modern humans are even later-maturing and potentially longer-lived. Evolutionary life-history theory seeks to explain cross-species differences in these variables and the covariation between them. That provides the foundation for a hypothesis that a novel role for grandmothers underlies the shift from an ape-like ancestral pattern to one more like our own in the first widely successful members of genus Homo. This hypothesis links four distinctive features of human life histories: 1). our potential longevity, 2). our late maturity, 3). our midlife menopause, and 4). our early weaning with next offspring produced before the previous infant can feed itself. I discuss the problem, then, using modern humans and chimpanzees to represent, respectively, genus Homo and australopithecines, I focus on two corollaries of this grandmother hypothesis: 1). that ancestral age-specific fertility declines persisted in our genus, while 2). senescence in other aspects of physiological performance slowed down. The data are scanty but they illustrate similarities in age-specific fertility decline and differences in somatic durability that are consistent with the hypothesis that increased longevity in our genus is a legacy of the "reproductive" role of ancestral grandmothers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen Hawkes
- Deparment of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA.
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O'Connell JF, Hawkes K, Lupo KD, Blurton Jones NG. Male strategies and Plio-Pleistocene archaeology. J Hum Evol 2002; 43:831-72. [PMID: 12473486 DOI: 10.1006/jhev.2002.0604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Archaeological data are frequently cited in support of the idea that big game hunting drove the evolution of early Homo, mainly through its role in offspring provisioning. This argument has been disputed on two grounds: (1) ethnographic observations on modern foragers show that although hunting may contribute a large fraction of the overall diet, it is an unreliable day-to-day food source, pursued more for status than subsistence; (2) archaeological evidence from the Plio-Pleistocene, coincident with the emergence of Homo can be read to reflect low-yield scavenging, not hunting. Our review of the archaeology yields results consistent with these critiques: (1) early humans acquired large-bodied ungulates primarily by aggressive scavenging, not hunting; (2) meat was consumed at or near the point of acquisition, not at home bases, as the hunting hypothesis requires; (3) carcasses were taken at highly variable rates and in varying degrees of completeness, making meat from big game an even less reliable food source than it is among modern foragers. Collectively, Plio-Pleistocene site location and assemblage composition are consistent with the hypothesis that large carcasses were taken not for purposes of provisioning, but in the context of competitive male displays. Even if meat were acquired more reliably than the archaeology indicates, its consumption cannot account for the significant changes in life history now seen to distinguish early humans from ancestral australopiths. The coincidence between the earliest dates for Homo ergaster and an increase in the archaeological visibility of meat eating that many find so provocative instead reflects: (1) changes in the structure of the environment that concentrated scavenging opportunities in space, making evidence of their pursuit more obvious to archaeologists; (2) H. ergaster's larger body size (itself a consequence of other factors), which improved its ability at interference competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- J F O'Connell
- Department of Anthropology, 270 South 1400 East, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112, USA.
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