1
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Belmiro J, Terradas X, Cascalheira J. Creating frames of reference for chert exploitation during the Late Pleistocene in Southwesternmost Iberia. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0293223. [PMID: 37862352 PMCID: PMC10588902 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Southwestern Iberia has played a key role in characterizing Late Pleistocene human ecodynamics. Among other aspects of human behavior, chert procurement and management studies in this region have received increasing attention in the past two decades, especially focusing on the sites showing repeated human occupation, such as the case of Vale Boi (Southern Portugal). However, these studies have been very limited in their geographical scope, and mostly focused on brief macroscopic descriptions of the raw materials. To further our knowledge of the relationship between regional availability of raw materials and its impact on human adaptations and mobility, a more detailed approach to characterizing geological sources is needed. This paper characterizes chert raw materials location, diversity, and availability in a geologically well-defined region of southern Portugal - the Algarve. Through macroscopic and petrographic approaches, we provide a detailed characterization of geological chert sources to build a frame of reference for chert exploitation in the region. Our results show that there are four main chert formations in Algarve, and that despite the within-source variability, sufficient differences at macroscopic and petrographic levels are present to allow clear source attribution. These results provide a baseline for raw material studies in archaeological assemblages across southwestern Iberia, that will be essential to further characterize the dynamics of human behavior in some of the most important eco-cultural niches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana Belmiro
- Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behavior (ICArEHB), University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Xavier Terradas
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - João Cascalheira
- Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behavior (ICArEHB), University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
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2
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Ramos-Muñoz J, Cantalejo P, Blumenröther J, Bolin V, Otto T, Rotgänger M, Kehl M, Nielsen TK, Espejo M, Fernández-Sánchez D, Moreno-Márquez A, Vijande-Vila E, Cabello L, Becerra S, Martí ÁP, Riquelme JA, Cantillo-Duarte JJ, Domínguez-Bella S, Ramos-García P, Tafelmaier Y, Weniger GC. The nature and chronology of human occupation at the Galerías Bajas, from Cueva de Ardales, Malaga, Spain. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0266788. [PMID: 35648733 PMCID: PMC9159608 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Cueva de Ardales is a hugely important Palaeolithic site in the south of the Iberian Peninsula owing to its rich inventory of rock art. From 2011–2018, excavations were carried out in the cave for the first time ever by a Spanish-German research team. The excavation focused on the entrance area of the cave, where the largest assemblage of non-figurative red paintings in the cave is found. A series of 50 AMS dates from the excavations prove a long, albeit discontinuous, occupation history spanning from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Neolithic. The dating of the Middle Palaeolithic layers agrees with the U/Th dating of some red non-figurative paintings in the entrance area. In addition, a large assemblage of ochre lumps was discovered in the Middle Palaeolithic layers. Human visits of the cave in the Gravettian and Solutrean can be recognized, but evidence from the Aurignacian and Magdalenian cannot be confirmed with certainty. The quantity and nature of materials found during the excavations indicate that Cueva de Ardales was not a campsite, but was mainly visited to carry out non-domestic tasks, such as the production of rock art or the burial of the dead.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Ramos-Muñoz
- Department of History, Geography and Philosophy, University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain
- * E-mail:
| | - Pedro Cantalejo
- Cueva de Ardales, Ardales, Malaga, Spain
- Ayuntamiento de Ardales, Ardales, Malaga, Spain
| | - Julia Blumenröther
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | | | - Taylor Otto
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Miriam Rotgänger
- Commission for Archeology of Non-European Cultures, Bonn, Germany
| | - Martin Kehl
- Institute of Geography, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Trine Kellberg Nielsen
- School of Culture and Society, Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Mar Espejo
- Cueva de Ardales, Ardales, Malaga, Spain
- ArdalesTur, Ardales, Malaga, Spain
| | | | - Adolfo Moreno-Márquez
- Department of Geography, History and Humanities, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain
| | - Eduardo Vijande-Vila
- Department of History, Geography and Philosophy, University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain
| | - Lidia Cabello
- Dolmens of Antequera Archaeological Ensemble, Antequera, Malaga, Spain
| | | | - África Pitarch Martí
- Departament d’Arts i Conservació-Restauració, Facultat de Belles Arts, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | | | - Salvador Domínguez-Bella
- Earth Sciences Department, Campus Rio San Pedro, Universityt of Cadiz, Puerto Real, Cadiz, Spain
| | | | - Yvonne Tafelmaier
- State Office for Cultural Heritage Baden-Wuerttemberg, Esslingen, Germany
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3
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Álvarez-Fernández E, Aura Tortosa JE, Jordá Pardo JF, Palomero-Jiménez I, Aparicio MT, Cabello-Ligero L, Cantalejo P, Vadillo Conesa M, Marco YC, Espejo MDM, Fernández-Gómez MJ, García-Ibaibarriaga N, Maestro A, Marlasca R, Martín-Vallejo FJ, Murelaga X, Pérez-Ripoll M. Maritime-oriented foragers during the Late Pleistocene on the eastern costa del sol (Southeast Iberia): Cueva Victoria (Málaga, Spain). Heliyon 2022; 8:e09548. [PMID: 35669540 PMCID: PMC9163520 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The Mediterranean coast of Spain is marked by several clusters of Palaeolithic sites: to the south of the Pyrenees, in the area around the Ebro River, in the central part, and on the south coast, one of the southernmost regions in Europe. The number of sites is small compared with northern Iberia, but like that region, the Palaeolithic occupations are accompanied by several rock art ensembles. The archaeological material (both biotic and abiotic resources) and radiocarbon dates presented here were obtained during archaeological fieldwork of professor J. Fortea in the Late Pleistocene deposits in Cueva Victoria, located near the modern coastline and about 150 km north of the Strait of Gibraltar. In the three occupation phases, marine resources were acquired by shell-fishing (focusing almost exclusively on the clam Ruditapes decussatus), fishing, and the use of beached marine mammals. This contrasts with the limited data about the exploitation of terrestrial resources by hunting and gathering animals and plants. The study is completed by the study of artefacts (lithic and bone industry and objects of adornment) that help to understand the subsistence strategies of the cave occupants and enable a comparison with other groups inhabiting the Mediterranean coasts of the Iberian Peninsula during Greenland Interstadial 1, between ca. 15.1 and 13.6 cal BP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esteban Álvarez-Fernández
- Departamento de Prehistoria, Historia Antigua y Arqueología, Universidad de Salamanca, Calle Cerrada de Serranos s/n, 37002, Salamanca, Spain.,Grupo de Investigador Reconocido PREHUSAL, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain
| | - J Emili Aura Tortosa
- Departament de Prehistòria Arqueologia i Història Antiga-PREMEDOC, Universitat de València, Avda. Blasco Ibañez 28, E-46010, València, Spain
| | - Jesús F Jordá Pardo
- Laboratorio de Estudios Paleolíticos, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Paseo Senda del Rey 7, 28040, Madrid, Spain.,Grupo de Investigador Reconocido PREHUSAL, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain
| | - Ismael Palomero-Jiménez
- Departamento de Prehistoria, Historia Antigua y Arqueología, Universidad de Salamanca, Calle Cerrada de Serranos s/n, 37002, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Mª Teresa Aparicio
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, C. José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Pedro Cantalejo
- Museo Municipal de la Historia y las Tradiciones de Ardales, Cueva de Ardales, Ayuntamiento de Ardales, Avda. de Málaga, 1, 29550, Ardales, Málaga, Spain
| | - Margarita Vadillo Conesa
- Departament de Prehistòria Arqueologia i Història Antiga-PREMEDOC, Universitat de València, Avda. Blasco Ibañez 28, E-46010, València, Spain
| | - Yolanda Carrión Marco
- Departament de Prehistòria Arqueologia i Història Antiga-PREMEDOC, Universitat de València, Avda. Blasco Ibañez 28, E-46010, València, Spain
| | - María Del Mar Espejo
- Museo Municipal de la Historia y las Tradiciones de Ardales, Cueva de Ardales, Ayuntamiento de Ardales, Avda. de Málaga, 1, 29550, Ardales, Málaga, Spain
| | - Mª José Fernández-Gómez
- Departamento de Estadística, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, 37007, Salamanca, Spain.,Grupo de Investigador Reconocido PREHUSAL, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain
| | - Naroa García-Ibaibarriaga
- Departamento de Geografía, Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Letras, Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU, C. Tomás y Valiente s/n, 01006, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
| | - Adolfo Maestro
- Department of Geoscientific Research and Prospective, IGME, Calle Calera 1., E-28760, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - F Javier Martín-Vallejo
- Departamento de Estadística, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, 37007, Salamanca, Spain.,Grupo de Investigador Reconocido PREHUSAL, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain
| | - Xavier Murelaga
- Departamento de Geología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU, Apartado 644, 48080, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Manuel Pérez-Ripoll
- Departament de Prehistòria Arqueologia i Història Antiga-PREMEDOC, Universitat de València, Avda. Blasco Ibañez 28, E-46010, València, Spain
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4
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Ramos-Muñoz J, Cantalejo P, Blumenröther J, Bolin V, Otto T, Rotgänger M, Kehl M, Nielsen TK, Espejo M, Fernández-Sánchez D, Moreno-Márquez A, Vijande-Vila E, Cabello L, Becerra S, Martí ÁP, Riquelme JA, Cantillo-Duarte JJ, Domínguez-Bella S, Ramos-García P, Tafelmaier Y, Weniger GC. The nature and chronology of human occupation at the Galerías Bajas, from Cueva de Ardales, Malaga, Spain. PLoS One 2022. [PMID: 35648733 DOI: 10.1371/jounal.pone.0266788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The Cueva de Ardales is a hugely important Palaeolithic site in the south of the Iberian Peninsula owing to its rich inventory of rock art. From 2011-2018, excavations were carried out in the cave for the first time ever by a Spanish-German research team. The excavation focused on the entrance area of the cave, where the largest assemblage of non-figurative red paintings in the cave is found. A series of 50 AMS dates from the excavations prove a long, albeit discontinuous, occupation history spanning from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Neolithic. The dating of the Middle Palaeolithic layers agrees with the U/Th dating of some red non-figurative paintings in the entrance area. In addition, a large assemblage of ochre lumps was discovered in the Middle Palaeolithic layers. Human visits of the cave in the Gravettian and Solutrean can be recognized, but evidence from the Aurignacian and Magdalenian cannot be confirmed with certainty. The quantity and nature of materials found during the excavations indicate that Cueva de Ardales was not a campsite, but was mainly visited to carry out non-domestic tasks, such as the production of rock art or the burial of the dead.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Ramos-Muñoz
- Department of History, Geography and Philosophy, University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain
| | - Pedro Cantalejo
- Cueva de Ardales, Ardales, Malaga, Spain
- Ayuntamiento de Ardales, Ardales, Malaga, Spain
| | - Julia Blumenröther
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | | | - Taylor Otto
- Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Miriam Rotgänger
- Commission for Archeology of Non-European Cultures, Bonn, Germany
| | - Martin Kehl
- Institute of Geography, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Trine Kellberg Nielsen
- School of Culture and Society, Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Mar Espejo
- Cueva de Ardales, Ardales, Malaga, Spain
- ArdalesTur, Ardales, Malaga, Spain
| | | | - Adolfo Moreno-Márquez
- Department of Geography, History and Humanities, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain
| | - Eduardo Vijande-Vila
- Department of History, Geography and Philosophy, University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain
| | - Lidia Cabello
- Dolmens of Antequera Archaeological Ensemble, Antequera, Malaga, Spain
| | | | - África Pitarch Martí
- Departament d'Arts i Conservació-Restauració, Facultat de Belles Arts, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - José A Riquelme
- Department of History, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
| | | | - Salvador Domínguez-Bella
- Earth Sciences Department, Campus Rio San Pedro, Universityt of Cadiz, Puerto Real, Cadiz, Spain
| | | | - Yvonne Tafelmaier
- State Office for Cultural Heritage Baden-Wuerttemberg, Esslingen, Germany
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5
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Sánchez Goñi MF. Regional impacts of climate change and its relevance to human evolution. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2020; 2:e55. [PMID: 37588361 PMCID: PMC10427484 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2020.56] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The traditional concept of long and gradual, glacial-interglacial climate changes during the Quaternary has been challenged since the 1980s. High temporal resolution analysis of marine, terrestrial and ice geological archives has identified rapid, millennial- to centennial-scale, and large-amplitude climatic cycles throughout the last few million years. These changes were global but have had contrasting regional impacts on the terrestrial and marine ecosystems, with in some cases strong changes in the high latitudes of both hemispheres but muted changes elsewhere. Such a regionalization has produced environmental barriers and corridors that have probably triggered niche contractions/expansions of hominin populations living in Eurasia and Africa. This article reviews the long- and short-timescale ecosystem changes that have punctuated the last few million years, paying particular attention to the environments of the last 650,000 years, which have witnessed key events in the evolution of our lineage in Africa and Eurasia. This review highlights, for the first time, a contemporaneity between the split between Denisovan and Neanderthals, at ~650-400 ka, and the strong Eurasian ice-sheet expansion down to the Black Sea. This ice expansion could form an ice barrier between Europe and Asia that may have triggered the genetic drift between these two populations.
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6
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Past Extinctions of Homo Species Coincided with Increased Vulnerability to Climatic Change. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2020.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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7
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A new pollen sequence from southern Iberia suggesting coastal Pleistocene phytodiversity hotspot. REVIEW OF PALAEOBOTANY AND PALYNOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2020.104281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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8
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Abstract
We report the remarkable discovery of an early Aurignacian occupation, ∼5,000 years older than any Upper Paleolithic site in westernmost Eurasia. The archaeological and radiocarbon data provide definitive evidence that modern humans were in western Iberia at a time when, if present at all, Neanderthal populations would have been extremely sparse. This discovery has important ramifications for our understanding of the process of modern human dispersal and replacement of Neanderthal populations. The results support a very rapid, unimpeded dispersal of modern humans across western Eurasia and support the notion that climate and environmental change played a significant role in this process. Documenting the first appearance of modern humans in a given region is key to understanding the dispersal process and the replacement or assimilation of indigenous human populations such as the Neanderthals. The Iberian Peninsula was the last refuge of Neanderthal populations as modern humans advanced across Eurasia. Here we present evidence of an early Aurignacian occupation at Lapa do Picareiro in central Portugal. Diagnostic artifacts were found in a sealed stratigraphic layer dated 41.1 to 38.1 ka cal BP, documenting a modern human presence on the western margin of Iberia ∼5,000 years earlier than previously known. The data indicate a rapid modern human dispersal across southern Europe, reaching the westernmost edge where Neanderthals were thought to persist. The results support the notion of a mosaic process of modern human dispersal and replacement of indigenous Neanderthal populations.
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9
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Andermann T, Faurby S, Turvey ST, Antonelli A, Silvestro D. The past and future human impact on mammalian diversity. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:6/36/eabb2313. [PMID: 32917612 PMCID: PMC7473673 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb2313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/16/2020] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
To understand the current biodiversity crisis, it is crucial to determine how humans have affected biodiversity in the past. However, the extent of human involvement in species extinctions from the Late Pleistocene onward remains contentious. Here, we apply Bayesian models to the fossil record to estimate how mammalian extinction rates have changed over the past 126,000 years, inferring specific times of rate increases. We specifically test the hypothesis of human-caused extinctions by using posterior predictive methods. We find that human population size is able to predict past extinctions with 96% accuracy. Predictors based on past climate, in contrast, perform no better than expected by chance, suggesting that climate had a negligible impact on global mammal extinctions. Based on current trends, we predict for the near future a rate escalation of unprecedented magnitude. Our results provide a comprehensive assessment of the human impact on past and predicted future extinctions of mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Andermann
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden.
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Søren Faurby
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Samuel T Turvey
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UK
| | - Alexandre Antonelli
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Göteborg, Sweden
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, UK
| | - Daniele Silvestro
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Göteborg, Sweden
- Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
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10
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Mallol C, Hernández C, Mercier N, Falguères C, Carrancho Á, Cabanes D, Vidal-Matutano P, Connolly R, Pérez L, Mayor A, Ben Arous E, Galván B. Fire and brief human occupations in Iberia during MIS 4: Evidence from Abric del Pastor (Alcoy, Spain). Sci Rep 2019; 9:18281. [PMID: 31797875 PMCID: PMC6892787 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54305-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a relatively low amount of Middle Paleolithic sites in Europe dating to MIS 4. Of the few that exist, several of them lack evidence for anthropogenic fire, raising the question of how this period of global cooling may have affected the Neanderthal population. The Iberian Peninsula is a key area to explore this issue, as it has been considered as a glacial refugium during critical periods of the Neanderthal timeline and might therefore yield archaeological contexts in which we can explore possible changes in the behaviour and settlement patterns of Neanderthal groups during MIS 4. Here we report recent data from Abric del Pastor, a small rock shelter in Alcoy (Alicante, Spain) with a stratified deposit containing Middle Palaeolithic remains. We present absolute dates that frame the sequence within MIS 4 and multi-proxy geoarchaeological evidence of in situ anthropogenic fire, including microscopic evidence of in situ combustion residues and thermally altered sediment. We also present archaeostratigraphic evidence of recurrent, functionally diverse, brief human occupation of the rock shelter. Our results suggest that Neanderthals occupied the Central Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula during MIS 4, that these Neanderthals were not undergoing climatic stress and they were habitual fire users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Mallol
- UDI de Prehistoria, Arqueología e Historia Antigua, Departamento de Geografía e Historia, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain. .,Archaeological Micromorphology and Biomarker Research Lab, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain.
| | - Cristo Hernández
- UDI de Prehistoria, Arqueología e Historia Antigua, Departamento de Geografía e Historia, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain
| | - Norbert Mercier
- Institute of Archaeomaterials Research, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Pessac, France
| | - Christophe Falguères
- UMR 7194, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Ángel Carrancho
- Área de Prehistoria, Departamento de Historia, Geografía y Comunicación, Universidad de Burgos, Burgos, Spain
| | - Dan Cabanes
- Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, USA
| | - Paloma Vidal-Matutano
- Departamento de Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain.,Université Côte-d'Azur, CEPAM, CNRS, Nice, France
| | - Rory Connolly
- UDI de Prehistoria, Arqueología e Historia Antigua, Departamento de Geografía e Historia, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain
| | - Leopoldo Pérez
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Tarragona, Spain.,Área de Prehistoria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Alejandro Mayor
- Departament de Prehistòria, Arqueologia, Història Antiga, Filologia Grega i Filologia Llatina; Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres, Universitat d'Alacant, Sant Vicent del Raspeig, Spain
| | - Eslem Ben Arous
- UMR 7194, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Bertila Galván
- UDI de Prehistoria, Arqueología e Historia Antigua, Departamento de Geografía e Historia, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain
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11
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Inbreeding, Allee effects and stochasticity might be sufficient to account for Neanderthal extinction. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0225117. [PMID: 31774843 PMCID: PMC6880983 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The replacement of Neanderthals by Anatomically Modern Humans has typically been attributed to environmental pressure or a superiority of modern humans with respect to competition for resources. Here we present two independent models that suggest that no such heatedly debated factors might be needed to account for the demise of Neanderthals. Starting from the observation that Neanderthal populations already were small before the arrival of modern humans, the models implement three factors that conservation biology identifies as critical for a small population's persistence, namely inbreeding, Allee effects and stochasticity. Our results indicate that the disappearance of Neanderthals might have resided in the smallness of their population(s) alone: even if they had been identical to modern humans in their cognitive, social and cultural traits, and even in the absence of inter-specific competition, Neanderthals faced a considerable risk of extinction. Furthermore, we suggest that if modern humans contributed to the demise of Neanderthals, that contribution might have had nothing to do with resource competition, but rather with how the incoming populations geographically restructured the resident populations, in a way that reinforced Allee effects, and the effects of inbreeding and stochasticity.
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12
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Bokelmann L, Hajdinjak M, Peyrégne S, Brace S, Essel E, de Filippo C, Glocke I, Grote S, Mafessoni F, Nagel S, Kelso J, Prüfer K, Vernot B, Barnes I, Pääbo S, Meyer M, Stringer C. A genetic analysis of the Gibraltar Neanderthals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:15610-15615. [PMID: 31308224 PMCID: PMC6681707 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1903984116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The Forbes' Quarry and Devil's Tower partial crania from Gibraltar are among the first Neanderthal remains ever found. Here, we show that small amounts of ancient DNA are preserved in the petrous bones of the 2 individuals despite unfavorable climatic conditions. However, the endogenous Neanderthal DNA is present among an overwhelming excess of recent human DNA. Using improved DNA library construction methods that enrich for DNA fragments carrying deaminated cytosine residues, we were able to sequence 70 and 0.4 megabase pairs (Mbp) nuclear DNA of the Forbes' Quarry and Devil's Tower specimens, respectively, as well as large parts of the mitochondrial genome of the Forbes' Quarry individual. We confirm that the Forbes' Quarry individual was a female and the Devil's Tower individual a male. We also show that the Forbes' Quarry individual is genetically more similar to the ∼120,000-y-old Neanderthals from Scladina Cave in Belgium (Scladina I-4A) and Hohlenstein-Stadel Cave in Germany, as well as to a ∼60,000- to 70,000-y-old Neanderthal from Russia (Mezmaiskaya 1), than to a ∼49,000-y-old Neanderthal from El Sidrón (El Sidrón 1253) in northern Spain and other younger Neanderthals from Europe and western Asia. This suggests that the Forbes' Quarry fossil predates the latter Neanderthals. The preservation of archaic human DNA in the warm coastal climate of Gibraltar, close to the shores of Africa, raises hopes for the future recovery of archaic human DNA from regions in which climatic conditions are less than optimal for DNA preservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Bokelmann
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany;
| | - Mateja Hajdinjak
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stéphane Peyrégne
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Selina Brace
- Centre for Human Evolution Research, Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom
| | - Elena Essel
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Cesare de Filippo
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Isabelle Glocke
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Steffi Grote
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Fabrizio Mafessoni
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sarah Nagel
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Janet Kelso
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kay Prüfer
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Benjamin Vernot
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ian Barnes
- Centre for Human Evolution Research, Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom
| | - Svante Pääbo
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany;
| | - Matthias Meyer
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Chris Stringer
- Centre for Human Evolution Research, Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom
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13
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Affiliation(s)
- Paloma de la Peña
- Evolutionary Studies Institute & School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
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14
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Shultz DR, Montrey M, Shultz TR. Comparing fitness and drift explanations of Neanderthal replacement. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20190907. [PMID: 31185865 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a general consensus among archaeologists that replacement of Neanderthals by anatomically modern humans in Europe occurred around 40-35 ka. However, the causal mechanism for this replacement continues to be debated. Proposed models have featured either fitness advantages in favour of anatomically modern humans or invoked neutral drift under various preconditions. Searching for specific fitness advantages in the archaeological record has proven difficult, as these may be obscured, absent or subject to interpretation. To bridge this gap, we rigorously compare the system-level properties of fitness- and drift-based explanations of Neanderthal replacement. Our stochastic simulations and analytical predictions show that, although both fitness and drift can produce replacement, they present important differences in (i) required initial conditions, (ii) reliability, (iii) time to replacement, and (iv) path to replacement (population histories). These results present useful opportunities for comparison with archaeological and genetic data. We find greater agreement between the available empirical evidence and the system-level properties of replacement by differential fitness, rather than by neutral drift.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel R Shultz
- 1 Department of Anthropology, McGill University , Montreal, Quebec , Canada.,2 Department of History, McGill University , Montreal, Quebec , Canada
| | - Marcel Montrey
- 3 Department of Psychology, McGill University , Montreal, Quebec , Canada
| | - Thomas R Shultz
- 3 Department of Psychology, McGill University , Montreal, Quebec , Canada.,4 School of Computer Science, McGill University , Montreal, Quebec , Canada
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15
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Degioanni A, Bonenfant C, Cabut S, Condemi S. Living on the edge: Was demographic weakness the cause of Neanderthal demise? PLoS One 2019; 14:e0216742. [PMID: 31141515 PMCID: PMC6541251 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Accepted: 04/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The causes of disappearance of the Neanderthals, the only human population living in Europe before the arrival of Homo sapiens, have been debated for decades by the scientific community. Different hypotheses have been advanced to explain this demise, such as cognitive, adaptive and cultural inferiority of Neanderthals. Here, we investigate the disappearance of Neanderthals by examining the extent of demographic changes needed over a period of 10,000 years (yrs) to lead to their extinction. In regard to such fossil populations, we inferred demographic parameters from present day and past hunter-gatherer populations, and from bio-anthropological rules. We used demographic modeling and simulations to identify the set of plausible demographic parameters of the Neanderthal population compatible with the observed dynamics, and to explore the circumstances under which they might have led to the disappearance of Neanderthals. A slight (<4%) but continuous decrease in the fertility rate of younger Neanderthal women could have had a significant impact on these dynamics, and could have precipitated their demise. Our results open the way to non-catastrophic events as plausible explanations for Neanderthal extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Degioanni
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, Minist Culture, LAMPEA, Aix-en-Provence, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Christophe Bonenfant
- UMR CNRS Laboratoire Biométrie et Biologie Évolutive, Université Claude Bernard Lyon Villeurbanne, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Sandrine Cabut
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, Minist Culture, LAMPEA, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Silvana Condemi
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, EFS, ADES, Marseille, France
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16
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Cortés-Sánchez M, Jiménez-Espejo FJ, Simón-Vallejo MD, Stringer C, Lozano Francisco MC, García-Alix A, Vera Peláez JL, Odriozola CP, Riquelme-Cantal JA, Parrilla-Giráldez R, Maestro González A, Ohkouchi N, Morales-Muñiz A. Reply to ‘Dating on its own cannot resolve hominin occupation patterns’ and ‘No reliable evidence for a very early Aurignacian in Southern Iberia’. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:714-715. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-0887-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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17
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Cortés-Sánchez M, Jiménez-Espejo FJ, Simón-Vallejo MD, Stringer C, Lozano Francisco MC, García-Alix A, Vera Peláez JL, Odriozola CP, Riquelme-Cantal JA, Parrilla Giráldez R, Maestro González A, Ohkouchi N, Morales-Muñiz A. An early Aurignacian arrival in southwestern Europe. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:207-212. [PMID: 30664696 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0753-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 11/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Westernmost Europe constitutes a key location in determining the timing of the replacement of Neanderthals by anatomically modern humans (AMHs). In this study, the replacement of late Mousterian industries by Aurignacian ones at the site of Bajondillo Cave (Málaga, southern Spain) is reported. On the basis of Bayesian analyses, a total of 26 radiocarbon dates, including 17 new ones, show that replacement at Bajondillo took place in the millennia centring on ~45-43 calibrated thousand years before the present (cal ka BP)-well before the onset of Heinrich event 4 (~40.2-38.3 cal ka BP). These dates indicate that the arrival of AMHs at the southernmost tip of Iberia was essentially synchronous with that recorded in other regions of Europe, and significantly increases the areal expansion reached by early AMHs at that time. In agreement with human dispersal scenarios on other continents, such rapid expansion points to coastal corridors as favoured routes for early AMH. The new radiocarbon dates align Iberian chronologies with AMH dispersal patterns in Eurasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Cortés-Sánchez
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain.,HUM-949 Research Group, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | - Francisco J Jiménez-Espejo
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka, Japan. .,Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-UGR, Armilla, Spain.
| | - María D Simón-Vallejo
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain.,HUM-949 Research Group, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | - Chris Stringer
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - María Carmen Lozano Francisco
- HUM-949 Research Group, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | - Antonio García-Alix
- Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-UGR, Armilla, Spain.,Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - José L Vera Peláez
- HUM-949 Research Group, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | - Carlos P Odriozola
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain.,HUM-949 Research Group, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | - José A Riquelme-Cantal
- Departamento de Geografía y Ciencias del Territorio, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
| | - Rubén Parrilla Giráldez
- HUM-949 Research Group, Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
| | | | - Naohiko Ohkouchi
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Arturo Morales-Muñiz
- Laboratorio de Arqueozooarqueología, Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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18
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The Lowermost Tejo River Terrace at Foz do Enxarrique, Portugal: A Palaeoenvironmental Archive from c. 60–35 ka and Its Implications for the Last Neanderthals in Westernmost Iberia. QUATERNARY 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/quat2010003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Reconstruction of Pleistocene environments and processes in the sensitive geographical location of westernmost Iberia, facing the North Atlantic Ocean, is crucial for understanding impacts on early human communities. We provide a characterization of the lowest terrace (T6) of the Lower Tejo River, at Vila Velha de Ródão (eastern central Portugal). This terrace comprises a lower gravel bed and an upper division consisting of fine to very fine sands and coarse silts. We have used a multidisciplinary approach, combining geomorphology, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, grain-size analysis and rock magnetism measurement, in order to provide new insights into the environmental changes coincident with the activity of the last Neanderthals in this region. In addition, we conducted palynological analysis, X-ray diffraction measurement and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectra of the clay fraction and carbonate concretions. We discuss these new findings in the context of previously published palaeontological and archeological data. The widespread occurrence of carbonate concretions and rizoliths in the T6 profile is evidence for episodic pedogenic evaporation, in agreement with the rare occurrence and poor preservation of phytoliths. We provide updated OSL ages for the lower two Tejo terraces, obtained by post infra-red stimulated luminescence: (i) T5 is c. 140 to 70 ka; (ii) T6 is c. 60 to 35 ka. The single archaeological and fossiliferous level located at the base of the T6 upper division, recording the last regional occurrence of megafauna (elephant and rhinoceros) and Mousterian artefacts, is now dated at 44 ± 3 ka. With reference to the arrival of Neanderthals in the region, probably by way of the Tejo valley (from central Iberia), new dating suggests a probable age of 200–170 ka for the earliest Mousterian industry located in the topmost deposits of T4.
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19
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Mutke S, Vendramin GG, Fady B, Bagnoli F, González-Martínez SC. Molecular and Quantitative Genetics of Stone Pine (Pinus pinea). SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND BIODIVERSITY 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-96454-6_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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20
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Charlier P, Coppens Y, Héry-Arnaud G, Hassin J. [A biological anthropology of the disappearance of the Neandertal Man: recent data]. Med Sci (Paris) 2018; 34:745-748. [PMID: 30230470 DOI: 10.1051/medsci/20183408024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
What could have been the causes of the disappearance of Neanderthals? We will try here to make a synthesis between one of the fundamental questions of biological anthropology relating to human evolution (hypotheses on the causes of the extinction of Neanderthals) and evolutionary bio-medical concepts, some of which have recently been reformulated thanks to the progress of paleogenomics (ancestral inheritance of the current human immune system, paleo-microbiology, host-pathogen relationship…).
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Charlier
- UFR des sciences de la santé, université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), EA 4498, laboratoire droit des affaires et nouvelles technologies (DANTE), 2, avenue de la source de la Bièvre, 78180 Montigny-Le-Bretonneux, France - Centre d'accueil et de soins hospitaliers (CASH) et institut de la précarité et de l'exclusion sociale (IPES), 403, avenue de la République, 92000 Nanterre, France
| | - Yves Coppens
- Collège de France, 11, place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Geneviève Héry-Arnaud
- Laboratoire universitaire de biodiversité et d'écologie microbienne (LUBEM)/bactériologie-virologie, faculté de médecine et des sciences et de la santé, 22, avenue Camille Desmoulins, 29238 Brest, France
| | - Jacques Hassin
- Centre d'accueil et de soins hospitaliers (CASH) et institut de la précarité et de l'exclusion sociale (IPES), 403, avenue de la République, 92000 Nanterre, France
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21
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Mandibular ramus shape variation and ontogeny in Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis. J Hum Evol 2018; 121:55-71. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2016] [Revised: 03/26/2018] [Accepted: 03/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
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22
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Climate deteriorations and Neanderthal demise in interior Iberia. Sci Rep 2018; 8:7048. [PMID: 29728579 PMCID: PMC5935692 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-25343-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2017] [Accepted: 04/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Time and circumstances for the disappearance of Neanderthals and its relationship with the advent of Modern Humans are not yet sufficiently resolved, especially in case of the Iberian Peninsula. Reconstructing palaeoenvironmental conditions during the last glacial period is crucial to clarifying whether climate deteriorations or competition and contacts with Modern Humans played the pivotal role in driving Neanderthals to extinction. A high-resolution loess record from the Upper Tagus Basin in central Spain demonstrates that the Neanderthal abandonment of inner Iberian territories 42 kyr ago coincided with the evolvement of hostile environmental conditions, while archaeological evidence testifies that this desertion took place regardless of modern humans’ activities. According to stratigraphic findings and stable isotope analyses, this period corresponded to the driest environmental conditions of the last glacial apart from an even drier period linked to Heinrich Stadial 3. Our results show that during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 4 and 2 climate deteriorations in interior Iberia temporally coincided with northern hemisphere cold periods (Heinrich stadials). Solely during the middle MIS 3, in a period surrounding 42 kyr ago, this relation seems not straightforward, which may demonstrate the complexity of terrestrial climate conditions during glacial periods.
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23
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Abstract
The complete sequencing of archaic and modern human genomes has revolutionized the study of human history and evolution. The application of paleogenomics has answered questions that were beyond the scope of archaeology alone-definitively proving admixture between archaic and modern humans. Despite the remarkable progress made in the study of archaic-modern human admixture, many outstanding questions remain. Here, we review some of these questions, which include how frequent archaic-modern human admixture was in history, to what degree drift and selection are responsible for the loss and retention of introgressed sequences in modern human genomes, and how surviving archaic sequences affect human phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron B. Wolf
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Joshua M. Akey
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
- Lewis-Sigler Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
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24
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Copes LE, Schutz H, Dlugsoz EM, Judex S, Garland T. Locomotor activity, growth hormones, and systemic robusticity: An investigation of cranial vault thickness in mouse lines bred for high endurance running. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 166:442-458. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2017] [Revised: 02/02/2018] [Accepted: 02/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- L. E. Copes
- Department of Medical Sciences, Frank H. Netter MD School of MedicineQuinnipiac UniversityHamden Connecticut06518
| | - H. Schutz
- Department of BiologyPacific Lutheran UniversityTacoma Washington, DC98447
| | - E. M. Dlugsoz
- Department of BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaRiverside, Riverside California92521
| | - S. Judex
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringStony Brook UniversityStony Brook New York11794
| | - T. Garland
- Department of BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaRiverside, Riverside California92521
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25
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Zilhão J, Anesin D, Aubry T, Badal E, Cabanes D, Kehl M, Klasen N, Lucena A, Martín-Lerma I, Martínez S, Matias H, Susini D, Steier P, Wild EM, Angelucci DE, Villaverde V, Zapata J. Precise dating of the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in Murcia (Spain) supports late Neandertal persistence in Iberia. Heliyon 2017; 3:e00435. [PMID: 29188235 PMCID: PMC5696381 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2017.e00435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2017] [Revised: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 10/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The late persistence in Southern Iberia of a Neandertal-associated Middle Paleolithic is supported by the archeological stratigraphy and the radiocarbon and luminescence dating of three newly excavated localities in the Mula basin of Murcia (Spain). At Cueva Antón, Mousterian layer I-k can be no more than 37,100 years-old. At La Boja, the basal Aurignacian can be no less than 36,500 years-old. The regional Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition process is thereby bounded to the first half of the 37th millennium Before Present, in agreement with evidence from Andalusia, Gibraltar and Portugal. This chronology represents a lag of minimally 3000 years with the rest of Europe, where that transition and the associated process of Neandertal/modern human admixture took place between 40,000 and 42,000 years ago. The lag implies the presence of an effective barrier to migration and diffusion across the Ebro river depression, which, based on available paleoenvironmental indicators, would at that time have represented a major biogeographical divide. In addition, (a) the Phlegraean Fields caldera explosion, which occurred 39,850 years ago, would have stalled the Neandertal/modern human admixture front because of the population sink it generated in Central and Eastern Europe, and (b) the long period of ameliorated climate that came soon after (Greenland Interstadial 8, during which forests underwent a marked expansion in Iberian regions south of 40°N) would have enhanced the “Ebro Frontier” effect. These findings have two broader paleoanthropological implications: firstly, that, below the Ebro, the archeological record made prior to 37,000 years ago must be attributed, in all its aspects and components, to the Neandertals (or their ancestors); secondly, that modern human emergence is best seen as an uneven, punctuated process during which long-lasting barriers to gene flow and cultural diffusion could have existed across rather short distances, with attendant consequences for ancient genetics and models of human population history.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Zilhão
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain.,Universitat de Barcelona, Departament d'Història i Arqueologia, Facultat de Geografia i Història, c/Montalegre 6, 08001 Barcelona, Spain.,UNIARQ - Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras de Lisboa, Universidade de Lisboa, Alameda da Universidade, 1600-214 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Daniela Anesin
- Università degli Studi di Trento, Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, via Tommaso Gar 14, 38122 Trento, Italy
| | - Thierry Aubry
- Parque Arqueológico do Vale do Côa, Fundação Côa Parque, Rua do Museu, 5150-610 Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Portugal
| | - Ernestina Badal
- Universitat de València, Departament de Prehistòria, Arqueologia i Història Antiga, Av. Blasco Ibañez 28, 46010 València, Spain, Av. Blasco Ibañez 28, 46010 València, Spain
| | - Dan Cabanes
- Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University, Biological Sciences Building, 32 Bishop Street, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - Martin Kehl
- University of Cologne, Institute of Geography, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923 Cologne, Germany
| | - Nicole Klasen
- University of Cologne, Institute of Geography, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923 Cologne, Germany
| | - Armando Lucena
- UNIARQ - Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras de Lisboa, Universidade de Lisboa, Alameda da Universidade, 1600-214 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ignacio Martín-Lerma
- Universidad de Murcia, Área de Prehistoria, Facultad de Letras, Campus de La Merced, 30071 Murcia, Spain
| | - Susana Martínez
- UNIARQ - Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras de Lisboa, Universidade de Lisboa, Alameda da Universidade, 1600-214 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Henrique Matias
- UNIARQ - Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras de Lisboa, Universidade de Lisboa, Alameda da Universidade, 1600-214 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Davide Susini
- Università degli Studi di Trento, Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, via Tommaso Gar 14, 38122 Trento, Italy.,Università di Siena, Dipartimento di Scienze fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Strada Laterina 8, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Peter Steier
- VERA (Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator) Laboratory, Faculty of Physics - Isotope Research and Nuclear Physics, University of Vienna, Währingerstraße 17, 1090 Wien, Austria
| | - Eva Maria Wild
- VERA (Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator) Laboratory, Faculty of Physics - Isotope Research and Nuclear Physics, University of Vienna, Währingerstraße 17, 1090 Wien, Austria
| | - Diego E Angelucci
- Università degli Studi di Trento, Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, via Tommaso Gar 14, 38122 Trento, Italy
| | - Valentín Villaverde
- Universitat de València, Departament de Prehistòria, Arqueologia i Història Antiga, Av. Blasco Ibañez 28, 46010 València, Spain, Av. Blasco Ibañez 28, 46010 València, Spain
| | - Josefina Zapata
- Universidad de Murcia, Área de Antropología Física, Facultad de Biología, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
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Alcaraz-Castaño M, Alcolea-González J, Kehl M, Albert RM, Baena-Preysler J, de Balbín-Behrmann R, Cuartero F, Cuenca-Bescós G, Jiménez-Barredo F, López-Sáez JA, Piqué R, Rodríguez-Antón D, Yravedra J, Weniger GC. A context for the last Neandertals of interior Iberia: Los Casares cave revisited. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0180823. [PMID: 28723924 PMCID: PMC5516997 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2017] [Accepted: 06/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction and objectives Although the Iberian Peninsula is a key area for understanding the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition and the demise of the Neandertals, valuable evidence for these debates remains scarce and problematic in its interior regions. Sparse data supporting a late Neandertal persistence in the Iberian interior have been recently refuted and hence new evidence is needed to build new models on the timing and causes of Neandertal disappearance in inland Iberia and the whole peninsula. In this study we provide new evidence from Los Casares, a cave located in the highlands of the Spanish Meseta, where a Neandertal-associated Middle Paleolithic site was discovered and first excavated in the 1960’s. Our main objective is twofold: (1) provide an updated geoarcheological, paleoenvironmental and chronological framework for this site, and (2) discuss obtained results in the context of the time and nature of the last Neandertal presence in Iberia. Methods We conducted new fieldwork in an interior chamber of Los Casares cave named ‘Seno A’. Our methods included micromorphology, sedimentology, radiocarbon dating, Uranium/Thorium dating, palinology, microfaunal analysis, anthracology, phytolith analysis, archeozoology and lithic technology. Here we present results on site formation processes, paleoenvironment and the chronological setting of the Neandertal occupation at Los Casares cave-Seno A. Results and discussion The sediment sequence reveals a mostly in situ archeological deposit containing evidence of both Neandertal activity and carnivore action in level c, dated to 44,899–42,175 calendar years ago. This occupation occurred during a warm and humid interval of Marine Isotopic Stage 3, probably correlating with Greenland Interstadial 11, representing one of the latest occurrences of Neandertals in the Iberian interior. However, overlying layer b records a deterioration of local environments, thus providing a plausible explanation for the abandonment of the site, and perhaps for the total disappearance of Neandertals of the highlands of inland Iberia during subsequent Greenland Stadials 11 or 10, or even Heinrich Stadial 4. Since layer b provided very few signs of human activity and no reliable chronometric results, and given the scarce chronostratigrapic evidence recorded so far for this period in interior Iberia, this can only be taken as a working hypothesis to be tested with future research. Meanwhile, 42,000 calendar years ago remains the most plausible date for the abandonment of interior Iberia by Neandertals, possibly due to climate deterioration. Currently, a later survival of this human species in Iberia is limited to the southern coasts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Alcaraz-Castaño
- Neanderthal Museum, Mettmann, Germany.,Area of Prehistory, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | | | - Martin Kehl
- Institute of Geography, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Rosa-María Albert
- ERAAUB (Department of History and Achaeology), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Javier Baena-Preysler
- Department of Prehistory and Archeology, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Felipe Cuartero
- Department of Prehistory and Archeology, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Gloria Cuenca-Bescós
- Aragosaurus-IUCA, Department of Geosciences, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | | | | | - Raquel Piqué
- Department of Prehistory, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - José Yravedra
- Department of Prehistory, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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27
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Obreht I, Hambach U, Veres D, Zeeden C, Bösken J, Stevens T, Marković SB, Klasen N, Brill D, Burow C, Lehmkuhl F. Shift of large-scale atmospheric systems over Europe during late MIS 3 and implications for Modern Human dispersal. Sci Rep 2017; 7:5848. [PMID: 28725004 PMCID: PMC5517514 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-06285-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2017] [Accepted: 06/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the past dynamics of large-scale atmospheric systems is crucial for our knowledge of the palaeoclimate conditions in Europe. Southeastern Europe currently lies at the border between Atlantic, Mediterranean, and continental climate zones. Past changes in the relative influence of associated atmospheric systems must have been recorded in the region's palaeoarchives. By comparing high-resolution grain-size, environmental magnetic and geochemical data from two loess-palaeosol sequences in the Lower Danube Basin with other Eurasian palaeorecords, we reconstructed past climatic patterns over Southeastern Europe and the related interaction of the prevailing large-scale circulation modes over Europe, especially during late Marine Isotope Stage 3 (40,000-27,000 years ago). We demonstrate that during this time interval, the intensification of the Siberian High had a crucial influence on European climate causing the more continental conditions over major parts of Europe, and a southwards shift of the Westerlies. Such a climatic and environmental change, combined with the Campanian Ignimbrite/Y-5 volcanic eruption, may have driven the Anatomically Modern Human dispersal towards Central and Western Europe, pointing to a corridor over the Eastern European Plain as an important pathway in their dispersal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Obreht
- Department of Geography, RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52056, Aachen, Germany.
| | - Ulrich Hambach
- BayCEER & Chair of Geomorphology, University of Bayreuth, 94450, Bayreuth, Germany.,Laboratory for Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 2, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Daniel Veres
- Romanian Academy, Institute of Speleology, Clinicilor 5, 400006, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.,Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Bio-Nano-Science of Babes-Bolyai University, Treboniu Laurean 42, 400271, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Christian Zeeden
- Department of Geography, RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52056, Aachen, Germany
| | - Janina Bösken
- Department of Geography, RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52056, Aachen, Germany
| | - Thomas Stevens
- Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Slobodan B Marković
- Laboratory for Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 2, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Nicole Klasen
- Institute of Geography, University of Cologne, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923, Cologne, Germany
| | - Dominik Brill
- Institute of Geography, University of Cologne, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923, Cologne, Germany
| | - Christoph Burow
- Institute of Geography, University of Cologne, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923, Cologne, Germany
| | - Frank Lehmkuhl
- Department of Geography, RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52056, Aachen, Germany
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28
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Deng L, Xu S. Adaptation of human skin color in various populations. Hereditas 2017; 155:1. [PMID: 28701907 PMCID: PMC5502412 DOI: 10.1186/s41065-017-0036-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2017] [Accepted: 06/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Skin color is a well-recognized adaptive trait and has been studied extensively in humans. Understanding the genetic basis of adaptation of skin color in various populations has many implications in human evolution and medicine. DISCUSSION Impressive progress has been made recently to identify genes associated with skin color variation in a wide range of geographical and temporal populations. In this review, we discuss what is currently known about the genetics of skin color variation. We enumerated several cases of skin color adaptation in global modern humans and archaic hominins, and illustrated why, when, and how skin color adaptation occurred in different populations. Finally, we provided a summary of the candidate loci associated with pigmentation, which could be a valuable reference for further evolutionary and medical studies. CONCLUSION Previous studies generally indicated a complex genetic mechanism underlying the skin color variation, expanding our understanding of the role of population demographic history and natural selection in shaping genetic and phenotypic diversity in humans. Future work is needed to dissect the genetic architecture of skin color adaptation in numerous ethnic minority groups around the world, which remains relatively obscure compared with that of major continental groups, and to unravel the exact genetic basis of skin color adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lian Deng
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Max Planck Independent Research Group on Population Genomics, CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology (PICB), Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, CAS, Shanghai, 200031 China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China
| | - Shuhua Xu
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Max Planck Independent Research Group on Population Genomics, CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology (PICB), Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, CAS, Shanghai, 200031 China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China.,School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, 201210 China.,Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Shanghai, 200438 China
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29
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Martin RM, Hublin JJ, Gunz P, Skinner MM. The morphology of the enamel–dentine junction in Neanderthal molars: Gross morphology, non-metric traits, and temporal trends. J Hum Evol 2017; 103:20-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2015] [Revised: 12/19/2016] [Accepted: 12/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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30
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Shipley GP, Kindscher K. Evidence for the Paleoethnobotany of the Neanderthal: A Review of the Literature. SCIENTIFICA 2016; 2016:8927654. [PMID: 27843675 PMCID: PMC5098096 DOI: 10.1155/2016/8927654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2016] [Accepted: 09/29/2016] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Our perception of our closest human relatives, the Neanderthals, has evolved in the last few decades from brutish ape-men to intelligent archaic human peoples. Our understanding and appreciation of their cultural sophistication has only recently extended to their diet. Only within the last few years, with new techniques and a shift in focus, have we begun to truly investigate and understand the role of plants in their diet and culture. The more we learn about Neanderthals, the more we realize that biological and cultural distinctions between them and us were relatively small. Given that we coexisted and likely interacted with them for thousands of years, the more we learn about them, the better we may understand our own past. In that light, we review the current evidence, derived from such sources as plant remains (e.g., starch, pollen, phytoliths, and seeds) in soil and dental calculus, dental and tool wear, coprolites, and genetics, for Neanderthal's nutritional, medicinal, and ritual use of plants, which includes 61 different taxa from 26 different plant families found at 17 different archaeological sites. Further, we updated and standardized botanical nomenclature from many sources published over many decades to provide a more stable foundation for future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerhard P. Shipley
- Indigenous Studies Department, University of Kansas, Lippincott Hall, 1410 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
| | - Kelly Kindscher
- Kansas Biological Survey, University of Kansas, 2101 Constant Ave., Lawrence, KS 66047, USA
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31
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The phylogenetic roots of human lethal violence. Nature 2016; 538:233-237. [PMID: 27680701 DOI: 10.1038/nature19758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2016] [Accepted: 08/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The psychological, sociological and evolutionary roots of conspecific violence in humans are still debated, despite attracting the attention of intellectuals for over two millennia. Here we propose a conceptual approach towards understanding these roots based on the assumption that aggression in mammals, including humans, has a significant phylogenetic component. By compiling sources of mortality from a comprehensive sample of mammals, we assessed the percentage of deaths due to conspecifics and, using phylogenetic comparative tools, predicted this value for humans. The proportion of human deaths phylogenetically predicted to be caused by interpersonal violence stood at 2%. This value was similar to the one phylogenetically inferred for the evolutionary ancestor of primates and apes, indicating that a certain level of lethal violence arises owing to our position within the phylogeny of mammals. It was also similar to the percentage seen in prehistoric bands and tribes, indicating that we were as lethally violent then as common mammalian evolutionary history would predict. However, the level of lethal violence has changed through human history and can be associated with changes in the socio-political organization of human populations. Our study provides a detailed phylogenetic and historical context against which to compare levels of lethal violence observed throughout our history.
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32
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El Zaatari S, Grine FE, Ungar PS, Hublin JJ. Neandertal versus Modern Human Dietary Responses to Climatic Fluctuations. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0153277. [PMID: 27119336 PMCID: PMC4847867 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2015] [Accepted: 03/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The Neandertal lineage developed successfully throughout western Eurasia and effectively survived the harsh and severely changing environments of the alternating glacial/interglacial cycles from the middle of the Pleistocene until Marine Isotope Stage 3. Yet, towards the end of this stage, at the time of deteriorating climatic conditions that eventually led to the Last Glacial Maximum, and soon after modern humans entered western Eurasia, the Neandertals disappeared. Western Eurasia was by then exclusively occupied by modern humans. We use occlusal molar microwear texture analysis to examine aspects of diet in western Eurasian Paleolithic hominins in relation to fluctuations in food supplies that resulted from the oscillating climatic conditions of the Pleistocene. There is demonstrable evidence for differences in behavior that distinguish Upper Paleolithic humans from members of the Neandertal lineage. Specifically, whereas the Neandertals altered their diets in response to changing paleoecological conditions, the diets of Upper Paleolithic humans seem to have been less affected by slight changes in vegetation/climatic conditions but were linked to changes in their technological complexes. The results of this study also indicate differences in resource exploitation strategies between these two hominin groups. We argue that these differences in subsistence strategies, if they had already been established at the time of the first contact between these two hominin taxa, may have given modern humans an advantage over the Neandertals, and may have contributed to the persistence of our species despite habitat-related changes in food availabilities associated with climate fluctuations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sireen El Zaatari
- Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Frederick E. Grine
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
| | - Peter S. Ungar
- Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States of America
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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33
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López S, van Dorp L, Hellenthal G. Human Dispersal Out of Africa: A Lasting Debate. Evol Bioinform Online 2016; 11:57-68. [PMID: 27127403 PMCID: PMC4844272 DOI: 10.4137/ebo.s33489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2015] [Revised: 02/21/2016] [Accepted: 02/21/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Unraveling the first migrations of anatomically modern humans out of Africa has invoked great interest among researchers from a wide range of disciplines. Available fossil, archeological, and climatic data offer many hypotheses, and as such genetics, with the advent of genome-wide genotyping and sequencing techniques and an increase in the availability of ancient samples, offers another important tool for testing theories relating to our own history. In this review, we report the ongoing debates regarding how and when our ancestors left Africa, how many waves of dispersal there were and what geographical routes were taken. We explore the validity of each, using current genetic literature coupled with some of the key archeological findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saioa López
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Lucy van Dorp
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
- Centre for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology (CoMPLEX), University College London, London, UK
| | - Garrett Hellenthal
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
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34
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Ben-Dor M, Gopher A, Barkai R. Neandertals' large lower thorax may represent adaptation to high protein diet. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2016; 160:367-78. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2015] [Revised: 11/10/2015] [Accepted: 02/24/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Miki Ben-Dor
- Department of Archaeology and Ancient near East Cultures; Tel Aviv University; Tel Aviv 69978 Israel
| | - Avi Gopher
- Department of Archaeology and Ancient near East Cultures; Tel Aviv University; Tel Aviv 69978 Israel
| | - Ran Barkai
- Department of Archaeology and Ancient near East Cultures; Tel Aviv University; Tel Aviv 69978 Israel
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35
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Daanen HAM, Van Marken Lichtenbelt WD. Human whole body cold adaptation. Temperature (Austin) 2016; 3:104-18. [PMID: 27227100 PMCID: PMC4861193 DOI: 10.1080/23328940.2015.1135688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2015] [Revised: 12/14/2015] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Reviews on whole body human cold adaptation generally do not distinguish between population studies and dedicated acclimation studies, leading to confusing results. Population studies show that indigenous black Africans have reduced shivering thermogenesis in the cold and poor cold induced vasodilation in fingers and toes compared to Caucasians and Inuit. About 40,000 y after humans left Africa, natives in cold terrestrial areas seems to have developed not only behavioral adaptations, but also physiological adaptations to cold. Dedicated studies show that repeated whole body exposure of individual volunteers, mainly Caucasians, to severe cold results in reduced cold sensation but no major physiological changes. Repeated cold water immersion seems to slightly reduce metabolic heat production, while repeated exposure to milder cold conditions shows some increase in metabolic heat production, in particular non-shivering thermogenesis. In conclusion, human cold adaptation in the form of increased metabolism and insulation seems to have occurred during recent evolution in populations, but cannot be developed during a lifetime in cold conditions as encountered in temperate and arctic regions. Therefore, we mainly depend on our behavioral skills to live in and survive the cold.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hein A M Daanen
- MOVE Research Institute, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands; TNO, Soesterberg, The Netherlands; Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter D Van Marken Lichtenbelt
- Department of Human Biology/Movement Sciences, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University , The Netherlands
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36
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Hussain ST, Floss H. Streams as Entanglement of Nature and Culture: European Upper Paleolithic River Systems and Their Role as Features of Spatial Organization. JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHOD AND THEORY 2015; 23:1162-1218. [PMID: 29368748 PMCID: PMC5750683 DOI: 10.1007/s10816-015-9263-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Large river valleys have long been seen as important factors to shape the mobility, communication, and exchange of Pleistocene hunter-gatherers. However, rivers have been debated as either natural entities people adapt and react to or as cultural and meaningful entities people experience and interpret in different ways. Here, we attempt to integrate both perspectives. Building on theoretical work from various disciplines, we discuss the relationship between biophysical river properties and sociocultural river semantics and suggest that understanding a river's persona is central to evaluating its role in spatial organization. By reviewing the literature and analyzing European Upper Paleolithic site distribution and raw material transfer patterns in relation to river catchments, we show that the role of prominent rivers varies considerably over time. Both ecological and cultural factors are crucial to explaining these patterns. Whereas the Earlier Upper Paleolithic record displays a general tendency toward conceiving rivers as mobility guidelines, the spatial consolidation process after the colonization of the European mainland is paralleled by a trend of conceptualizing river regimes as frontiers, separating archaeological entities, regional groups, or local networks. The Late Upper Paleolithic Magdalenian, however, is characterized again by a role of rivers as mobility and communication vectors. Tracing changing patterns in the role of certain river regimes through time thus contributes to our growing knowledge of human spatial behavior and helps to improve our understanding of dynamic and mutually informed human-environment interactions in the Paleolithic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shumon T. Hussain
- Paleolithic Research Unit, University of Cologne, CRC 806 “Our Way to Europe”, Bernhard-Feilchenfeld-Str. 11, 50969 Cologne, Germany
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, NL-2333CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Harald Floss
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Burgsteige 11, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
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37
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Monge G, Jimenez-Espejo FJ, García-Alix A, Martínez-Ruiz F, Mattielli N, Finlayson C, Ohkouchi N, Sánchez MC, de Castro JMB, Blasco R, Rosell J, Carrión J, Rodríguez-Vidal J, Finlayson G. Earliest evidence of pollution by heavy metals in archaeological sites. Sci Rep 2015; 5:14252. [PMID: 26388184 PMCID: PMC4585679 DOI: 10.1038/srep14252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2015] [Accepted: 08/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Homo species were exposed to a new biogeochemical environment when they began to occupy caves. Here we report the first evidence of palaeopollution through geochemical analyses of heavy metals in four renowned archaeological caves of the Iberian Peninsula spanning the last million years of human evolution. Heavy metal contents reached high values due to natural (guano deposition) and anthropogenic factors (e.g. combustion) in restricted cave environments. The earliest anthropogenic pollution evidence is related to Neanderthal hearths from Gorham's Cave (Gibraltar), being one of the first milestones in the so-called “Anthropocene”. According to its heavy metal concentration, these sediments meet the present-day standards of “contaminated soil”. Together with the former, the Gibraltar Vanguard Cave, shows Zn and Cu pollution ubiquitous across highly anthropic levels pointing to these elements as potential proxies for human activities. Pb concentrations in Magdalenian and Bronze age levels at El Pirulejo site can be similarly interpreted. Despite these high pollution levels, the contaminated soils might not have posed a major threat to Homo populations. Altogether, the data presented here indicate a long-term exposure of Homo to these elements, via fires, fumes and their ashes, which could have played certain role in environmental-pollution tolerance, a hitherto neglected influence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guadalupe Monge
- Departamento de Cristalografía, Mineralogía y Química Agrícola, Facultad de Química, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
| | | | | | | | - Nadine Mattielli
- Laboratoire G-Time, DSTE, Université Libre Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Clive Finlayson
- The Gibraltar Museum, Gibraltar, UK.,Institute of Life and Earth Sciences, The University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar
| | - Naohiko Ohkouchi
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Miguel Cortés Sánchez
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Jose María Bermúdez de Castro
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) Burgos, Spain.,University College London Anthropology, London, UK
| | - Ruth Blasco
- Departament de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Rosell
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain.,Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
| | - José Carrión
- Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Joaquín Rodríguez-Vidal
- Departamento de Geodinámica y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Huelva, Huelva, Spain
| | - Geraldine Finlayson
- The Gibraltar Museum, Gibraltar, UK.,Institute of Life and Earth Sciences, The University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar
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38
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On the Chronological Structure of the Solutrean in Southern Iberia. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0137308. [PMID: 26355459 PMCID: PMC4565679 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Solutrean techno-complex has gained particular significance over time for representing a clear demographic and techno-typological deviation from the developments occurred during the course of the Upper Paleolithic in Western Europe. Some of Solutrean’s most relevant features are the diversity and techno-typological characteristics of the lithic armatures. These have been recurrently used as pivotal elements in numerous Solutrean-related debates, including the chronological organization of the techno-complex across Iberia and Southwestern France. In Southern Iberia, patterns of presence and/or absence of specific point types in stratified sequences tend to validate the classical ordering of the techno-complex into Lower, Middle and Upper phases, although some evidence, namely radiocarbon determinations, have not always been corroborative. Here we present the first comprehensive analysis of the currently available radiocarbon data for the Solutrean in Southern Iberia. We use a Bayesian statistical approach from 13 stratified sequences to compare the duration, and the start and end moments of each classic Solutrean phase across sites. We conclude that, based on the current data, the traditional organization of the Solutrean cannot be unquestionably confirmed for Southern Iberia, calling into doubt the status of the classically-defined type-fossils as precise temporal markers.
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39
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Marean CW. The origins and significance of coastal resource use in Africa and Western Eurasia. J Hum Evol 2015; 77:17-40. [PMID: 25498601 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.02.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2013] [Revised: 12/11/2013] [Accepted: 02/04/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The systematic exploitation of marine foods by terrestrial mammals lacking aquatic morphologies is rare. Widespread ethnographic and archaeological evidence from many areas of the world shows that modern humans living on coastlines often ratchet up the use of marine foods and develop social and technological characteristics unusual to hunter-gatherers and more consistent with small scale food producing societies. Consistent use of marine resources often is associated with reduced mobility, larger group size, population packing, smaller territories, complex technologies, increased economic and social differentiation, and more intense and wide-ranging gifting and exchange. The commitment to temporally and spatially predictable and dense coastal foods stimulates investment in boundary defense resulting in inter-group conflict as predicted by theory and documented by ethnography. Inter-group conflict provides an ideal context for the proliferation of intra-group cooperative behaviors beneficial to the group but not to the altruist (Bowles, 2009). The origins of this coastal adaptation marks a transformative point for the hominin lineage in Africa since all previous adaptive systems were likely characterized by highly mobile, low-density, egalitarian populations with large territories and little boundary defense. It is important to separate occasional uses of marine foods, present among several primate species, from systematic and committed coastal adaptations. This paper provides a critical review of where and when systematic use of coastal resources and coastal adaptations appeared in the Old World by a comparison of the records from Africa and Europe. It is found that during the Middle Stone Age in South Africa there is evidence that true coastal adaptations developed while there is, so far, a lack of evidence for even the lowest levels of systematic coastal resource use by Neanderthals in Europe. Differences in preservation, sample size, and productivity between these regions do not explain the pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Curtis W Marean
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, PO Box 872402, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, USA.
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Hardy K, Brand-Miller J, Brown KD, Thomas MG, Copeland L. The Importance of Dietary Carbohydrate in Human Evolution. QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2015; 90:251-68. [DOI: 10.1086/682587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 141] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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41
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Varela S, Lima-Ribeiro MS, Diniz-Filho JAF, Storch D. Differential effects of temperature change and human impact on European Late Quaternary mammalian extinctions. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2015; 21:1475-1481. [PMID: 25311114 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2014] [Accepted: 09/03/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Species that inhabited Europe during the Late Quaternary were impacted by temperature changes and early humans, resulting in the disappearance of half of the European large mammals. However, quantifying the relative importance that each factor had in the extinction risk of species has been challenging, mostly due to the spatio-temporal biases of fossil records, which complicate the calibration of realistic and accurate ecological niche modeling. Here, we overcome this problem by using ecotypes, and not real species, to run our models. We created 40 ecotypes with different temperature requirements (mean temperature from -20 °C to 25 °C and temperature range from 10 °C to 40 °C) and used them to quantify the effect of climate change and human impact. Our results show that cold-adapted ecotypes would have been highly affected by past temperature changes in Europe, whereas temperate and warm-adapted ecotypes would have been positively affected by temperature change. Human impact affected all ecotypes negatively, and temperate ecotypes suffered the greatest impacts. Based on these results, the extinction of cold-adapted species like Mammuthus primigenius may be related to temperature change, while the extinction of temperate species, like Crocuta crocuta, may be related to human impact. Our results suggest that temperature change and human impact affected different ecotypes in distinct ways, and that the interaction of both impacts may have shaped species extinctions in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Varela
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vinicná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Prague, Czech Republic; Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, CxP 131, Goiania, GO, 74001-970, Brasil
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Mateos A, Goikoetxea I, Leonard WR, Martín-González JÁ, Rodríguez-Gómez G, Rodríguez J. Neandertal growth: What are the costs? J Hum Evol 2014; 77:167-78. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2013] [Revised: 09/15/2014] [Accepted: 09/16/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Fiorenza L, Benazzi S, Henry AG, Salazar-García DC, Blasco R, Picin A, Wroe S, Kullmer O. To meat or not to meat? New perspectives on Neanderthal ecology. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2014; 156 Suppl 59:43-71. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Luca Fiorenza
- Earth Sciences, University of New England; Armidale NSW 2351 Australia
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage; University of Bologna; Ravenna 48121 Italy
- Department of Human Evolution; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; Leipzig 04103 Germany
| | - Amanda G. Henry
- Plant Foods in Hominin Dietary Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; Leipzig 04103 Germany
| | - Domingo C. Salazar-García
- Department of Human Evolution; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; Leipzig 04103 Germany
- Plant Foods in Hominin Dietary Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; Leipzig 04103 Germany
- Department of Archaeology; University of Cape Town; 7700 Rondebosch South Africa
- Department de Prehistòria i Arqueologia; Universitat de València; Valencia 46010 Spain
| | - Ruth Blasco
- The Gibraltar Museum, 18-20 Bomb House Lane; PO Box 939 Gibraltar
| | - Andrea Picin
- Department of Prehistory and Early History; Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena; Jena 07743 Germany
- Neanderthal Museum; Mettmann 40822 Germany
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES); Tarragona 43007 Spain
| | - Stephen Wroe
- Zoology, University of New England; Armidale NSW 2351 Australia
| | - Ottmar Kullmer
- Senckenberg Research Institute; 60325 Frankfurt am Main Hessen Germany
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Seguin-Orlando A, Korneliussen TS, Sikora M, Malaspinas AS, Manica A, Moltke I, Albrechtsen A, Ko A, Margaryan A, Moiseyev V, Goebel T, Westaway M, Lambert D, Khartanovich V, Wall JD, Nigst PR, Foley RA, Lahr MM, Nielsen R, Orlando L, Willerslev E. Paleogenomics. Genomic structure in Europeans dating back at least 36,200 years. Science 2014; 346:1113-8. [PMID: 25378462 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa0114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 168] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The origin of contemporary Europeans remains contentious. We obtained a genome sequence from Kostenki 14 in European Russia dating from 38,700 to 36,200 years ago, one of the oldest fossils of anatomically modern humans from Europe. We find that Kostenki 14 shares a close ancestry with the 24,000-year-old Mal'ta boy from central Siberia, European Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, some contemporary western Siberians, and many Europeans, but not eastern Asians. Additionally, the Kostenki 14 genome shows evidence of shared ancestry with a population basal to all Eurasians that also relates to later European Neolithic farmers. We find that Kostenki 14 contains more Neandertal DNA that is contained in longer tracts than present Europeans. Our findings reveal the timing of divergence of western Eurasians and East Asians to be more than 36,200 years ago and that European genomic structure today dates back to the Upper Paleolithic and derives from a metapopulation that at times stretched from Europe to central Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andaine Seguin-Orlando
- Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Thorfinn S Korneliussen
- Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Martin Sikora
- Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anna-Sapfo Malaspinas
- Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Andrea Manica
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Ida Moltke
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, 920 East 58th Street, Cummings Life Science Center, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. The Bioinformatics Center, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, 2200 København N, Denmark
| | - Anders Albrechtsen
- The Bioinformatics Center, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, 2200 København N, Denmark
| | - Amy Ko
- Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, Brisbane, Queensland 4111, Australia
| | - Ashot Margaryan
- Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Vyacheslav Moiseyev
- Department of Physical Anthropology, Kunstkamera, Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences, 24 Srednii Prospect, Vassilievskii Island, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Ted Goebel
- Center for the Study of the First Americans and Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, TAMU-4352, College Station, Texas 77845-4352, USA
| | - Michael Westaway
- Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, Brisbane, Queensland 4111, Australia
| | - David Lambert
- Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, Brisbane, Queensland 4111, Australia
| | - Valeri Khartanovich
- Department of Physical Anthropology, Kunstkamera, Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences, 24 Srednii Prospect, Vassilievskii Island, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Jeffrey D Wall
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, 185 Berry Street, Lobby 5, Suite 5700, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA
| | - Philip R Nigst
- Division of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3DZ, UK. Department of Human Evolution, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103, Germany
| | - Robert A Foley
- Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark. Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, CB2 1QH, UK
| | - Marta Mirazon Lahr
- Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark. Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, CB2 1QH, UK.
| | - Rasmus Nielsen
- Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, Brisbane, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Ludovic Orlando
- Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Eske Willerslev
- Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Garralda MD, Galván B, Hernández CM, Mallol C, Gómez JA, Maureille B. Neanderthals from El Salt (Alcoy, Spain) in the context of the latest Middle Palaeolithic populations from the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. J Hum Evol 2014; 75:1-15. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.02.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2012] [Revised: 01/10/2014] [Accepted: 02/18/2014] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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46
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Neubauer S. Endocasts: possibilities and limitations for the interpretation of human brain evolution. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2014; 84:117-34. [PMID: 25247826 DOI: 10.1159/000365276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Brains are not preserved in the fossil record but endocranial casts are. These are casts of the internal bony braincase, revealing approximate brain size and shape, and they are also informative about brain surface morphology. Endocasts are the only direct evidence of human brain evolution, but they provide only limited data ('paleoneurology'). This review discusses some new fossil endocasts and recent methodological advances that have allowed novel analyses of old endocasts, leading to intriguing findings and hypotheses. The interpretation of paleoneurological data always relies on comparative information from living species whose brains and behavior can be directly investigated. It is therefore important that future studies attempt to better integrate different approaches. Only then will we be able to gain a better understanding about hominin brain evolution. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Neubauer
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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Abstract
The production of purposely made painted or engraved designs on cave walls--a means of recording and transmitting symbolic codes in a durable manner--is recognized as a major cognitive step in human evolution. Considered exclusive to modern humans, this behavior has been used to argue in favor of significant cognitive differences between our direct ancestors and contemporary archaic hominins, including the Neanderthals. Here we present the first known example of an abstract pattern engraved by Neanderthals, from Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar. It consists of a deeply impressed cross-hatching carved into the bedrock of the cave that has remained covered by an undisturbed archaeological level containing Mousterian artifacts made by Neanderthals and is older than 39 cal kyr BP. Geochemical analysis of the epigenetic coating over the engravings and experimental replication show that the engraving was made before accumulation of the archaeological layers, and that most of the lines composing the design were made by repeatedly and carefully passing a pointed lithic tool into the grooves, excluding the possibility of an unintentional or utilitarian origin (e.g., food or fur processing). This discovery demonstrates the capacity of the Neanderthals for abstract thought and expression through the use of geometric forms.
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Neanderthals: Bone technique redrafts prehistory. Nature 2014; 512:242. [DOI: 10.1038/512242a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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49
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Higham T, Douka K, Wood R, Ramsey CB, Brock F, Basell L, Camps M, Arrizabalaga A, Baena J, Barroso-Ruíz C, Bergman C, Boitard C, Boscato P, Caparrós M, Conard NJ, Draily C, Froment A, Galván B, Gambassini P, Garcia-Moreno A, Grimaldi S, Haesaerts P, Holt B, Iriarte-Chiapusso MJ, Jelinek A, Jordá Pardo JF, Maíllo-Fernández JM, Marom A, Maroto J, Menéndez M, Metz L, Morin E, Moroni A, Negrino F, Panagopoulou E, Peresani M, Pirson S, de la Rasilla M, Riel-Salvatore J, Ronchitelli A, Santamaria D, Semal P, Slimak L, Soler J, Soler N, Villaluenga A, Pinhasi R, Jacobi R. The timing and spatiotemporal patterning of Neanderthal disappearance. Nature 2014; 512:306-9. [DOI: 10.1038/nature13621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 561] [Impact Index Per Article: 56.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2014] [Accepted: 06/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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