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Villamil CI, Middleton ER. Conserved patterns and locomotor-related evolutionary constraints in the hominoid vertebral column. J Hum Evol 2024; 190:103528. [PMID: 38579429 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
The evolution of the hominoid lineage is characterized by pervasive homoplasy, notably in regions such as the vertebral column, which plays a central role in body support and locomotion. Few isolated and fewer associated vertebrae are known for most fossil hominoid taxa, but identified specimens indicate potentially high levels of convergence in terms of both form and number. Homoplasy thus complicates attempts to identify the anatomy of the last common ancestor of hominins and other taxa and stymies reconstructions of evolutionary scenarios. One way to clarify the role of homoplasy is by investigating constraints via phenotypic integration, which assesses covariation among traits, shapes evolutionary pathways, and itself evolves in response to selection. We assessed phenotypic integration and evolvability across the subaxial (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral) vertebral column of macaques (n = 96), gibbons (n = 77), chimpanzees (n = 92), and modern humans (n = 151). We found a mid-cervical cluster that may have shifted cranially in hominoids, a persistent thoracic cluster that is most marked in chimpanzees, and an expanded lumbosacral cluster in hominoids that is most expanded in gibbons. Our results highlight the highly conserved nature of the vertebral column. Taxa appear to exploit existing patterns of integration and ontogenetic processes to shift, expand, or reduce cluster boundaries. Gibbons appear to be the most highly derived taxon in our sample, possibly in response to their highly specialized locomotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catalina I Villamil
- School of Chiropractic, Universidad Central del Caribe, Puerto Rico, PO Box 60327, Bayamón, USA.
| | - Emily R Middleton
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 3413 N. Downer Ave., Sabin Hall 390, Milwaukee, WI, USA
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2
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Powell VCR, Barr WA, Hammond AS, Wood BA. Behavioral and phylogenetic correlates of limb length proportions in extant apes and monkeys: Implications for interpreting hominin fossils. J Hum Evol 2024; 190:103494. [PMID: 38564844 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
The body proportions of extant animals help inform inferences about the behaviors of their extinct relatives, but relationships between body proportions, behavior, and phylogeny in extant primates remain unclear. Advances in behavioral data, molecular phylogenies, and multivariate analytical tools make it an opportune time to perform comprehensive comparative analyses of primate traditional limb length proportions (e.g., intermembral, humerofemoral, brachial, and crural indices), body size-adjusted long bone proportions, and principal components. In this study we used a mix of newly-collected and published data to investigate whether and how the limb length proportions of a diverse sample of primates, including monkeys, apes, and modern humans, are influenced by behavior and phylogeny. We reconfirm that the intermembral index, followed by the first principal component of traditional limb length proportions, is the single most effective variable distinguishing hominoids and other anthropoids. Combined limb length proportions and positional behaviors are strongly correlated in extant anthropoid groups, but phylogeny is a better predictor of limb length proportion variation than of behavior. We confirm convergences between members of the Atelidae and extant apes (especially Pan), members of the Hylobatidae and Pongo, and a potential divergence of Presbytis limb proportions from some other cercopithecoids, which correlate with adaptations for forelimb-dominated behaviors in some colobines. Collectively, these results substantiate hypotheses indicating that extinct hominins and other hominoid taxa can be distinguished by analyzing combinations of their limb length proportions at different taxonomic levels. From these results, we hypothesize that fossil skeletons characterized by notably disparate limb length proportions are unlikely to have exhibited similar behavioral patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vance C R Powell
- Department of Anatomy, Howard University College of Medicine, 520 W St. N.W., Washington, D.C., 20059, USA; Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 20052, USA.
| | - W Andrew Barr
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 20052, USA
| | - Ashley S Hammond
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), New York, N.Y., 10024, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology at AMNH, New York, N.Y., 10024, USA
| | - Bernard A Wood
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 20052, USA
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3
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Gómez-Olivencia A, Arsuaga JL. The Sima de los Huesos thorax and lumbar spine: Selected traits and state-of-the-art. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024. [PMID: 38450997 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Information on the evolution of the thorax and lumbar spine in the genus Homo is hampered by a limited fossil record due to the inherent fragility of vertebrae and ribs. Neandertals show significant metric and morphological differences in these two anatomical regions, when compared to Homo sapiens. Thus, the important fossil record from the Middle Pleistocene site of Sima de los Huesos (SH) not only offers important information on the evolution of these anatomical regions within the Neandertal lineage but also provides important clues to understand the evolution of these regions at the genus level. We present the current knowledge of the costal skeleton, and the thoracic and lumbar spine anatomy of the hominins found in Sima de los Huesos compared to that of Neandertals and modern humans. The current SH fossil record comprises 738 vertebral specimens representing a minimum of 70 cervical, 95 thoracic and 47 lumbar vertebrae, 652 rib fragments representing a minimum of 118 ribs, and 26 sternal fragments representing 4 sterna. The SH hominins exhibit a morphological pattern in their thorax and lumbar spine more similar to that of Neandertals than to that of H. sapiens, which is consistent with the phylogenetic position of these hominins. However, there are some differences between the SH hominins and Neandertals in these anatomical regions, primarily in the orientation of the lumbar transverse processes and in the robusticity of the second ribs. The presence of some but not all of the suite of Neandertal-derived features is consistent with the pattern found in the cranium and other postcranial regions of this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asier Gómez-Olivencia
- Dept. Geología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain
- Sociedad de Ciencias Aranzadi, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
- Centro UCM-ISCIII de Investigación sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Centro UCM-ISCIII de Investigación sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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4
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Pablos A, Arsuaga JL. Metatarsals and foot phalanges from the Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene site (Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain). Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024. [PMID: 38380556 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
This study provides a complete, updated and illustrated inventory, as well as a comprehensive study, of the metatarsals and foot phalanges (forefoot) recovered from the Middle Pleistocene site of Sima de los Huesos (SH, Atapuerca, Spain) in comparison to other Homo comparative samples, both extant and fossils. This current updated review has established a minimum number of individuals (MNI) of 17, which represent 58.6% of the 29 dental individuals identified within the SH sample. An exclusive or autoapomorphic combination of traits can be recognized within the SH hominin foot sample. A few traits appear primitive or plesiomorphic when compared with earlier Homo individuals and other recent modern humans. There are other metrical and morphological traits that SH hominins and Neandertals have in common that sometimes represent shared derived traits in this evolutionary line, most of which are probably related to robusticity. Furthermore, some exclusive autoapomorphic traits are observed in the SH sample: a very broad first metatarsal, long and broad hallucal proximal foot phalanges and possibly extremely robust lateral distal foot phalanges compared to those of Neandertals and modern humans. In these last traits, the SH metatarsals and pedal phalanges are even more robust than in Neandertals. They are herein named as "hyper-Neandertal" traits, which could suggest a slight gracilization process in this evolutionary line, at least in the hallux toe. Finally, some paleobiological inferences are made in relation to body size (stature and body mass) and some associations are proposed within the SH sample.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrián Pablos
- Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Investigación sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Investigación sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
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5
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Lee OYC, Wu HHT, Besra GS, Minnikin DE, Jaeger HY, Maixner F, Zink A, Gasparik M, Pap I, Bereczki Z, Pálfi G. Sensitive lipid biomarker detection for tuberculosis in late Neanderthal skeletons from Subalyuk Cave, Hungary. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2023; 143S:102420. [PMID: 38012927 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2023.102420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Skeletal remains of two Neanderthal individuals, a 25-35 year-old woman and a 3-4 year-old child, were discovered in a Subalyuk Cave in North-Eastern Hungary. Radiocarbon dating of the female and child remains revealed an age of 39,732-39,076 and 36,117-35,387 cal BP, respectively. Paleopathological studies of these Neanderthal remains revealed probable evidence of skeletal mycobacterial infection, including in the sacrum of the adult specimen and the endocranial surface of the child's skull. Application of PCR amplification to the juvenile cranium and a vertebra gave a positive result (IS6110) for tuberculosis, backed up by spoligotyping. Lipid biomarker analyses of the same two specimens revealed definitive signals for C32 mycoserosates, a very characteristic component of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). A vertebra from the adult provided weak evidence for mycocerosate biomarkers. The correlation of probable skeletal lesions with characteristic amplified DNA fragments and a proven lipid biomarker points to the presence of tuberculosis in these Neanderthals. In particular, the closely similar biomarker profiles, for two distinct juvenile cranial and vertebral bones, strengthen this diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oona Y-C Lee
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK
| | - Houdini H T Wu
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK
| | - Gurdyal S Besra
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK.
| | - David E Minnikin
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK
| | - Heidi Y Jaeger
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Frank Maixner
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Albert Zink
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Mihály Gasparik
- Department of Palaeontology and Geology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Hungary
| | - Ildikó Pap
- Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Hungary; Department of Anthropology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary; Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary
| | - Zsolt Bereczki
- Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary
| | - György Pálfi
- Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary
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6
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Ward CV, Hammond AS, Grine FE, Mongle CS, Lawrence J, Kimbel WH. Taxonomic attribution of the KNM-ER 1500 partial skeleton from the Burgi Member of the Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2023; 184:103426. [PMID: 37769373 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Paranthropus boisei is well represented in the eastern African fossil record by craniodental remains, but very few postcranial fossils can be securely attributed to this taxon. For this reason, KNM-ER 1500 from East Turkana, Kenya, is especially important. KNM-ER 1500 is a badly weathered and fragmented postcranial skeleton associated with a small piece of mandibular corpus. It derives from the Burgi Member, which has yielded diagnostic craniodental fossils attributable to P. boisei, Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis and Homo erectus. Although it has been proposed that KNM-ER 1500 may be attributable to P. boisei based on the small mandibular fragment, this hypothesis remained challenging to test. Here we re-examine the preserved portions of KNM-ER 1500 and reassess support for its taxonomic attribution. There are compelling features of the mandible, proximal femur, and especially the proximal radius that support attribution of KNM-ER 1500 to P. boisei. These features include the absolute width of the mandible and its lack of a lateral intertoral sulcus, an anteroposteriorly compressed femoral neck with a distinctive posteroinferior marginal ridge, the rim of the radial head that is proximodistally uniform in thickness around its circumference, and a long radial neck that is elliptical in cross section. No feature serves to align KNM-ER 1500 with Homo to the exclusion of Paranthropus. KNM-ER 1500 was a small-bodied individual and attributing this specimen to P. boisei confirms that significant postcranial-size dimorphism was present in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carol V Ward
- Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, M263 Medical Sciences Building, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA; Department of Anthropology, 107 Swallow Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
| | - Ashley S Hammond
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, 79th St. at Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, USA; New York Consortium of Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), American Museum of Natural History, 79th St. at Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Frederick E Grine
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA; Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Carrie S Mongle
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, 79th St. at Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, USA; Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA; Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Julie Lawrence
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Institute of Human Origins and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - William H Kimbel
- Institute of Human Origins and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
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7
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Margari V, Hodell DA, Parfitt SA, Ashton NM, Grimalt JO, Kim H, Yun KS, Gibbard PL, Stringer CB, Timmermann A, Tzedakis PC. Extreme glacial cooling likely led to hominin depopulation of Europe in the Early Pleistocene. Science 2023; 381:693-699. [PMID: 37561880 DOI: 10.1126/science.adf4445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
The oldest known hominin remains in Europe [~1.5 to ~1.1 million years ago (Ma)] have been recovered from Iberia, where paleoenvironmental reconstructions have indicated warm and wet interglacials and mild glacials, supporting the view that once established, hominin populations persisted continuously. We report analyses of marine and terrestrial proxies from a deep-sea core on the Portugese margin that show the presence of pronounced millennial-scale climate variability during a glacial period ~1.154 to ~1.123 Ma, culminating in a terminal stadial cooling comparable to the most extreme events of the last 400,000 years. Climate envelope-model simulations reveal a drastic decrease in early hominin habitat suitability around the Mediterranean during the terminal stadial. We suggest that these extreme conditions led to the depopulation of Europe, perhaps lasting for several successive glacial-interglacial cycles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasiliki Margari
- Environmental Change Research Centre, Department of Geography, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - David A Hodell
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK
| | - Simon A Parfitt
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London WC1H 0PY, UK
- Centre for Human Evolution Research, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Nick M Ashton
- Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory, British Museum, London N1 5QJ, UK
| | - Joan O Grimalt
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Hyuna Kim
- Institute for Basic Science, Center for Climate Physics, Busan 46241, South Korea
- Department of Climate System, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, South Korea
| | - Kyung-Sook Yun
- Institute for Basic Science, Center for Climate Physics, Busan 46241, South Korea
- Pusan National University, Busan 46241, South Korea
| | - Philip L Gibbard
- Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1ER, UK
| | - Chris B Stringer
- Centre for Human Evolution Research, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Axel Timmermann
- Institute for Basic Science, Center for Climate Physics, Busan 46241, South Korea
- Pusan National University, Busan 46241, South Korea
| | - Polychronis C Tzedakis
- Environmental Change Research Centre, Department of Geography, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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8
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Bolter DR, Cameron N, Hawks J, Churchill SE, Berger L, Bernstein R, Boughner JC, Elton S, Leece AB, Mahoney P, Molopyane K, Monson TA, Pruetz J, Schell L, Stull KE, Wolfe CA. Addressing the growing fossil record of subadult hominins by reaching across disciplines. Evol Anthropol 2023; 32:180-184. [PMID: 37555538 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Debra R Bolter
- Department of Anthropology, Modesto Junior College, Modesto, California, USA
- Faculty of Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, California State University Stanislaus, Turlock, California, USA
| | - Noel Cameron
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, UK
| | - John Hawks
- Faculty of Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Anthropology Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Steven E Churchill
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Lee Berger
- Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Explorer in Residence, National Geographic Society, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Robin Bernstein
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Julia C Boughner
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, University of the Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Sarah Elton
- Faculty of Social Sciences and Health, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - A B Leece
- Palaeoscience, Department of Archaeology and History, LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Patrick Mahoney
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Keneiloe Molopyane
- Faculty of Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Tesla A Monson
- Department of Anthropology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington, USA
| | - Jill Pruetz
- Department of Anthropology, Texas State University San Marcos, San Marcos, Texas, USA
| | - Lawrence Schell
- Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, Albany, New York, USA
| | - Kyra E Stull
- Department of Anthropology, University of Reno, Reno, Nevada, USA
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9
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Martínez-Navarro B, Gossa T, Carotenuto F, Bartolini-Lucenti S, Palmqvist P, Asrat A, Figueirido B, Rook L, Niespolo EM, Renne PR, Herzlinger G, Hovers E. The earliest Ethiopian wolf: implications for the species evolution and its future survival. Commun Biol 2023; 6:530. [PMID: 37193884 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04908-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023] Open
Abstract
In 2017, a hemimandible (MW5-B208), corresponding to the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), was found in a stratigraphically-controlled and radio-isotopically-dated sequence of the Melka Wakena paleoanthropological site-complex, on the Southeastern Ethiopian Highlands, ~ 2300 m above sea level. The specimen is the first and unique Pleistocene fossil of this species. Our data provide an unambiguous minimum age of 1.6-1.4 Ma for the species' presence in Africa and constitutes the first empirical evidence that supports molecular interpretations. Currently, C. simensis is one of the most endangered carnivore species of Africa. Bioclimate niche modeling applied to the time frame indicated by the fossil suggests that the lineage of the Ethiopian wolf faced severe survival challenges in the past, with consecutive drastic geographic range contractions during warmer periods. These models help to describe future scenarios for the survival of the species. Projections ranging from most pessimistic to most optimistic future climatic scenarios indicate significant reduction of the already-deteriorating territories suitable for the Ethiopian Wolf, increasing the threat to the specie's future survival. Additionally, the recovery of the Melka Wakena fossil underscores the importance of work outside the East African Rift System in research of early human origins and associated biodiversity on the African continent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro
- ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain.
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain.
- Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain.
| | - Tegenu Gossa
- Human Evolution Research Center (HERC), The University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
- Department of History and Heritage Management, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia.
| | - Francesco Carotenuto
- Department of Earth, Environment and Resource Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy
| | - Saverio Bartolini-Lucenti
- Earth Science Department, Paleo[Fab]Lab, University of Florence, Via G. La Pira 4, Firenze, 50121, Italy
- Institut Català de Paleontogia M. Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, E-08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Paul Palmqvist
- Departamento de Ecología y Geología, Universidad de Málaga, Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Teatinos, 29071, Málaga, Spain
| | - Asfawossen Asrat
- Department of Mining and Geological Engineering, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana
- School of Earth Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P. O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Borja Figueirido
- Departamento de Ecología y Geología, Universidad de Málaga, Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Teatinos, 29071, Málaga, Spain
| | - Lorenzo Rook
- Earth Science Department, Paleo[Fab]Lab, University of Florence, Via G. La Pira 4, Firenze, 50121, Italy
| | - Elizabeth M Niespolo
- Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Paul R Renne
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Gadi Herzlinger
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Erella Hovers
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
- Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA.
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10
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Antón SC, Middleton ER. Making meaning from fragmentary fossils: Early Homo in the Early to early Middle Pleistocene. J Hum Evol 2023; 179:103307. [PMID: 37030994 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 04/10/2023]
Abstract
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Journal of Human Evolution, we re-evaluate the fossil record for early Homo (principally Homo erectus, Homo habilis, and Homo rudolfensis) from early diversification and dispersal in the Early Pleistocene to the ultimate demise of H. erectus in the early Middle Pleistocene. The mid-1990s marked an important historical turning point in our understanding of early Homo with the redating of key H. erectus localities, the discovery of small H. erectus in Asia, and the recovery of an even earlier presence of early Homo in Africa. As such, we compare our understanding of early Homo before and after this time and discuss how the order of fossil discovery and a focus on anchor specimens has shaped, and in many ways biased, our interpretations of early Homo species and the fossils allocated to them. Fragmentary specimens may counter conventional wisdom but are often overlooked in broad narratives. We recognize at least three different cranial and two or three pelvic morphotypes of early Homo. Just one postcranial morph aligns with any certainty to a cranial species, highlighting the importance of explicitly identifying how we link specimens together and to species; we offer two ways of visualizing these connections. Chronologically and morphologically H. erectus is a member of early Homo, not a temporally more recent species necessarily evolved from either H. habilis or H. rudolfensis. Nonetheless, an ancestral-descendant notion of their evolution influences expectations around the anatomy of missing elements, especially the foot. Weak support for long-held notions of postcranial modernity in H. erectus raises the possibility of alternative drivers of dispersal. New observations suggest that the dearth of faces in later H. erectus may mask taxonomic diversity in Asia and suggest various later mid-Pleistocene populations could derive from either Asia or Africa. Future advances will rest on the development of nuanced ways to affiliate fossils, greater transparency of implicit assumptions, and attention to detailed life history information for comparative collections; all critical pursuits for future research given the great potential they have to enrich our evolutionary reconstructions for the next fifty years and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan C Antón
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, NY, NY 10003, USA.
| | - Emily R Middleton
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, WI 53211, USA
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11
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Carretero JM, García-González R, Rodríguez L, Arsuaga JL. Main anatomical characteristics of the hominin fossil humeri from the Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene site, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain: An update. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2023. [PMID: 36916962 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/15/2023]
Abstract
Some of the Sima de los Huesos (SH) humeri have been previously studied and described elsewhere. Here we present an updated inventory and a review of the specimens recovered to the present day. The morphological key traits of the adult and subadult specimens are described, discussed, and illustrated. The SH humeri share with Neandertals many traits usually considered to be Neandertal specializations, thus, most of this morphological pattern is not exclusive to them. The variation found within fossil samples stresses the frequential nature of all these traits and in the specific case of the SH humeri, most of the traits considered as phylogenetically relevant are retained by their descendants, the Neandertals. Some traits are plesiomorphic for the entire genus Homo or are present in European hominins since the early Pleistocene. Finally, some other traits display high variability within the SH sample or different hominin samples and are of uncertain phylogenetic value. Altogether, this evidence is consistent with the hypothesis based on the overall cranial and postcranial morphology that the SH hominins are a sister group to the later Neandertals.
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Affiliation(s)
- José-Miguel Carretero
- Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Universidad de Burgos, Burgos, Spain.,Unidad Asociada de I+D+i al CSIC Vidrio y Materiales del Patrimonio Cultural (VIMPAC), Burgos, Spain.,Centro UCM-ISCIII de Investigación sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Avda. Monforte de Lemos 5 (Pabellón 14), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Laura Rodríguez
- Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Universidad de Burgos, Burgos, Spain.,Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Universidad de León, León, Spain
| | - Juan-Luis Arsuaga
- Centro UCM-ISCIII de Investigación sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Avda. Monforte de Lemos 5 (Pabellón 14), Madrid, Spain.,Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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12
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Cazenave M, Kivell TL. Challenges and perspectives on functional interpretations of australopith postcrania and the reconstruction of hominin locomotion. J Hum Evol 2023; 175:103304. [PMID: 36563461 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
In 1994, Hunt published the 'postural feeding hypothesis'-a seminal paper on the origins of hominin bipedalism-founded on the detailed study of chimpanzee positional behavior and the functional inferences derived from the upper and lower limb morphology of the Australopithecus afarensis A.L. 288-1 partial skeleton. Hunt proposed a model for understanding the potential selective pressures on hominins, made robust, testable predictions based on Au. afarensis functional morphology, and presented a hypothesis that aimed to explain the dual functional signals of the Au. afarensis and, more generally, early hominin postcranium. Here we synthesize what we have learned about Au. afarensis functional morphology and the dual functional signals of two new australopith discoveries with relatively complete skeletons (Australopithecus sediba and StW 573 'Australopithecus prometheus'). We follow this with a discussion of three research approaches that have been developed for the purpose of drawing behavioral inferences in early hominins: (1) developments in the study of extant apes as models for understanding hominin origins; (2) novel and continued developments to quantify bipedal gait and locomotor economy in extant primates to infer the locomotor costs from the anatomy of fossil taxa; and (3) novel developments in the study of internal bone structure to extract functional signals from fossil remains. In conclusion of this review, we discuss some of the inherent challenges of the approaches and methodologies adopted to reconstruct the locomotor modes and behavioral repertoires in extinct primate taxa, and notably the assessment of habitual terrestrial bipedalism in early hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Cazenave
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA; Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK; Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
| | - Tracy L Kivell
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK; Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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13
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García-González R, Rodríguez L, Salazar-Fernández A, Arsuaga JL, Carretero JM. Updated study of adult and subadult pectoral girdle bones from Sima de los Huesos site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain). Anatomical and age estimation keys. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2023. [PMID: 36656646 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Here we present an updated inventory and study of pectoral girdle remains recovered from the Sima de los Huesos (SH) site. Here, we describe the key morphological traits of adults and, for the first time, subadult specimens. Because morphological traits can change with age, we also discuss some shortcomings related to age estimation in postcranial fossil specimens. Adult clavicles from the SH are long with a low robusticity index and marked curvatures in the superior view. Among these traits, only extreme clavicular length seems to characterize subadult individuals. Neandertals share all these traits. In the case of the scapula, the SH specimens share a relatively long and narrow glenoid fossa with Neandertals. This trait is also present in subadult individuals. Additionally, most specimens from SH, adults, and subadults showed a dorsal axillary sulcus on the scapular lateral border, a trait also present in most adult and subadult Neandertals. These traits in adult and subadult specimens supports substantial genetic control for many of them in both human species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebeca García-González
- Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Universidad de Burgos, Edificio I+D+i-CIBA, Burgos, Spain
| | - Laura Rodríguez
- Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Universidad de Burgos, Edificio I+D+i-CIBA, Burgos, Spain
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad de León, León, Spain
| | | | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Centro UCM-ISCIII de Investigación sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - José-Miguel Carretero
- Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Universidad de Burgos, Edificio I+D+i-CIBA, Burgos, Spain
- Centro UCM-ISCIII de Investigación sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
- Unidad Asociada de I+D+i al CSIC Vidrio y Materiales del Patrimonio Cultural (VIMPAC), Burgos, Spain
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14
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Laudicina NM, Cartmill M. Clavicle length and shoulder breadth in hominoid evolution. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2023. [PMID: 36594678 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
For a given body mass, hominoids have longer clavicles than typical monkeys, reflecting the lateral reorientation of the hominoid glenoid. Relative length of the clavicle varies among hominoids, with orangutans having longer clavicles than expected for body mass and gorillas and chimpanzees having shorter clavicles than expected. Modern humans conform to the general hominoid distribution, but Neandertals and Upper Paleolithic Homo sapiens have longer clavicles than expected for their size and exhibit marked positive allometry in clavicle length. Relative to clavicle length, adult and newborn humans have broader shoulders (biacromial breadths) than comparable apes, because the reduced elevation of the human shoulder swings the acromion laterally downward away from the head. Since broadened shoulders yield an increased risk of maternal and neonatal injury and/or death from shoulder dystocia during birth, we might expect hominins to manifest trends toward reduction in shoulder breadth and clavicle length. They do not, presumably because of countering selection pressures favoring a long clavicle in the adults. The marked sexual dimorphism seen in patterns of clavicular growth and static adult allometry in humans suggests that those selection pressures have disproportionately affected the males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie M Laudicina
- Biomedical Sciences, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, USA.,Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Matt Cartmill
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
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15
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Introduction to special issue: The biotic context of the Early Pleistocene hominins from Dmanisi (Georgia, southern Caucasus). J Hum Evol 2023; 174:103278. [PMID: 36384082 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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16
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Wollmann JS, Marshall AS, Schrank M, Gruss LT. Tibial torsion and pressures in the feet during walking: Implications for patterns of metatarsal robusticity. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023; 180:115-126. [PMID: 36790669 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The Dmanisi Homo fossils include a tibia with a low degree of torsion and metatarsals with a pattern of robusticity differing from modern humans. It has been proposed that low tibial torsion would cause a low foot progression angle (FPA) in walking, and consequently increased force applied to the medial rays. This could explain the more robust MT III and IV from Dmanisi. Here we experimentally tested these hypothesized biomechanical relationships in living human subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS We measured transmalleolar axis (TMA, a proxy for tibial torsion), FPA, and plantar pressure distributions during walking in young men (n = 40). TMA was measured externally using a newly developed method. A pressure mat recorded FPA and pressure under the metatarsal heads (MT I vs. MT II-IV vs. MT V). RESULTS TMA is positively correlated with FPA, but only in the right foot. Plantar pressure under MT II-IV does increase with lower TMA, as predicted, but FPA does not affect pressure. Body mass index also influenced plantar pressure distribution. DISCUSSION Lower tibial torsion in humans is associated with slightly increased pressures along the middle rays of the foot during walking, but not because of changes in FPA. Therefore, it is possible that the low degree of torsion in the Dmanisi Homo tibia is related to the unusual pattern of robusticity in the associated metatarsals, but the mechanism behind this relationship is unclear. Future work will explore TMA, FPA, and plantar pressures during running.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica S Wollmann
- Department of Anthropological Sciences, Radford University, Radford, Virginia, USA.,Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Aubree S Marshall
- Department of Anthropological Sciences, Radford University, Radford, Virginia, USA.,Department of Biology, Radford University, Radford, Virginia, USA.,Department of Anthropology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - McKenzie Schrank
- Department of Anthropological Sciences, Radford University, Radford, Virginia, USA.,Department of Biology, Radford University, Radford, Virginia, USA.,Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, USA
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17
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Grine FE, Mongle CS, Fleagle JG, Hammond AS. The taxonomic attribution of African hominin postcrania from the Miocene through the Pleistocene: Associations and assumptions. J Hum Evol 2022; 173:103255. [PMID: 36375243 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Postcranial bones may provide valuable information about fossil taxa relating to their locomotor habits, manipulative abilities and body sizes. Distinctive features of the postcranial skeleton are sometimes noted in species diagnoses. Although numerous isolated postcranial fossils have become accepted by many workers as belonging to a particular species, it is worthwhile revisiting the evidence for each attribution before including them in comparative samples in relation to the descriptions of new fossils, functional analyses in relation to particular taxa, or in evolutionary contexts. Although some workers eschew the taxonomic attribution of postcranial fossils as being less important (or interesting) than interpreting their functional morphology, it is impossible to consider the evolution of functional anatomy in a taxonomic and phylogenetic vacuum. There are 21 widely recognized hominin taxa that have been described from sites in Africa dated from the Late Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene; postcranial elements have been attributed to 17 of these. The bones that have been thus assigned range from many parts of a skeleton to isolated elements. However, the extent to which postcranial material can be reliably attributed to a specific taxon varies considerably from site to site and species to species, and is often the subject of considerable debate. Here, we review the postcranial remains attributed to African hominin taxa from the Late Miocene to the Middle and Late Pleistocene and place these assignations into categories of reliability. The catalog of attributions presented here may serve as a guide for making taxonomic decisions in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederick E Grine
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA.
| | - Carrie S Mongle
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA; Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
| | - John G Fleagle
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
| | - Ashley S Hammond
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA; New York Consortium of Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), New York, NY 10024, USA
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18
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Tappen M, Bukhsianidze M, Ferring R, Coil R, Lordkipanidze D. Life and death at Dmanisi, Georgia: Taphonomic signals from the fossil mammals. J Hum Evol 2022; 171:103249. [PMID: 36116366 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
There are many hypotheses regarding influences on the early hominin biogeographic spread into Eurasia; among them is increased meat-eating. Dmanisi in Georgia is one of the rare Early Pleistocene sites in Eurasia, and here we present primary information and analysis of the medium and large mammal taphonomy, contributing information about site formation and the hominins' interaction with the fauna. Nearly 85% of the specimens come from the B1 stratum. Relative abundances of mammal families demonstrate some bias toward carnivores, especially Canis borjgali, and diverse Felidae species. Bones display little weathering. Post-depositional surface modifications and matrix obscure many bone surfaces, but carnivore tooth marking is the most common bone surface modification from the nutritive taphonomic phase. Tooth pits are large, in the size range of those made by modern Crocuta crocuta and Panthera leo. Breakage variables indicate most breaks occurred while the bones were still fresh, many by carnivore consumption. Fairly even limb bone representation of herbivores suggests carcasses were introduced to the site nearly whole. Hominin tool marks are present in low frequencies, but they suggest a variety of behaviors. These marks are found on Equus, Palaeotragus, Bison, large cervids, Pseudodama, Canis, and Mammuthus. Some were made by filleting proximal limb segments, and so are likely indicative of early access to carcasses, while other marks suggest scavenging. The Homo taphonomic variables resemble the rest of the taphonomic signatures from the site with little weathering, a slightly higher percentage of their bones are whole, but only a few have probable carnivore damage. The assemblage characteristics are compared to modern actualistic and experimental assemblages, and it is concluded that Dmanisi presents a palimpsest of hyena denning, felid activity, hominin meat-eating and likely natural deaths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha Tappen
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, 301 19th Ave S. Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Maia Bukhsianidze
- Georgian National Museum, 3 Purtseladzes Str., Tbilisi, 0105, Georgia
| | - Reid Ferring
- Department of Geography and the Environment, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle #305279, Denton, TX, 76203, USA
| | - Reed Coil
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Nazarbayev University, 53 Kabanbay Batyr Avenue, Nur-Sultan, 010000, Kazakhstan
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19
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Lockey AL, Rodríguez L, Martín-Francés L, Arsuaga JL, Bermúdez de Castro JM, Crété L, Martinón-Torres M, Parfitt S, Pope M, Stringer C. Comparing the Boxgrove and Atapuerca (Sima de los Huesos) human fossils: Do they represent distinct paleodemes? J Hum Evol 2022; 172:103253. [PMID: 36162354 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The early Middle Pleistocene human material from Boxgrove (West Sussex, UK) consists of a partial left tibia and two lower incisors from a separate adult individual. These remains derive from deposits assigned to the MIS 13 interglacial at about 480 ka and have been referred to as Homo cf. heidelbergensis. The much larger skeletal sample from the Sima de los Huesos (Atapuerca, Spain) is dated to the succeeding MIS 12, at about 430 ka. This fossil material has previously been assigned to Homo heidelbergensis but is now placed within the Neanderthal clade. Because of the scarcity of human remains from the Middle Pleistocene and their morphological variability, this study assessed whether the Boxgrove specimens fit within the morphological variability of the homogeneous Sima de los Huesos population. Based on morphometric analyses performed against 22 lower incisors from Sima de los Huesos and published material, the data from the Boxgrove incisors place them comfortably within the range of Sima de los Huesos. Both assemblages present robust incisors distinct from the overall small recent Homo sapiens incisors, and Boxgrove also aligns closely with Homo neanderthalensis and some other European Middle Pleistocene hominins. Following morphological and cross-sectional analyses of the Boxgrove tibia compared to seven adult Sima de los Huesos specimens and a set of comparative tibiae, Boxgrove is shown to be similar to Sima de los Huesos and Neanderthals in having thick cortices and bone walls, but in contrast resembles modern humans in having a straight anterior tibial crest and a suggestion of a lateral concavity. Based on the patterns observed, there is no justification for assigning the Boxgrove and Sima de los Huesos incisors to distinct paleodemes, but the tibial data show greater contrasts and suggest that all three of these samples are unlikely to represent the same paleodeme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annabelle L Lockey
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK; Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Universität Tübingen, 72070, Germany
| | - Laura Rodríguez
- Área de Antropología Física, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas y Ambientales, Universidad de León. Campus de Vegazana s/n, 24071 León, Spain; Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Departamento de Historia, Geografía y Comunicación, Facultad de Humanidades y Comunicación, Universidad de Burgos, Edificio I+D+i, Plaza Misael Bañuelos s/n, C/ Villadiego s/n, 09001, Burgos, Spain
| | - Laura Martín-Francés
- Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain; Centro Mixto (UCM-ISCIII) de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Av. Monforte de Lemos 5, 28029, Madrid, Spain; National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain; Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain; Centro Mixto (UCM-ISCIII) de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Av. Monforte de Lemos 5, 28029, Madrid, Spain; Cátedra de Bioacústica Evolutiva y Paleoantropología (HM Hospitales - Universidad de Alcalá), Área de Antropología Física, Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK; National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain
| | - Lucile Crété
- Centre for Human Evolution Research (CHER), The Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK.
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK; National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain
| | - Simon Parfitt
- Centre for Human Evolution Research (CHER), The Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK; Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PY, UK
| | - Matt Pope
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PY, UK
| | - Chris Stringer
- Centre for Human Evolution Research (CHER), The Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK
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20
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Ferring R, Oms O, Nomade S, Humphrey JD, Tappen M, Coil R, Shelia T, Crislip P, Chagelishvili R, Kiladze G, Guillou H, Lordkipanidze D. Early Pleistocene stratigraphy, sedimentary environments, and formation contexts at Dmanisi in the Georgian Caucasus. J Hum Evol 2022; 172:103254. [PMID: 36116183 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The Early Pleistocene site of Dmanisi is now well known for its large number of fossils of early Homo erectus as well as associated artifacts and faunal remains, recovered mainly in pipe-related geologic features. Testing in the M5 unit 100 m to the west of the main excavations revealed a thick stratigraphy with no evidence of pipes or gullies, indicating that the geologic record at Dmanisi included spatially distinct sedimentary environments that needed further investigation. Here we report the results of a geoarchaeological program to collect data bearing on contexts and formation processes over a large area of the promontory. That work has defined over 40,000 m2 of in situ deposits with artifacts and faunas. Stratum A ashes bury the uppermost Mashavera Basalt, which we have dated to 1.8 Ma in the M5 block. The Stratum A deposits contain stratified occupations that accumulated quickly and offer good potential for recovery of in situ materials. Stratum B1 deposits above the A/B unconformity include all of the pipe and gully facies at Dmanisi, reflecting a brief but very intense phase of geomorphic change. Those deposits contain the majority of faunas and all of the hominin fossils. B1 slope facies offer excellent formation contexts away from the piped area, and all B1 deposits are sealed by Stratum B2 over the whole promontory. Strata B2 to B5 register a return to slope facies, with no further evidence of pipes or gullies. Those deposits also present excellent contexts for recovery of in situ occupations. Overall, Dmanisi's geologic history preserves an exceptional record of the activities and environmental context of occupations during the first colonization of Eurasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reid Ferring
- Department of Geography and the Environment, 1155 Union Circle, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76208, USA.
| | - Oriol Oms
- Department of Geology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Sebastien Nomade
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environment LSCE/IPSL, UMR CEA-CNRS-UVSQ 8212 et Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay, Bat 714, Orme des Merisiers, 91191 Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - John D Humphrey
- Department of Geosciences, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
| | - Martha Tappen
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, 395 Humphrey Center, 301 19th Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55755, USA
| | - Reed Coil
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Nazarbayev University, 53 Kabanbay Batyr Ave, Nur-Sultan 010000, Kazakhstan
| | - Teona Shelia
- Georgian National Museum, 3/10 Shota Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia
| | - Peter Crislip
- Department of Geography and the Environment, 1155 Union Circle, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76208, USA
| | | | - Gocha Kiladze
- Georgian National Museum, 3/10 Shota Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia
| | - Hervé Guillou
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environment LSCE/IPSL, UMR CEA-CNRS-UVSQ 8212 et Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay, Bat 714, Orme des Merisiers, 91191 Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - David Lordkipanidze
- Georgian National Museum, 3/10 Shota Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia
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21
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Agustí J, Chochishvili G, Lozano-Fernández I, Furió M, Piñero P, de Marfà R. Small mammals (Insectivora, Rodentia, Lagomorpha) from the Early Pleistocene hominin-bearing site of Dmanisi (Georgia). J Hum Evol 2022; 170:103238. [PMID: 35988384 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
Small mammals (insectivores, rodents, and lagomorphs) from Dmanisi are here reviewed for the first time and used as a tool for paleoenvironmental proxies. The small mammal faunal list is composed of shrews (Beremendia fissidens, cf. Beremendia minor, Crocidura kornfeldi), hamsters (Cricetulus sp., Allocricetus bursae), gerbils (Parameriones aff. obeidiyensis), murids (Apodemus cf. atavus), arvicolids (Mimomys pliocaenicus, Mimomys aff. pusillus), and pikas (Ochotona sp.). A paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on the habitat weighting method has been applied to the rodent assemblage. According to this method, the most common elements indicate an open-dry habitat (36.5%), followed by water edge (25.7%) and rocky (21.0%) elements. Open-wet (15.5%) and woodland elements (1.3%) are rare. Therefore, the habitat occupied by the hominids of Dmanisi was characterized by the prevalence of arid conditions, from steppe or semi-desert to open Mediterranean forest, with stony or rocky substrate and bushy areas. The presence of permanent aquatic environments is also documented. From a biogeographic point of view, the small mammal community from Dmanisi is composed mainly by Western or Central Asian elements, with a poor representation of European elements (Mimomys, Apodemus). It is concluded that Dmanisi hominins most possibly had ecological requirements which were different from those of the Early Pleistocene hominins from Western Europe, which settled on wetter habitats. It could be also possible that Dmanisi hominins entered Southern Caucasus at an interglacial phase before the deposition of the Dmanisi site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Agustí
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Edifici W3, 43007 Tarragona, Spain; Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain; ICREA, Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain.
| | | | - Iván Lozano-Fernández
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Edifici W3, 43007 Tarragona, Spain; Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Marc Furió
- Serra Húnter Fellow, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Geology Department, Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pedro Piñero
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Edifici W3, 43007 Tarragona, Spain; Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Roger de Marfà
- Departament de Estratigrafia i Paleontologia, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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Bastir M, González Ruíz JM, Rueda J, Garrido López G, Gómez-Recio M, Beyer B, San Juan AF, Navarro E. Variation in human 3D trunk shape and its functional implications in hominin evolution. Sci Rep 2022; 12:11762. [PMID: 35817835 PMCID: PMC9273616 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15344-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigates the contribution of external trunk morphology and posture to running performance in an evolutionary framework. It has been proposed that the evolution from primitive to derived features of torso shape involved changes from a mediolaterally wider into a narrower, and antero-posteriorly deeper into a shallower, more lightly built external trunk configuration, possibly in relation to habitat-related changes in locomotor and running behaviour. In this context we produced experimental data to address the hypothesis that medio-laterally narrow and antero-posteriorly shallow torso morphologies favour endurance running capacities. We used 3D geometric morphometrics to relate external 3D trunk shape of trained, young male volunteers (N = 27) to variation in running velocities during different workloads determined at 45–50%, 70% and 85% of heart rate reserve (HRR) and maximum velocity. Below 85% HRR no relationship existed between torso shape and running velocity. However, at 85% HRR and, more clearly, at maximum velocity, we found highly statistically significant relations between external torso shape and running performance. Among all trained subjects those with a relatively narrow, flat torso, a small thoracic kyphosis and a more pronounced lumbar lordosis achieved significantly higher running velocities. These results support the hypothesis that external trunk morphology relates to running performance. Low thoracic kyphosis with a flatter ribcage may affect positively respiratory biomechanics, while increased lordosis affects trunk posture and may be beneficial for lower limb biomechanics related to leg return. Assuming that running workload at 45–50% HRR occurs within aerobic metabolism, our results may imply that external torso shape is unrelated to the evolution of endurance running performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Bastir
- Paleoanthropology Group, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, J.G. Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - José María González Ruíz
- Paleoanthropology Group, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, J.G. Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Rueda
- Department of Health and Human Performance, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences-INEF, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Gonzalo Garrido López
- Department of Health and Human Performance, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences-INEF, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marta Gómez-Recio
- Paleoanthropology Group, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, J.G. Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Benoit Beyer
- Laboratory of Functional Anatomy (LAF), Faculty of Motor Skills Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Alejandro F San Juan
- Department of Health and Human Performance, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences-INEF, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Enrique Navarro
- Department of Health and Human Performance, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences-INEF, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain
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23
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Murray AA. Variability and the form-function framework in evolutionary biomechanics and human locomotion. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2022; 4:e29. [PMID: 37588899 PMCID: PMC10426129 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2022.28] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The form-function conceptual framework, which assumes a strong relationship between the structure of a particular trait and its function, has been crucial for understanding morphological variation and locomotion among extant and fossil species across many disciplines. In biological anthropology, it is the lens through which many important questions and hypotheses have been tackled with respect to relationships between morphology and locomotor kinematics, energetics and performance. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that the morphologies of fossil hominins, apes and humans can confer considerable locomotor diversity and flexibility, and can do so with a range of kinematics depending on soft tissue plasticity and environmental and cultural factors. This complexity is not built into traditional biomechanical or mathematical models of relationships between structure and kinematics or energetics, limiting our interpretation of what bone structure is telling us about behaviour in the past. The nine papers presented in this Special Collection together address some of the challenges that variation in the relationship between form and function pose in evolutionary biomechanics, to better characterise the complexity linking structure and function and to provide tools through which we may begin to incorporate some of this complexity into our functional interpretations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison A. Murray
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Cornett Building Room B228, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, CanadaV8P 5C2
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24
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An ancient cranium from Dmanisi: Evidence for interpersonal violence, disease, and possible predation by carnivores on Early Pleistocene Homo. J Hum Evol 2022; 166:103180. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2021] [Revised: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Barash A, Belmaker M, Bastir M, Soudack M, O'Brien HD, Woodward H, Prendergast A, Barzilai O, Been E. The earliest Pleistocene record of a large-bodied hominin from the Levant supports two out-of-Africa dispersal events. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1721. [PMID: 35110601 PMCID: PMC8810791 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05712-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The paucity of early Pleistocene hominin fossils in Eurasia hinders an in-depth discussion on their paleobiology and paleoecology. Here we report on the earliest large-bodied hominin remains from the Levantine corridor: a juvenile vertebra (UB 10749) from the early Pleistocene site of 'Ubeidiya, Israel, discovered during a reanalysis of the faunal remains. UB 10749 is a complete lower lumbar vertebral body, with morphological characteristics consistent with Homo sp. Our analysis indicates that UB-10749 was a 6- to 12-year-old child at death, displaying delayed ossification pattern compared with modern humans. Its predicted adult size is comparable to other early Pleistocene large-bodied hominins from Africa. Paleobiological differences between UB 10749 and other early Eurasian hominins supports at least two distinct out-of-Africa dispersal events. This observation corresponds with variants of lithic traditions (Oldowan; Acheulian) as well as various ecological niches across early Pleistocene sites in Eurasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alon Barash
- Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, POB 1589, 1311502, Safed, Israel.
| | - Miriam Belmaker
- The Department of Anthropology, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, 74104, USA
| | - Markus Bastir
- Paleoanthropology Group, Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, JG Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Michalle Soudack
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Department of Pediatric Imaging, The Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Haley D O'Brien
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Science, Tulsa, USA
| | - Holly Woodward
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Science, Tulsa, USA
| | - Amy Prendergast
- School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Omry Barzilai
- Archaeological Research Department, Israel Antiquities Authority, POB 586, 91004, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ella Been
- Department of Sports Therapy, Faculty of Health Professions, Ono Academic College, Kiryat Ono, Israel.,Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
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Combined Zonation of the African-Levantine-Caucasian Areal of Ancient Hominin: Review and Integrated Analysis of Paleogeographical, Stratigraphic and Geophysical-Geodynamical Data. GEOSCIENCES 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/geosciences12010021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The origin of the man on Earth is directly associated with the determination of directions of the flow distribution of the ancient man dispersal to adjacent territories. In such studies, mainly landscape and climatological changes are traditionally considered. We suggest that along with the above factors, regional tectonic-geodynamic factors played a dominant role in the character of dispersal. The considered African-Levantine-Caucasian region is one of the most geologically complex regions of the world, where collisional and spreading processes of geodynamics converge. For the first time, we determined an essential influence of the Akchagylian hydrospheric maximum (about 200 m above the mean sea level) limiting the early dispersal of hominins from Africa to Eurasia. We propose that the Levantine Corridor emerged after the end of the Akchagylian transgression and landscape forming in the Eastern Mediterranean. This corridor location was formed by the movements between the Dead Sea Transform and the boundary of the carbonate platform of the Mesozoic Terrane Belt. Further landscape evolution was largely determined by the geodynamic behavior of the deep mantle rotating structure occurring below the central part of the region under study. All the mentioned events around and in the Levantine Corridor have been studied in detail on the basis of the combined geodynamic, paleogeographic, and paleomagnetic analyses performed in northern Israel (Carmel Uplift and Galilee Plateau). Careful studies of the Evron Quarry geological section indicate that it is unique for the dating of marine and continental archaeological sequences and sheds light on the early dispersal of hominins along the Levantine Corridor.
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27
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Bartolini-Lucenti S, Cirilli O, Pandolfi L, Bernor RL, Bukhsianidze M, Carotenuto F, Lordkipanidze D, Tsikaridze N, Rook L. Zoogeographic significance of Dmanisi large mammal assemblage. J Hum Evol 2021; 163:103125. [PMID: 34954399 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Revised: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
We undertake a comparative mammalian zoogeographic analysis with the aim of revealing the extent to which the Dmanisi Early Pleistocene large mammal assemblage resembles, at the genus level, African, Arabian, and Eurasian localities of similar age. The inclusion of Old World Pliocene and Pleistocene mammalian faunas provides us with insights into the provincial origins of specific mammalian taxa and permits us to assess the relative affiliation of the Dmanisi mammalian faunas to other faunas in the Old World. Our analysis also allows us to consider hypotheses about the timing and direction of zoogeographic connections between western Eurasia and Africa during the Early Pleistocene. We utilize multiple zoogeographic analytical tools as a cross-comparison of Dmanisi with 42 other Eurasian and African mammalian-bearing localities between 2.7 and 0.7 Ma. Overall, we find that Dmanisi compares most closely with a subgroup of Greek, Italian, and Spanish localities that are slightly younger than Dmanisi itself. This could suggest a progressive dispersal from East to West of the large mammal communities during the late Early Pleistocene and the first occurrence at Dmanisi, and then later in Western Europe, of some taxa such as Stephanorhinus ex gr. etruscus-hundsheimensis, Equus altidens, Bison georgicus, Soergelia minor, Megantereon whitei, Canis borjgali, Canis (Xenocyon) lycaonoides. Dmanisi's habitats included drier areas, probably of open wooded savannah and grassland and by mountainous to semiarid rocky terrain. There is evidence that Dmanisi records short intervals of increased aridity in the middle part of the succession contemporaneous with the occurrence of Homo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saverio Bartolini-Lucenti
- Earth Science Department, Paleo[Fab]Lab, University of Florence, via La Pira 4, 50121, Firenze, Italy; Natural History Museum, Geology and Paleontology Section, via La Pira 4, 50121, Firenze, Italy
| | - Omar Cirilli
- Earth Science Department, Paleo[Fab]Lab, University of Florence, via La Pira 4, 50121, Firenze, Italy; Dottorato di Ricerca in Scienze della Terra, University of Pisa, via S. Maria 56, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Luca Pandolfi
- Earth Science Department, Paleo[Fab]Lab, University of Florence, via La Pira 4, 50121, Firenze, Italy
| | - Raymond Louis Bernor
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Biology, Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Howard University, 20059, Washington DC, USA; Human Origins Program, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 20013, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Maia Bukhsianidze
- Georgian National Museum, 3, Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi-0105, Georgia
| | - Francesco Carotenuto
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, "Federico II" University of Naples, Via Cinthia 21, 80126, Naples, Italy
| | | | | | - Lorenzo Rook
- Earth Science Department, Paleo[Fab]Lab, University of Florence, via La Pira 4, 50121, Firenze, Italy.
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Blain HA, Fagoaga A, Sánchez-Bandera C, Ruiz-Sánchez FJ, Sindaco R, Delfino M. New paleoecological inferences based on the Early Pleistocene amphibian and reptile assemblage from Dmanisi (Georgia, Lesser Caucasus). J Hum Evol 2021; 162:103117. [PMID: 34902772 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Dmanisi (Georgia) is one of the oldest Early Paleolithic sites discovered out of Africa. In addition, it is the best site to understand the first Homo deme out of Africa and the first hominin occupation of Central to Western Eurasia. It has produced more than 40 hominin remains, including several very informative skulls, found in direct association with faunal remains and numerous lithic artifacts. To date, fossil amphibians and reptiles are one of the few proxies that have been used to propose quantitative climate reconstructions for the time where the hominins were living at Dmanisi. The aim of the present study is to review and amplify the previous paleoclimatic interpretation given by Blain et al. (2014), with an enhanced methodology using geographic information system and based on uncertain distribution area-occupied distribution area discrimination technique. This procedure permits to approach to a more precise common species distribution area and then using the WorldClim v. 2.1 climate database to propose for the first time monthly reconstructions for temperature and rainfall, in addition to annual parameters. The same technique is used to infer dominant ecoregions through the study area and potential tree coverage. Dmanisi climate is newly reconstructed as warm and semi-arid, similar to the present-day Mediterranean climate. New estimates however suggest warmer temperatures than previously reconstructed, together with a slightly higher but much more irregular amount of rainfall. The aridity indexes suggest a six months dry period, from May to October. Associated regional paleoenvironment is mainly characterized by Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub, and the potential tree coverage is around 25%, that is, much less forested than today. New estimates agree with the 'Iberian' hominin ecological model, and with other proxies (large mammals, small mammals and archaeobotanical remains) that indicate a period of increased aridity contemporaneous with human occupations of the site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugues-Alexandre Blain
- IPHES-CERCA, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV, Edifici W3, Tarragona, 43007, Spain; Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, Tarragona, 43002, Spain.
| | - Ana Fagoaga
- IPHES-CERCA, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV, Edifici W3, Tarragona, 43007, Spain; Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, Tarragona, 43002, Spain; PVC-GIUV, Palaeontology of Cenozoic Vertebrates Research Group, Àrea de Palaeontologia, Universitat de València, Dr. Moliner 50, Valencia, E-46100, Spain; Museu Valencià d'Història Natural, L'Hort de Feliu, P.O. Box 8460, Alginet, Valencia, 46018, Spain
| | - Christian Sánchez-Bandera
- IPHES-CERCA, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV, Edifici W3, Tarragona, 43007, Spain; Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, Tarragona, 43002, Spain
| | - Francisco J Ruiz-Sánchez
- PVC-GIUV, Palaeontology of Cenozoic Vertebrates Research Group, Àrea de Palaeontologia, Universitat de València, Dr. Moliner 50, Valencia, E-46100, Spain; Museu Valencià d'Història Natural, L'Hort de Feliu, P.O. Box 8460, Alginet, Valencia, 46018, Spain
| | - Roberto Sindaco
- Istituto per le Piante da Legno e l'Ambiente, Corso Casale 476, Turin, 10132, Italy
| | - Massimo Delfino
- Dipartimento di Scienze Della Terra, Università di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, Turin, 10125, Italy; Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici Z, ICTA-ICP, Carrer de Les Columnes S/n, Campus de La UAB S/n, Cerdanyola Del Vallès, Barcelona, 08193, Spain
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29
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Bartolini-Lucenti S, Madurell-Malapeira J, Martínez-Navarro B, Cirilli O, Pandolfi L, Rook L, Bushkhianidze M, Lordkipanidze D. A comparative study of the Early Pleistocene carnivore guild from Dmanisi (Georgia). J Hum Evol 2021; 162:103108. [PMID: 34852965 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The carnivore guild of the Early Pleistocene site of Dmanisi is among the most diverse of the Early Pleistocene of the entire Old World. It includes 14 carnivoran taxa: Homotherium latidens, Megantereon whitei, Panthera onca georgica, Acinonyx pardinensis, Lynx issiodorensis; Pachycrocuta brevirostris; Canis (Xenocyon) lycaonoides, Canis borjgali, Vulpes alopecoides; Ursus etruscus; Lutra sp., Martes sp., Meles sp., and Pannonictis sp. The analysis of this rich carnivore guild was carried out under different methodological approaches to compare the assemblage with other chronological coeval European, Asian, and African sites from a paleobiological perspective. To achieve the goal, we used a permutational hierarchical method called boostrapping cluster analysis based on taxonomic absence/presence matrices (at both generic and specific level) and on ecological matrices (considering dietary preferences/hunting strategies of each carnivoran) and carried out Mantels tests assessing magnitude of time, space, ecology, and taxonomy as source of difference between guilds. Our results suggest a close similarity among the Dmanisi carnivore assemblage and other guilds recorded from European late Villafranchian sites such as Pirro Nord, Venta Micena, and Apollonia 1 and, in a lesser extent, to European Epivillafranchian sites as Vallonnet, Untermassfeld, or the Vallparadís Section. Early to Middle Pleistocene Asian carnivore assemblages display several similarities with the Dmanisi guild mainly in the record and diversity of felid and the canid ecomorphotypes. Eastern African sites such as Olduvai and Omo, as well as South African sites, display a lower similarity with the studied sample, basically for the most diverse hyenid taphocoenoses. To sum up, the present study suggests a close similarity between the Dmanisi carnivore guild and other European Late Early Pleistocene assemblages without close parallels with African or Asian assemblages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saverio Bartolini-Lucenti
- Earth Science Department, Paleo[Fab]Lab, University of Florence, Via G. La Pira 4, Firenze, 50121, Italy; Natural History Museum, University of Florence, Via G. La Pira 4, Firenze, 50121, Italy.
| | - Joan Madurell-Malapeira
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, C/ de Les Columnes, S/n Campus de La UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, 08193, Spain
| | - Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro
- Area de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira I Virgili (URV), Avda. Catalunya 35, Tarragona, 43002, Spain; ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona, 08010, Spain; IPHES-CERCA, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana I Evolució Social, C/ Marcel.lí Domingo S/n, Campus Sescelades, Edifici W3, Tarragona, 43007, Spain
| | - Omar Cirilli
- Earth Science Department, Paleo[Fab]Lab, University of Florence, Via G. La Pira 4, Firenze, 50121, Italy; Dottorato di Ricerca in Scienze Della Terra, Università di Pisa, Via S. Maria 53, Pisa, 56126, Italy
| | - Luca Pandolfi
- Earth Science Department, Paleo[Fab]Lab, University of Florence, Via G. La Pira 4, Firenze, 50121, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Rook
- Earth Science Department, Paleo[Fab]Lab, University of Florence, Via G. La Pira 4, Firenze, 50121, Italy
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Anaya A, Patel BA, Orr CM, Ward CV, Almécija S. Evolutionary trends of the lateral foot in catarrhine primates: Contextualizing the fourth metatarsal of Australopithecus afarensis. J Hum Evol 2021; 161:103078. [PMID: 34749002 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2020] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In 2000, a complete fourth metatarsal (Mt4) of the ∼3- to 4-Million-year-old hominin Australopithecus afarensis was recovered in Hadar, Ethiopia. This metatarsal presented a mostly human-like morphology, suggesting that a rigid lateral foot may have evolved as early as ∼3.2 Ma. The lateral foot is integral in providing stability during the push off phase of gait and is key in understanding the transition to upright, striding bipedalism. Previous comparisons of this fossil were limited to Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, and modern humans. This study builds on previous studies by contextualizing the Mt4 morphology of A. afarensis (A.L. 333-160) within a diverse comparative sample of nonhuman hominoids (n = 144) and cercopithecids (n = 138) and incorporates other early hominins (n = 3) and fossil hominoids that precede the Pan-Homo split (n = 4) to better assess the polarity of changes in lateral foot morphology surrounding this divergence. We investigate seven morphological features argued to be functionally linked to human-like bipedalism. Our results show that some human-like characters used to assess midfoot and lateral foot stiffness in the hominin fossil record are present in our Miocene ape sample as well as in living cercopithecids. Furthermore, modern nonhuman hominoids can be generally distinguished from other species in most metrics. These results suggest that the possession of a rigid foot in hominins could represent a conserved trait, whereas the specialized pedal grasping mechanics of extant apes may be more derived, in which case some traits often used to infer bipedal locomotion in early hominins may, instead, reflect a lower reliance on pedal grasping. Another possibility is that early hominins reverted from modern ape Mt4 morphology into a more plesiomorphic condition when terrestrial bipedality became a dominant behavior. More fossils dating around the Pan-Homo divergence time are necessary to test these competing hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alisha Anaya
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA; Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, 10024, USA.
| | - Biren A Patel
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA; Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA
| | - Caley M Orr
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Carol V Ward
- Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65212, USA
| | - Sergio Almécija
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, 10024, USA; New York Consortium of Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, 10024, USA; Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
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31
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Bernor RL, Cirilli O, Bukhsianidze M, Lordkipanidze D, Rook L. The Dmanisi Equus: Systematics, biogeography, and paleoecology. J Hum Evol 2021; 158:103051. [PMID: 34365132 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 07/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The Equus datum has been established as a geochronologic 'instantaneous' migratory event of a North American Equus species into Eurasia at the beginning of the Pleistocene (2.58 Ma). A remarkable radiation of Equus followed across Eurasia and Africa. Dmanisi includes excellent remains of Equus, well calibrated between 1.85 and 1.76 Ma. Our morphologic and morphometric analyses of the augmented Dmanisi Equus sample support the co-occurrence of Equus stenonis and Equus altidens in the sequence. Dmanisi E. stenonis is found to be morphologically similar to the European E. stenonis populations and represents the best well-dated easternmost occurrence of this species in Eurasia. The Dmanisi E. altidens represents the oldest well-calibrated occurrence of this species in Western Eurasia. Our analyses demonstrate that E. altidens extended its range westward from west Asia to Greece, Germany, Italy, Spain, and possibly France. Our results do not support distinguishing multiple subspecies of E. altidens, including E. altidens altidens, E. altidens granatensis and E. stenonis mygdoniensis. The Dmanisi cranial and postcranial samples exhibit morphologies close both to extant hemiones and zebras. Equus altidens is believed to have been well adapted to newly emergent arid environments in western Eurasia during the late Early and early Middle Pleistocene. The first occurrence of E. altidens at Dmanisi marks an important turnover in the horse communities of the late Early Pleistocene, with a dispersion of this species from West Asia to West Europe ca. 1.8 Ma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymond L Bernor
- College of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Laboratory of Evolutionary Biology, Howard University, 20059 Washington DC, USA; Human Origins Program, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 20013 Washington DC, USA
| | - Omar Cirilli
- Regional PhD Program, Earth Science Department, University of Pisa, Via S. Maria 53, I-56126 Pisa, Italy; Earth Sciences Department, Paleo[Fab]Lab, Università di Firenze, Via G. La Pira 4, I-50121 Firenze, Italy.
| | - Maia Bukhsianidze
- Georgian National Museum, 3, Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi, 0105, Georgia
| | | | - Lorenzo Rook
- Earth Sciences Department, Paleo[Fab]Lab, Università di Firenze, Via G. La Pira 4, I-50121 Firenze, Italy
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The early hunting dog from Dmanisi with comments on the social behaviour in Canidae and hominins. Sci Rep 2021; 11:13501. [PMID: 34326360 PMCID: PMC8322302 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-92818-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The renowned site of Dmanisi in Georgia, southern Caucasus (ca. 1.8 Ma) yielded the earliest direct evidence of hominin presence out of Africa. In this paper, we report on the first record of a large-sized canid from this site, namely dentognathic remains, referable to a young adult individual that displays hypercarnivorous features (e.g., the reduction of the m1 metaconid and entoconid) that allow us to include these specimens in the hypodigm of the late Early Pleistocene species Canis (Xenocyon) lycaonoides. Much fossil evidence suggests that this species was a cooperative pack-hunter that, unlike other large-sized canids, was capable of social care toward kin and non-kin members of its group. This rather derived hypercarnivorous canid, which has an East Asian origin, shows one of its earliest records at Dmanisi in the Caucasus, at the gates of Europe. Interestingly, its dispersal from Asia to Europe and Africa followed a parallel route to that of hominins, but in the opposite direction. Hominins and hunting dogs, both recorded in Dmanisi at the beginning of their dispersal across the Old World, are the only two Early Pleistocene mammal species with proved altruistic behaviour towards their group members, an issue discussed over more than one century in evolutionary biology.
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Luzón C, Yravedra J, Courtenay LA, Saarinen J, Blain HA, DeMiguel D, Viranta S, Azanza B, Rodríguez-Alba JJ, Herranz-Rodrigo D, Serrano-Ramos A, Solano JA, Oms O, Agustí J, Fortelius M, Jiménez-Arenas JM. Taphonomic and spatial analyses from the Early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena 4 (Orce, Guadix-Baza Basin, southern Spain). Sci Rep 2021; 11:13977. [PMID: 34234181 PMCID: PMC8263577 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93261-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Venta Micena is an area containing several palaeontological sites marking the beginning of the Calabrian stage (Early Pleistocene). The richness of the fossil accumulation including species of Asian, African and European origin, makes Venta Micena a key site for the the palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental study of southern Europe during the Early Pleistocene. Thus, research has been focused on Venta Micena 3, which was originally interpreted as a single palaeosurface associated with a marshy context, in which most of the fauna was accumulated by Pachycrocuta brevirostris. Recent excavations have unearthed a new site, Venta Micena 4, located in the same stratigraphic unit (Unit C) and in close proximity to Venta Micena 3. Here we show the first analyses regarding the taphonomic and spatial nature of this new site, defining two stratigraphic boundaries corresponding to two different depositional events. Furthermore, the taphonomic analyses of fossil remains seem to indicate a different accumulative agent than Pachycrocuta, thus adding more complexity to the palaeobiological interpretation of the Venta Micena area. These results contribute to the discussion of traditional interpretations made from Venta Micena 3.
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Grants
- Junta de Andalucía, General Research Project “Proyecto Orce”, BC.03.032/17 Ministerio de Trabajo y Economóa Social
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades. FPI Predoctoral Grant (Reg. PRE2019-089411) associated to project RTI2018-099850-B-IOO
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Programa “María de Maeztu”, CEX2019-000945-M AGAUR, 2017SGR-859
- Junta de Andalucía, General Research Project “Proyecto Orce”, BC.03.032/17
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Programa “María de Maeztu”, CEX2019-000945-M Ministerio de Economóa y Competitivdad, CGL2016-80000-P AGAUR, 2017SGR-859
- Junta de Andalucía, Research Group HUM-607
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Luzón
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Jose Yravedra
- Departamento de Prehistoria, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
- C.A.I. Arqueometría, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Lloyd A Courtenay
- Departamento de Ingeniería Cartográfica y del Terreno, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Ávila, Universidad de Salamanca, Ávila, Spain
| | - Juha Saarinen
- Department of Geosciences and Geology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Hugues-Alexandre Blain
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Tarragona, Spain
- Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Daniel DeMiguel
- ARAID/Departmento de Ciencias de la Tierra (Paleontología), Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
- Institut Català Paleontologia M. Crusafont ICP, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Suvi Viranta
- Department of Anatomy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Beatriz Azanza
- Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra (Paleontología), Universidad de Zaragoza/Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales de Aragón (IUCA), Zaragoza, Spain
| | | | | | - Alexia Serrano-Ramos
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Jose A Solano
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Oriol Oms
- Departament de Geologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Jordi Agustí
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Tarragona, Spain
- Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mikael Fortelius
- Department of Geosciences and Geology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, Helsinki, Finland
- Visiting Scholars Program, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Juan Manuel Jiménez-Arenas
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain.
- Instituto Universitario de la Paz y los Conflictos, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain.
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Wang S, Ge S, Colijn C, Biller P, Wang L, Elliott LT. Estimating Genetic Similarity Matrices Using Phylogenies. J Comput Biol 2021; 28:587-600. [PMID: 33926225 PMCID: PMC8219189 DOI: 10.1089/cmb.2020.0375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic similarity is a measure of the genetic relatedness among individuals. The standard method for computing these matrices involves the inner product of observed genetic variants. Such an approach is inaccurate or impossible if genotypes are not available, or not densely sampled, or of poor quality (e.g., genetic analysis of extinct species). We provide a new method for computing genetic similarities among individuals using phylogenetic trees. Our method can supplement (or stand in for) computations based on genotypes. We provide simulations suggesting that the genetic similarity matrices computed from trees are consistent with those computed from genotypes. With our methods, quantitative analysis on genetic traits and analysis of heritability and coheritability can be conducted directly using genetic similarity matrices and so in the absence of genotype data, or under uncertainty in the phylogenetic tree. We use simulation studies to demonstrate the advantages of our method, and we provide applications to data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shijia Wang
- School of Statistics and Data Science, LPMC and KLMDASR, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Shufei Ge
- Institute of Mathematical Sciences, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Caroline Colijn
- Department of Mathematics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Priscila Biller
- Department of Mathematics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Liangliang Wang
- Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Lloyd T Elliott
- Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
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Carlson KJ, Green DJ, Jashashvili T, Pickering TR, Heaton JL, Beaudet A, Stratford D, Crompton R, Kuman K, Bruxelles L, Clarke RJ. The pectoral girdle of StW 573 ('Little Foot') and its implications for shoulder evolution in the Hominina. J Hum Evol 2021; 158:102983. [PMID: 33888323 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2020] [Revised: 02/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The ca. 3.67 Ma adult skeleton known as 'Little Foot' (StW 573), recovered from Sterkfontein Member 2 breccia in the Silberberg Grotto, is remarkable for its morphology and completeness. Preservation of clavicles and scapulae, including essentially complete right-side elements, offers opportunities to assess morphological and functional aspects of a nearly complete Australopithecus pectoral girdle. Here we describe the StW 573 pectoral girdle and offer quantitative comparisons to those of extant hominoids and selected homininans. The StW 573 pectoral girdle combines features intermediate between those of humans and other apes: a long and curved clavicle, suggesting a relatively dorsally positioned scapula; an enlarged and uniquely proportioned supraspinous fossa; a relatively cranially oriented glenoid fossa; and ape-like reinforcement of the axillary margin by a stout ventral bar. StW 573 scapulae are as follows: smaller than those of some homininans (i.e., KSD-VP-1/1 and KNM-ER 47000A), larger than others (i.e., A.L. 288-1, Sts 7, and MH2), and most similar in size to another australopith from Sterkfontein, StW 431. Moreover, StW 573 and StW 431 exhibit similar structural features along their axillary margins and inferior angles. As the StW 573 pectoral girdle (e.g., scapular configuration) has a greater affinity to that of apes-Gorilla in particular-rather than modern humans, we suggest that the StW 573 morphological pattern appears to reflect adaptations to arboreal behaviors, especially those with the hand positioned above the head, more than human-like manipulatory capabilities. When compared with less complete pectoral girdles from middle/late Miocene apes and that of the penecontemporaneous KSD-VP-1/1 (Australopithecus afarensis), and mindful of consensus views on the adaptiveness of arboreal positional behaviors soliciting abducted glenohumeral joints in early Pliocene taxa, we propose that the StW 573 pectoral girdle is a reasonable model for hypothesizing pectoral girdle configuration of the crown hominin last common ancestor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristian J Carlson
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa.
| | - David J Green
- Department of Anatomy, Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Buies Creek, NC 27506, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa
| | - Tea Jashashvili
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Department of Geology and Paleontology, Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia
| | - Travis R Pickering
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa; Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Jason L Heaton
- Department of Biology, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, AL 35254, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa; Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Amélie Beaudet
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050 South Africa; Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, PO Box 2034, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Dominic Stratford
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050 South Africa
| | - Robin Crompton
- Department of Musculoskeletal Biology, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L7 8TX, UK
| | - Kathleen Kuman
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050 South Africa
| | - Laurent Bruxelles
- TRACES, UMR 5608 of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, Jean Jaurès University, 31058 Toulouse, France; French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Researches (INRAP), 30900 Nîmes, France; School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050 South Africa
| | - Ronald J Clarke
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa
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Blain HA, Fagoaga A, Ruiz-Sánchez FJ, García-Medrano P, Ollé A, Jiménez-Arenas JM. Coping with arid environments: A critical threshold for human expansion in Europe at the Marine Isotope Stage 12/11 transition? The case of the Iberian Peninsula. J Hum Evol 2021; 153:102950. [PMID: 33676058 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Revised: 11/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Archaeological remains have highlighted the fact that the interglacial Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 was a threshold from the perspective of hominin evolution in Europe. After the MIS 12 glaciation, considered one of the major climate-driven crises experienced by hominins, the archaeological records show an increasing number of occupations, evidence of new subsistence behaviors, and significant technical innovations. Here, we used statistical and geographic techniques to analyze the amphibian- and reptile-based paleoclimate and habitat reconstructions generated from a large data set of the Iberian Peninsula to (1) investigate if temperature, precipitation, and/or forest cover may have impacted the hominin occupation of the territory during the Early and Middle Pleistocene, (2) propose an 'Iberian' ecological model before and after the MIS 12/11 transition, and (3) evaluate, based on this model, the potential hominin occupation at a European scale. The results indicate the existence of climatic constraints on human settlement related to rainfall and environmental humidity. The Early Pleistocene and the first half of the Middle Pleistocene are dominated by the occupation of relatively humid wooded areas, whereas during the second part of the Middle Pleistocene, a broadening of the earlier ecological niche is clearly observed toward the occupation of more open arid areas. Based on the estimated occupational niche for hominins, a maximum potential distribution for early hominins is proposed in Europe before and after 426 ka. Results also indicate that parts of the Iberian Peninsula may not have been suitable for early hominin occupation. Our ecological model is consistent with the pattern of hominin occupation observed in northern and central Europe, where the earliest evidence reflects only pioneering populations merely extending their ranges in response to the expansion of their preferred habitats, as compared with a more sustained occupation by 400 ka.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugues-Alexandre Blain
- IPHES-CERCA, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain; Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain.
| | - Ana Fagoaga
- IPHES-CERCA, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain; Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain; PVC-GIUV (Palaeontology of Cenozoic Vertebrates Research Group), Àrea de Palaeontologia, Universitat de València, Dr. Moliner 50, E-46100, Valencia, Spain; Museu Valencià d'Història Natural, L'Hort de Feliu, P.O. Box 8460, E-46018, Alginet, Valencia, Spain
| | - Francisco Javier Ruiz-Sánchez
- PVC-GIUV (Palaeontology of Cenozoic Vertebrates Research Group), Àrea de Palaeontologia, Universitat de València, Dr. Moliner 50, E-46100, Valencia, Spain; Museu Valencià d'Història Natural, L'Hort de Feliu, P.O. Box 8460, E-46018, Alginet, Valencia, Spain
| | - Paula García-Medrano
- Département de l'Homme et Environnement - CNRS-UMR 7194, Muséum national d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, Paris, 75013, France; Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory, British Museum, Frank House, 56 Orsman Road, N1 5QJ, London, UK
| | - Andreu Ollé
- IPHES-CERCA, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain; Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Juan Manuel Jiménez-Arenas
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Granada, Campus Universitario de Cartuja C.P, 18011, Granada, Spain; Instituto Universitario de la Paz y los Conflictos, Universidad de Granada, c/Rector López Argüeta s/n, 18011, Granada, Spain
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García-Martínez D, Green DJ, Bermúdez de Castro JM. Evolutionary development of the Homo antecessor scapulae (Gran Dolina site, Atapuerca) suggests a modern-like development for Lower Pleistocene Homo. Sci Rep 2021; 11:4102. [PMID: 33602966 PMCID: PMC7892855 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83039-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Two well-preserved, subadult 800 ky scapulae from Gran Dolina belonging to Homo antecessor, provide a unique opportunity to investigate the ontogeny of shoulder morphology in Lower Pleistocene humans. We compared the H. antecessor scapulae with a sample of 98 P. troglodytes and 108 H. sapiens representatives covering seven growth stages, as well as with the DIK-1-1 (Dikika; Australopithecus afarensis), KNM-WT 15000 (Nariokotome; H. ergaster), and MH2 (Malapa; A. sediba) specimens. We quantified 15 landmarks on each scapula and performed geometric morphometric analyses. H. sapiens scapulae are mediolaterally broader with laterally oriented glenoid fossae relative to Pan and Dikika shoulder blades. Accordingly, H. antecessor scapulae shared more morphological affinities with modern humans, KNM-WT 15000, and even MH2. Both H. antecessor and modern Homo showed significantly more positive scapular growth trajectories than Pan (slopes: P. troglodytes = 0.0012; H. sapiens = 0.0018; H. antecessor = 0.0020). Similarities in ontogenetic trajectories between the H. antecessor and modern human data suggest that Lower Pleistocene hominin scapular development was already modern human-like. At the same time, several morphological features distinguish H. antecessor scapulae from modern humans along the entire trajectory. Future studies should include additional Australopithecus specimens for further comparative assessment of scapular growth trends.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel García-Martínez
- Centro Nacional para el Estudio de la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain.
- Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - David J Green
- Department of Anatomy, Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Buies Creek, NC, 27506, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa
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Dating of the Lower Pleistocene Vertebrate Site of Tsiotra Vryssi (Mygdonia Basin, Greece): Biochronology, Magnetostratigraphy, and Cosmogenic Radionuclides. QUATERNARY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/quat4010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Background and scope: The late Villafranchian large mammal age (~2.0–1.2 Ma) of the Early Pleistocene is a crucial interval of time for mammal/hominin migrations and faunal turnovers in western Eurasia. However, an accurate chronological framework for the Balkans and adjacent territories is still missing, preventing pan-European biogeographic correlations and schemes. In this article, we report the first detailed chronological scheme for the late Villafranchian of southeastern Europe through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary dating approach (biochronology, magnetostratigraphy, and cosmogenic radionuclides) of the recently discovered Lower Pleistocene vertebrate site Tsiotra Vryssi (TSR) in the Mygdonia Basin, Greece. Results: The minimum burial ages (1.88 ± 0.16 Ma, 2.10 ± 0.18 Ma, and 1.98 ± 0.18 Ma) provided by the method of cosmogenic radionuclides indicate that the normal magnetic polarity identified below the fossiliferous layer correlates to the Olduvai subchron (1.95–1.78 Ma; C2n). Therefore, an age younger than 1.78 Ma is indicated for the fossiliferous layer, which was deposited during reverse polarity chron C1r. These results are in agreement with the biochronological data, which further point to an upper age limit at ~1.5 Ma. Overall, an age between 1.78 and ~1.5 Ma (i.e., within the first part of the late Villafranchian) is proposed for the TSR fauna. Conclusions: Our results not only provide age constraints for the local mammal faunal succession, thus allowing for a better understanding of faunal changes within the same sedimentary basin, but also contribute to improving correlations on a broader scale, leading to more accurate biogeographic, palaeoecological, and taphonomic interpretations.
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Wood B. Birth of Homo erectus. Evol Anthropol 2020; 29:293-298. [PMID: 33246357 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2020] [Revised: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Eugène Dubois was the pioneer of human origins research in South-East Asia, specifically on two of the islands, Sumatra and Java, now included in Indonesia. Dubois was a polymath, whose research interests embraced encephalization and hydrology as well as paleoanthropology. His interpretations of the hominin fossil evidence he collected, which he eventually assigned to Pithecanthropus erectus, changed over the years, and he evidently felt defensive about those interpretations, but in his 1894 paper he presents cogent reasons for his decision. The taxon he introduced is still recognized, and while it is no longer seen as "the" link between fossil apes and modern humans, it is currently one of the longest surviving hominin taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernard Wood
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
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40
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Dean C, Zanolli C, Le Cabec A, Tawane M, Garrevoet J, Mazurier A, Macchiarelli R. Growth and development of the third permanent molar in Paranthropus robustus from Swartkrans, South Africa. Sci Rep 2020; 10:19053. [PMID: 33149180 PMCID: PMC7642444 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76032-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Third permanent molars (M3s) are the last tooth to form but have not been used to estimate age at dental maturation in early fossil hominins because direct histological evidence for the timing of their growth has been lacking. We investigated an isolated maxillary M3 (SK 835) from the 1.5 to 1.8-million-year-old (Mya) site of Swartkrans, South Africa, attributed to Paranthropus robustus. Tissue proportions of this specimen were assessed using 3D X-ray micro-tomography. Thin ground sections were used to image daily growth increments in enamel and dentine. Transmitted light microscopy and synchrotron X-ray fluorescence imaging revealed fluctuations in Ca concentration that coincide with daily growth increments. We used regional daily secretion rates and Sr marker-lines to reconstruct tooth growth along the enamel/dentine and then cementum/dentine boundaries. Cumulative growth curves for increasing enamel thickness and tooth height and age-of-attainment estimates for fractional stages of tooth formation differed from those in modern humans. These now provide additional means for assessing late maturation in early hominins. M3 formation took ≥ 7 years in SK 835 and completion of the roots would have occurred between 11 and 14 years of age. Estimated age at dental maturation in this fossil hominin compares well with what is known for living great apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Dean
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK. .,Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33600 Pessac, France.,Department of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Adeline Le Cabec
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33600 Pessac, France.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mirriam Tawane
- Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Jan Garrevoet
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Arnaud Mazurier
- IC2MP, UMR 7285 CNRS, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
| | - Roberto Macchiarelli
- UMR 7194 CNRS, Muséum National D'Histoire Naturelle, Musée de L'Homme, Paris, France.,Unité de Formation Géosciences, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
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41
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Mondanaro A, Melchionna M, Di Febbraro M, Castiglione S, Holden PB, Edwards NR, Carotenuto F, Maiorano L, Modafferi M, Serio C, Diniz-Filho JAF, Rangel T, Rook L, O'Higgins P, Spikins P, Profico A, Raia P. A Major Change in Rate of Climate Niche Envelope Evolution during Hominid History. iScience 2020; 23:101693. [PMID: 33163945 PMCID: PMC7607486 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Homo sapiens is the only species alive able to take advantage of its cognitive abilities to inhabit almost all environments on Earth. Humans are able to culturally construct, rather than biologically inherit, their occupied climatic niche to a degree unparalleled within the animal kingdom. Precisely, when hominins acquired such an ability remains unknown, and scholars disagree on the extent to which our ancestors shared this same ability. Here, we settle this issue using fine-grained paleoclimatic data, extensive archaeological data, and phylogenetic comparative methods. Our results indicate that whereas early hominins were forced to live under physiologically suitable climatic conditions, with the emergence of H. heidelbergensis, the Homo climatic niche expanded beyond its natural limits, despite progressive harshening in global climates. This indicates that technological innovations providing effective exploitation of cold and seasonal habitats predated the emergence of Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens oversteps our ecological niche limits by means of culture The origin of Homo niche-construction ability is unknown We found Homo species other than H. sapiens were able to construct their own niche
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Mondanaro
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Resources Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples 80126, Italy.,Department of Earth Science. University of Florence, Florence 50121, Italy
| | - Marina Melchionna
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Resources Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples 80126, Italy
| | - Mirko Di Febbraro
- Department of Bioscience and Territory. University of Molise, Pesche, Isernia 86090, Italy
| | - Silvia Castiglione
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Resources Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples 80126, Italy
| | - Philip B Holden
- School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6BJ, UK
| | - Neil R Edwards
- School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6BJ, UK
| | - Francesco Carotenuto
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Resources Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples 80126, Italy
| | - Luigi Maiorano
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies Charles Darwin, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome 00185, Italy
| | - Maria Modafferi
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Resources Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples 80126, Italy
| | - Carmela Serio
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Josè A F Diniz-Filho
- Department of Ecology, ICB, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia 74968-755, Brasil
| | - Thiago Rangel
- Department of Ecology, ICB, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia 74968-755, Brasil
| | - Lorenzo Rook
- Department of Earth Science. University of Florence, Florence 50121, Italy
| | - Paul O'Higgins
- Department of Archaeology and Hull York Medical School, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Penny Spikins
- Department of Archaeology and Hull York Medical School, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Antonio Profico
- Department of Archaeology and Hull York Medical School, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Pasquale Raia
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Resources Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples 80126, Italy
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42
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Bolter DR, Cameron N. Utilizing auxology to understand ontogeny of extinct hominins: A case study on Homo naledi. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 173:368-380. [PMID: 32537780 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Revised: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The methods used to study human growth and development (auxology) have not previously been applied within the setting of hominin maturation (ontogeny). Ontogeny is defined here as the pattern of biological change into an adult form, both at the individual and species level. The hominin fossil record has a lack of recovered immature materials, due to such factors as taphonomic processes that destroy pre-adults; the fragility of immature compared to adult bone; and the lower mortality rates of juveniles compared to adults. The recent discovery of pre-adult hominin skeletal material from a single, homogeneous Homo naledi species from the Rising Star cave system in South Africa provides the opportunity for a broader application of auxology methods and thus the need to understand their use in a modern context. Human auxology studies benefit from a robust database, across multiple populations, and with longitudinal studies in order to assess the patterns and variations in typical growth, development and life history stages. Here, we review the approach, vocabulary, and methods of these human studies, investigate commonalities in data with the fossil record, and then advance the reconstruction of ontogeny for the extinct hominin species H. naledi. To this end, we apply an auxology model into the paleontological context to broadly predict H. naledi birthweight of the offspring at 2.06 kg with a range (±1 SD) of 1.89 to 2.24 kg, with a length at birth 45.5 cm. We estimate a H. naledi juvenile partial skeleton DH7 to be a height of 111-125 cm at death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debra R Bolter
- Department of Anthropology, Modesto Junior College, Modesto, California, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Noel Cameron
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
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43
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Scardia G, Neves WA, Tattersall I, Blumrich L. What kind of hominin first left Africa? Evol Anthropol 2020; 30:122-127. [PMID: 32893976 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Recent discoveries of stone tools from Jordan (2.5 Ma) and China (2.1 Ma) document hominin presence in Asia at the beginning of the Pleistocene, well before the conventional Dmanisi datum at 1.8 Ma. Although no fossil hominins documenting this earliest Out of Africa phase have been found, on chronological grounds a pre-Homo erectus hominin must be considered the most likely maker of those artifacts. If so, this sheds new light on at least two disputed subjects in paleoanthropology, namely the remarkable variation among the five Dmanisi skulls, and the ancestry of Homo floresiensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giancarlo Scardia
- Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas, Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - Walter A Neves
- Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Instituto de Estudos Avançados, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ian Tattersall
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, USA
| | - Lukas Blumrich
- Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Instituto de Estudos Avançados, São Paulo, Brazil
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44
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Rib cage anatomy in Homo erectus suggests a recent evolutionary origin of modern human body shape. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 4:1178-1187. [PMID: 32632258 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-1240-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The tall and narrow body shape of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) evolved via changes in the thorax, pelvis and limbs. It is debated, however, whether these modifications first evolved together in African Homo erectus, or whether H. erectus had a more primitive body shape that was distinct from both the more ape-like Australopithecus species and H. sapiens. Here we present the first quantitative three-dimensional reconstruction of the thorax of the juvenile H. erectus skeleton, KNM-WT 15000, from Nariokotome, Kenya, along with its estimated adult rib cage, for comparison with H. sapiens and the Kebara 2 Neanderthal. Our three-dimensional reconstruction demonstrates a short, mediolaterally wide and anteroposteriorly deep thorax in KNM-WT 15000 that differs considerably from the much shallower thorax of H. sapiens, pointing to a recent evolutionary origin of fully modern human body shape. The large respiratory capacity of KNM-WT 15000 is compatible with the relatively stocky, more primitive, body shape of H. erectus.
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45
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Ruff CB, Squyres N, Junno J. Body mass estimation in hominins from humeral articular dimensions. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 173:480-499. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher B. Ruff
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland USA
| | - Nicole Squyres
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland USA
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46
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Cazenave M, Dean C, Zanolli C, Oettlé AC, Hoffman J, Tawane M, Thackeray F, Macchiarelli R. Reassessment of the TM 1517 odonto-postcranial assemblage from Kromdraai B, South Africa, and the maturational pattern of Paranthropus robustus. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 172:714-722. [PMID: 32449177 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2019] [Revised: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The Pleistocene taxon Paranthropus robustus was established in 1938 following the discovery at Kromdraai B, South Africa, of the partial cranium TM 1517a and associated mandible TM 1517b. Shortly thereafter, a distal humerus (TM 1517g), a proximal ulna (TM 1517e), and a distal hallucial phalanx (TM 1517k) were collected nearby at the site, and were considered to be associated with the holotype. TM 1517a-b represents an immature individual; however, no analysis of the potentially associated postcranial elements has investigated the presence of any endostructural remnant of recent epiphyseal closure. This study aims at tentatively detecting such traces in the three postcranial specimens from Kromdraai B. MATERIALS AND METHODS By using μXCT techniques, we assessed the developmental stage of the TM 1517b's C-M3 roots and investigated the inner structure of TM 1517g, TM 1517e, and TM 1517k. RESULTS The M2 shows incompletely closed root apices and the M3 a half-completed root formation stage. The distal humerus was likely completely fused, while the proximal ulna and the distal hallucial phalanx preserve endosteal traces of the diaphyseo-epiphyseal fusion process. DISCUSSION In the hominin fossil record, there are few unambiguously associated craniodental and postcranial remains sampling immature individuals, an essential condition for assessing the taxon-specific maturational patterns. Our findings corroborate the original association of the craniodental and postcranial remains representing the P. robustus type specimen. As with other Plio-Pleistocene hominins, the odonto-postcranial maturational pattern of TM 1517 more closely fits an African great ape rather than the extant human pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Cazenave
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.,Department of Anatomy and Histology, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Christopher Dean
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK.,Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Anna C Oettlé
- Department of Anatomy and Histology, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria, South Africa.,Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Jakobus Hoffman
- South African Nuclear Energy Corporation SOC, Ltd., Pelindaba, South Africa
| | - Mirriam Tawane
- Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Francis Thackeray
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Roberto Macchiarelli
- UMR 7194 CNRS, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Musée de l'Homme, Paris, France.,Unité de Formation Géosciences, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
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47
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Coil R, Tappen M, Ferring R, Bukhsianidze M, Nioradze M, Lordkipanidze D. Spatial patterning of the archaeological and paleontological assemblage at Dmanisi, Georgia: An analysis of site formation and carnivore-hominin interaction in Block 2. J Hum Evol 2020; 143:102773. [PMID: 32272350 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Revised: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
This study addresses the roles of biotic agents in site formation in the B1 strata of Block 2 at Dmanisi, Georgia, using theoretical and analogous frameworks for the interpretation of spatial behaviors of carnivores and hominins. For this study, stone material, faunal remains, and coprolites are analyzed to determine if any spatially distinct behaviors can be identified, located, and attributed to either hominins or carnivores. Faunal, stone, and coprolite assemblages are compared with each other, and lithic, taxonomic, and taphonomic subassemblages are compared with the overall distribution of their parent material. The spatial and taphonomic signatures suggest that hominin activity was only a small part of the contributing factors to site formation, whereas carnivores played a major role in the accumulation of bone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reed Coil
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Nazarbayev University, 53 Kabanbay Batyr Avenue, Nur-Sult, 010000, Kazakhstan; Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, 395 Humphrey Center, 301 19th Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN, 55755, USA.
| | - Martha Tappen
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, 395 Humphrey Center, 301 19th Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN, 55755, USA
| | - Reid Ferring
- Department of Geography and the Environment, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle #305279, Denton, TX, 76203, USA
| | - Maia Bukhsianidze
- Georgian National Museum, 3/10 Shota Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi, 0105, Georgia
| | - Medea Nioradze
- Georgian National Museum, 3/10 Shota Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi, 0105, Georgia
| | - David Lordkipanidze
- Georgian National Museum, 3/10 Shota Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi, 0105, Georgia
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48
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Bolter DR, Elliott MC, Hawks J, Berger LR. Immature remains and the first partial skeleton of a juvenile Homo naledi, a late Middle Pleistocene hominin from South Africa. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0230440. [PMID: 32236122 PMCID: PMC7112188 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2019] [Accepted: 02/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Immature remains are critical for understanding maturational processes in hominin species as well as for interpreting changes in ontogenetic development in hominin evolution. The study of these subjects is hindered by the fact that associated juvenile remains are extremely rare in the hominin fossil record. Here we describe an assemblage of immature remains of Homo naledi recovered from the 2013–2014 excavation season. From this assemblage, we attribute 16 postcranial elements and a partial mandible with some dentition to a single juvenile Homo naledi individual. The find includes postcranial elements never before discovered as immature elements in the sub-equatorial early hominin fossil record, and contributes new data to the field of hominin ontogeny.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debra R. Bolter
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, Modesto Junior College, Modesto, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Marina C. Elliott
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - John Hawks
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Lee R. Berger
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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49
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Rosas A, Losada Agustina B, García-Martínez D, Torres-Tamayo N, García-Tabernero A, Pastor JF, Rasilla MDL, Bastir M. Analyses of the neandertal patellae from El Sidrón (Asturias, Spain) with implications for the evolution of body form in Homo. J Hum Evol 2020; 141:102738. [PMID: 32146203 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Revised: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of the body form in Homo and its potential morphological connection to the arrangement of different skeletal systems is of major interest in human evolution. Patella morphology as part of the knee is potentially influenced by body form. Here, we describe for the first time the patellae remains recovered at El Sidrón Neandertal site and analyze them in a comparative evolutionary framework. We aim to clarify whether morphometric features frequently observed in Neandertal and modern human patellae are retained from a primitive anatomical arrangement or whether they represent derived features (apomorphies). For this purpose, we combine analyses of discrete features, classic anthropological measurements, and 3D geometric morphometrics based on generalized Procrustes analysis, mean size and shape comparisons, and principal components analysis. We found a size increment of the patella in hominin evolution, with large species showing a larger patella. Modern humans and Neandertals exhibit overall larger patellae, with maximum values observed in the latter, likely as a consequence of their broader body shape. Also, some Neandertals display a thicker patella, which has been linked to larger quadriceps muscles. However, Neandertals retain a primitive morphology in their patellar articular surfaces, with similar-sized lateral and medial articular facets, leading to a more symmetrical internal face. This feature is inherited from a primitive Homo ancestor and suggests a different configuration of the knee in Neandertals. Conversely, Homo sapiens exhibits an autoapomorphic patellar anatomy with expanded lateral articular facets. We propose that these distinct configurations of the patella within Homo may be a consequence of different body forms rather than specific functional adaptations of the knee. Thus, the slender body form of modern humans may entail a medial reorientation of the tibial tuberosity (patellar ligament), allowing lateral surface expansion. These anatomical evolutionary variations may involve subtle secondary differences in bipedalism within Homo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Rosas
- Group of Paleoanthropology MNCN-CSIC, Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Beatriz Losada Agustina
- Group of Paleoanthropology MNCN-CSIC, Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid, Spain
| | - Daniel García-Martínez
- Group of Paleoanthropology MNCN-CSIC, Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid, Spain; Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, CENIEH, Avenida de La Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain
| | - Nicole Torres-Tamayo
- Group of Paleoanthropology MNCN-CSIC, Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio García-Tabernero
- Group of Paleoanthropology MNCN-CSIC, Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Francisco Pastor
- Museo Anatómico, Departamento de Anatomía Humana, Universidad de Valladolid, C. Ramón y Cajal 7, 47005, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Marco de la Rasilla
- Área de Prehistoria Departamento de Historia, Universidad de Oviedo, Calle Teniente Alfonso Martínez S/n, 33011, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Markus Bastir
- Group of Paleoanthropology MNCN-CSIC, Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid, Spain
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50
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Savell KRR. Evolvability in human postcranial traits across ecogeographic regions. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 172:110-122. [PMID: 31912894 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Though recent quantitative genetic analyses have indicated that directional selection appears to be acting on limb lengths and measures of body size in modern humans, these studies assume equal evolvability across modern human groups. However, differences in trait covariance structure due to ancient migration patterns and/or selection may limit the evolvability of populations further from Africa. This study therefore explores patterns of human evolvability across ecogeographic regions. MATERIALS AND METHODS Mean evolvability, respondability, conditional evolvability, and autonomy were calculated from variance-covariance matrices of limb length and body size measures representing 14 human groups spanning four ecogeographic regions. Measures of evolvability were compared across groups and regions, and the minimum sample size, inaccuracy, and bias were calculated for each. RESULTS When compared between regions, humans demonstrate significant differences between indices of evolvability across regions. Despite the relatively recent evolution of modern humans, several measures of evolvability show a strong negative correlation with latitude across regions, demonstrating a reduction in genetic variance that is potentially reflective of human migration and/or response to selection. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate the importance of establishing patterns of evolvability prior to additional quantitative genetic analyses, and emphasize the influence of sample size on the accuracy of estimated evolvability measures. These findings also suggest that while modern human groups share similar covariance structures, there is evidence for emergent differentiation in evolvability and respondability between human groups across ecogeographic regions, further complicating our ability to apply results derived from modern human groups to ancient hominin lineages.
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