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Leder D, Lehmann J, Milks A, Koddenberg T, Sietz M, Vogel M, Böhner U, Terberger T. The wooden artifacts from Schöningen's Spear Horizon and their place in human evolution. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2320484121. [PMID: 38557183 PMCID: PMC11009636 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2320484121] [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: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Ethnographic records show that wooden tools played a pivotal role in the daily lives of hunter-gatherers including food procurement tools used in hunting (e.g., spears, throwing sticks) and gathering (e.g. digging sticks, bark peelers), as well as, domestic tools (e.g., handles, vessels). However, wood rarely survives in the archeological record, especially in Pleistocene contexts and knowledge of prehistoric hunter-gatherer lifeways is strongly biased by the survivorship of more resilient materials such as lithics and bones. Consequently, very few Paleolithic sites have produced wooden artifacts and among them, the site of Schöningen stands out due to its number and variety of wooden tools. The recovery of complete wooden spears and throwing sticks at this 300,000-y-old site (MIS 9) led to a paradigm shift in the hunter vs. scavenger debate. For the first time and almost 30 y after their discovery, this study introduces the complete wooden assemblage from Schöningen 13 II-4 known as the Spear Horizon. In total, 187 wooden artifacts could be identified from the Spear Horizon demonstrating a broad spectrum of wood-working techniques, including the splitting technique. A minimum of 20 hunting weapons is now recognized and two newly identified artifact types comprise 35 tools made on split woods, which were likely used in domestic activities. Schöningen 13 II-4 represents the largest Pleistocene wooden artifact assemblage worldwide and demonstrates the key role woodworking had in human evolution. Finally, our results considerably change the interpretation of the Pleistocene lakeshore site of Schöningen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk Leder
- Department of Archaeology, Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage, Hannover30175, Germany
| | - Jens Lehmann
- Department of Archaeology, Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage, Hannover30175, Germany
| | - Annemieke Milks
- Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Earley, ReadingRG6 6AX, United Kingdom
| | - Tim Koddenberg
- Department of Wood Biology and Wood Products, Georg-August University Göttingen, Gottingen37077, Germany
| | - Michael Sietz
- Archaeological Conservation Unit, Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage, Hannover30175, Germany
| | - Matthias Vogel
- Archaeological Conservation Unit, Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage, Hannover30175, Germany
| | - Utz Böhner
- Department of Archaeology, Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage, Hannover30175, Germany
| | - Thomas Terberger
- Department of Archaeology, Lower Saxony State Office for Cultural Heritage, Hannover30175, Germany
- Department of Prehistoric Archaeology, Georg-August University Göttingen, Gottingen37073, Germany
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2
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Domínguez-Rodrigo M, Pizarro-Monzo M, Cifuentes-Alcobendas G, Vegara-Riquelme M, Jiménez-García B, Baquedano E. Computer vision enables taxon-specific identification of African carnivore tooth marks on bone. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6881. [PMID: 38519515 PMCID: PMC10959944 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57015-z] [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: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Taphonomic works aim at discovering how paleontological and archaeofaunal assemblages were formed. They also aim at determining how hominin fossils were preserved or destroyed. Hominins and other mammal carnivores have been co-evolving, at least during the past two million years, and their potential interactions determined the evolution of human behavior. In order to understand all this, taxon-specific carnivore agency must be effectively identified in the fossil record. Until now, taphonomists have been able to determine, to some degree, hominin and carnivore inputs in site formation, and their interactions in the modification of part of those assemblages. However, the inability to determine agency more specifically has hampered the development of taphonomic research, whose methods are virtually identical to those used several decades ago (lagged by a high degree of subjectivity). A call for more objective and agent-specific methods would be a major contribution to the advancement of taphonomic research. Here, we present one of these advances. The use of computer vision (CV) on a large data set of images of tooth marks has enabled the objective discrimination of taxon-specific carnivore agency up to 88% of the testing sample. We highlight the significance of this method in an interdisciplinary interplay between traditional taphonomic-paleontological analysis and artificial intelligence-based computer science. The new questions that can be addressed with this will certainly bring important changes to several ideas on important aspects of the human evolutionary process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain.
- Area of Prehistory (Department History and Philosophy), University of Alcalá, 28801, Alcalá de Henares, Spain.
- Department of Anthropology, Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX, 77005-1827, USA.
| | - Marcos Pizarro-Monzo
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain
- Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Gabriel Cifuentes-Alcobendas
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- Area of Prehistory (Department History and Philosophy), University of Alcalá, 28801, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Marina Vegara-Riquelme
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- Area of Prehistory (Department History and Philosophy), University of Alcalá, 28801, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Blanca Jiménez-García
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- Area of Prehistory (Department History and Philosophy), University of Alcalá, 28801, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Enrique Baquedano
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- Regional Paleontological and Archaeological Museum of Madrid, Plaza de las Bernardas S/N, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
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3
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Baker SA, Stewart FA, Piel AK. A case of suspected chimpanzee scavenging in the Issa Valley, Tanzania. Primates 2024; 65:41-48. [PMID: 37903999 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-023-01099-0] [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: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023]
Abstract
Like humans, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are well known for their vertebrate and invertebrate hunting, but they rarely scavenge. In contrast, while hunting and meat consumption became increasingly important during the evolution of the genus Homo, scavenging meat and marrow from carcasses of large mammals was also likely to be an important component of their subsistence strategies. Here, we describe a confrontational scavenging interaction between an adult male chimpanzee from the Issa Valley and a crowned eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus), which resulted in the chimpanzee capturing and consuming the carcass of a juvenile bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus). We describe the interaction and contextualize this with previous scavenging observations from chimpanzees.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fiona A Stewart
- University College London, London, UK
- Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
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4
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Cáceres I, Chelli Cheheb R, van der Made J, Harichane Z, Boulaghraief K, Sahnouni M. Assessing the subsistence strategies of the earliest North African inhabitants: evidence from the Early Pleistocene site of Ain Boucherit (Algeria). ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES 2023; 15:87. [PMID: 37251552 PMCID: PMC10220151 DOI: 10.1007/s12520-023-01783-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The archaeological data on the earliest hominin behavioral subsistence activities in North Africa are derived primarily from the Early Pleistocene site of Ain Boucherit (northeastern Algeria). Ain Boucherit consists of two archaeological layers, Ain Boucherit Upper (AB-Up) and Ain Boucherit Lower (AB-Lw), estimated to ~ 1.9 Ma and ~ 2.4 Ma, respectively. Cutmarked and hammerstone percussed bones associated with Oldowan stone tools were found in both layers, with AB-Lw yielding the oldest in North Africa. The faunal assemblages from both deposits are dominated by small-sized bovids and equids. Evidence of cutmarks and percussion marks in both assemblages shows that hominins exploited animal carcasses, involving skinning, evisceration and defleshing activities. The evidence of meat and marrow acquisition is more abundant at AB-Lw with carnivore activity being scarce. However, the AB-Up assemblage shows more carnivore damage and less hominin-induced tool marks. Ain Boucherit evidence, is similar, in type and chronology, to that provided by the Early Pleistocene sites in East Africa (e.g., the Gona sites), where the oldest evidence of stone tools used in faunal exploitation have been discovered. This paper reports on the ability of early North African Oldowans to compete successfully for accessing animal resources with other predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Cáceres
- Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Razika Chelli Cheheb
- Centre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques (CNRPAH), Algiers, Algeria
| | - Jan van der Made
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales & Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Zoheir Harichane
- Centre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques (CNRPAH), Algiers, Algeria
- Musée Public National du Bardo, Algiers, Algeria
| | - Kamel Boulaghraief
- Centre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques (CNRPAH), Algiers, Algeria
| | - Mohamed Sahnouni
- Centre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques (CNRPAH), Algiers, Algeria
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Stone Age Institute & Anthropology Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN USA
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5
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Mora R, Aramendi J, Courtenay LA, González-Aguilera D, Yravedra J, Maté-González MÁ, Prieto-Herráez D, Vázquez-Rodríguez JM, Barja I. Ikhnos: A Novel Software to Register and Analyze Bone Surface Modifications Based on Three-Dimensional Documentation. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12202861. [PMID: 36290248 PMCID: PMC9598086 DOI: 10.3390/ani12202861] [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: 09/15/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Here we present a novel open-access 3D software called Ikhnos to register and analyze bone surface modifications in bone assemblages using a sample of wild and captive wolf populations as an example to demonstrate the possibilities offered by this newly developed toolkit. The study of bone surface modifications has been proven crucial in understanding archaeological and paleontological site formation processes, including the identification of the assemblage causal agent. The use of the tools provided by Ikhnos will help interpret the fossil record by allowing the generation of accurate biological and physicochemical referential models as well as the precise documentation of bone surface modifications in archaeological and paleontological assemblages. Abstract The study of bone surface modifications (BSM) is crucial in understanding site formation processes and the identification of the causal agent behind bone assemblages in the fossil record. In that line, many efforts have been made to generate referential models based on feeding experiments and human butchery simulations that can then be used to interpret the patterns observed in archaeological and paleontological sites. Considering these needs, we developed a novel open-access three-dimensional (3D) software called Ikhnos for the study of BSM distribution patterns on limb long bones. This software is comprised of all the necessary tools for the 3D documentation of BSM and bone breakage patterns, as well as the subsequent statistical analysis of this data due to the integration of an exclusive R library, the IkhnosToolBox. Additionally, Ikhnos integrates tools for bone survivorship calculations that could facilitate the estimation of the minimum number of elements (MNE) and minimum number of individuals (MNI). As a demonstration of its precision, here we present a case study analyzing the modifications produced by wild and captive wolf (Canis lupus signatus) populations of the Iberian Peninsula on deer carcasses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rocío Mora
- Department of Cartographic and Land Engineering, Higher Polytechnic School of Avila, Universidad de Salamanca, Hornos Caleros 50, 05003 Ávila, Spain
| | - Julia Aramendi
- Department of Cartographic and Land Engineering, Higher Polytechnic School of Avila, Universidad de Salamanca, Hornos Caleros 50, 05003 Ávila, Spain
- Department of Geology, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco-Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48940 Leioa, Spain
| | - Lloyd A. Courtenay
- Department of Cartographic and Land Engineering, Higher Polytechnic School of Avila, Universidad de Salamanca, Hornos Caleros 50, 05003 Ávila, Spain
- Department of Prehistory, Ancient History and Archaeology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Prof. Aranguren 8 s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Diego González-Aguilera
- Department of Cartographic and Land Engineering, Higher Polytechnic School of Avila, Universidad de Salamanca, Hornos Caleros 50, 05003 Ávila, Spain
- Correspondence:
| | - José Yravedra
- Department of Prehistory, Ancient History and Archaeology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Prof. Aranguren 8 s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- C.A.I. Archaeometry and Archaeological Analysis, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Ángel Maté-González
- Department of Cartographic and Land Engineering, Higher Polytechnic School of Avila, Universidad de Salamanca, Hornos Caleros 50, 05003 Ávila, Spain
- Department of Topographic and Cartography Engineering, Higher Technical School of Engineers in Topography, Geodesy and Cartography, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Mercator 2, 28031 Madrid, Spain
| | - Diego Prieto-Herráez
- Department of Cartographic and Land Engineering, Higher Polytechnic School of Avila, Universidad de Salamanca, Hornos Caleros 50, 05003 Ávila, Spain
- Institute of Fundamental Physics and Mathematics, Merced Building, Universidad de Salamanca, Plaza de la Merced 1, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
| | - José Mª Vázquez-Rodríguez
- Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, Humanities Faculty, UNED, C/Senda del Rey, 7, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Isabel Barja
- Zoology Unit, Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/Darwin 2, Campus Universitario de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
- Centre of Investigation in Biodiversity and Global Change (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
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6
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Cobo-Sánchez L, Pizarro-Monzo M, Cifuentes-Alcobendas G, Jiménez García B, Abellán Beltrán N, Courtenay LA, Mabulla A, Baquedano E, Domínguez-Rodrigo M. Computer vision supports primary access to meat by early Homo 1.84 million years ago. PeerJ 2022; 10:e14148. [PMID: 36275476 PMCID: PMC9586113 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Human carnivory is atypical among primates. Unlike chimpanzees and bonobos, who are known to hunt smaller monkeys and eat them immediately, human foragers often cooperate to kill large animals and transport them to a safe location to be shared. While it is known that meat became an important part of the hominin diet around 2.6-2 Mya, whether intense cooperation and food sharing developed in conjunction with the regular intake of meat remains unresolved. A widespread assumption is that early hominins acquired animal protein through klepto-parasitism at felid kills. This should be testable by detecting felid-specific bone modifications and tooth marks on carcasses consumed by hominins. Here, deep learning (DL) computer vision was used to identify agency through the analysis of tooth pits and scores on bones recovered from the Early Pleistocene site of DS (Bed I, Olduvai Gorge). We present the first objective evidence of primary access to meat by hominins 1.8 Mya by showing that the most common securely detectable bone-modifying fissipeds at the site were hyenas. The absence of felid modifications in most of the carcasses analyzed indicates that hominins were the primary consumers of most animals accumulated at the site, with hyenas intervening at the post-depositional stage. This underscores the role of hominins as a prominent part of the early Pleistocene African carnivore guild. It also stresses the major (and potentially regular) role that meat played in the diet that configured the emergence of early Homo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucía Cobo-Sánchez
- Institute of Evolution in Africa, University of Alcala, Madrid, Madrid, Spain,Institute of Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | | | - Gabriel Cifuentes-Alcobendas
- Institute of Evolution in Africa, University of Alcala, Madrid, Madrid, Spain,Area of Prehistory (Department History and Philosophy, University of Alcala, Alcala de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Blanca Jiménez García
- Institute of Evolution in Africa, University of Alcala, Madrid, Madrid, Spain,Area of Prehistory (Department History and Philosophy, University of Alcala, Alcala de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Natalia Abellán Beltrán
- Institute of Evolution in Africa, University of Alcala, Madrid, Madrid, Spain,Department of Artificial Intelligence of UNED (National University for Distance Education), UNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Lloyd A. Courtenay
- Department of Cartographic and Terrain Engineering, Superior Polytechnic School of Ávila,, University of Salamanca, Avila, Spain
| | - Audax Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Enrique Baquedano
- Institute of Evolution in Africa, University of Alcala, Madrid, Madrid, Spain,Regional Paleontological and Archaeological Museum of Madrid, Alcala de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo
- Institute of Evolution in Africa, University of Alcala, Madrid, Madrid, Spain,Area of Prehistory (Department History and Philosophy, University of Alcala, Alcala de Henares, Madrid, Spain,Department of Anthropology, Rice University, Houston, TX, United States of America
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7
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Hagen EH. The Biological Roots of Music and Dance : Extending the Credible Signaling Hypothesis to Predator Deterrence. HUMAN NATURE (HAWTHORNE, N.Y.) 2022; 33:261-279. [PMID: 35986877 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-022-09429-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
After they diverged from panins, hominins evolved an increasingly committed terrestrial lifestyle in open habitats that exposed them to increased predation pressure from Africa's formidable predator guild. In the Pleistocene, Homo transitioned to a more carnivorous lifestyle that would have further increased predation pressure. An effective defense against predators would have required a high degree of cooperation by the smaller and slower hominins. It is in the interest of predator and potential prey to avoid encounters that will be costly for both. A wide variety of species, including carnivores and apes and other primates, have therefore evolved visual and auditory signals that deter predators by credibly signaling detection and/or the ability to effectively defend themselves. In some cooperative species, these predator deterrent signals involve highly synchronized visual and auditory displays among group members. Hagen and Bryant (Human Nature, 14(1), 21-51, 2003) proposed that synchronized visual and auditory displays credibly signal coalition quality. Here, this hypothesis is extended to include credible signals to predators that they have been detected and would be met with a highly coordinated defensive response, thereby deterring an attack. Within-group signaling functions are also proposed. The evolved cognitive abilities underlying these behaviors were foundations for the evolution of fully human music and dance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward H Hagen
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, 14204 NE Salmon Creek Ave, Vancouver, WA, 98686, USA.
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8
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Domínguez-Rodrigo M, Egeland CP, Cobo-Sánchez L, Baquedano E, Hulbert RC. Sabertooth carcass consumption behavior and the dynamics of Pleistocene large carnivoran guilds. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6045. [PMID: 35501323 PMCID: PMC9061710 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-09480-7] [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: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractApex predators play an important role in the top-down regulation of ecological communities. Their hunting and feeding behaviors influence, respectively, prey demography and the availability of resources to other consumers. Among the most iconic—and enigmatic—terrestrial predators of the late Cenozoic are the Machairodontinae, a diverse group of big cats whose hypertrophied upper canines have earned them the moniker “sabertooths.” Many aspects of these animals’ paleobiology, especially their prey preferences and carcass consumption behavior, remain unsettled. While skeletal anatomy, dental morphology and wear, and isotopic profiles provide important insights, the most direct way to resolve these issues is through the fossil remains of sabertooth prey. Here, we report on a taphonomic analysis of an early Pleistocene faunal assemblage from Haile 21A (Florida, USA) that preserves feeding damage from the lion-sized sabertooth Xenosmilus hodsonae. Patterns of tooth-marking and bone damage indicate that Xenosmilus fully defleshed the carcasses of their prey and even engaged in some minor bone consumption. This has important implications for Pleistocene carnivoran guild dynamics, including the carcass foraging behavior of the first stone-tool-using hominins.
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Late Quaternary Proboscidean Sites in Africa and Eurasia with Possible or Probable Evidence for Hominin Involvement. QUATERNARY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/quat5010018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
This paper presents a list of >100 publicly known late Quaternary proboscidean sites that have certain or possible traces of hominin utilization in Africa, Europe, and Asia, along with a sample of references, chronometric or estimated ages, and brief descriptions of the associated materials and bone modifications. Summary discussions of important sites are also presented. Lower Palaeolithic/Early Stone Age hominins created far fewer proboscidean site assemblages than hominins in later Palaeolithic phases, in spite of the time span being many times longer. Middle Palaeolithic/Middle Stone Age hominins created assemblages at eight times the earlier hominin rate. Upper Palaeolithic/Later Stone Age hominins created site assemblages at >90 times the rate of Lower Palaeolithic hominins. Palaeoloxodon spp. occur in nearly one third of the sites with an identified or probable proboscidean taxon and Mammuthus species are in nearly one half of the sites with identified or probable taxon. Other identified proboscidean genera, such as Elephas, Loxodonta, and Stegodon, occur in few sites. The sites show variability in the intensity of carcass utilization, the quantity of lithics bedded with bones, the extent of bone surface modifications, such as cut marks, the diversity of associated fauna, and mortality profiles.
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10
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No sustained increase in zooarchaeological evidence for carnivory after the appearance of Homo erectus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:2115540119. [PMID: 35074877 PMCID: PMC8812535 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115540119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Many quintessential human traits (e.g., larger brains) first appear in Homo erectus. The evolution of these traits is commonly linked to a major dietary shift involving increased consumption of animal tissues. Early archaeological sites preserving evidence of carnivory predate the appearance of H. erectus, but larger, well-preserved sites only appear after the arrival of H. erectus. This qualitative pattern is a key tenet of the “meat made us human” viewpoint, but data from sites across eastern Africa have not been quantitatively synthesized to test this hypothesis. Our analysis shows no sustained increase in the relative amount of evidence for carnivory after the appearance of H. erectus, calling into question the primacy of carnivory in shaping its evolutionary history. The appearance of Homo erectus shortly after 2.0 Ma is widely considered a turning point in human dietary evolution, with increased consumption of animal tissues driving the evolution of larger brain and body size and a reorganization of the gut. An increase in the size and number of zooarchaeological assemblages after the appearance of H. erectus is often offered as a central piece of archaeological evidence for increased carnivory in this species, but this characterization has yet to be subject to detailed scrutiny. Any widespread dietary shift leading to the acquisition of key traits in H. erectus should be persistent in the zooarchaeological record through time and can only be convincingly demonstrated by a broad-scale analysis that transcends individual sites or localities. Here, we present a quantitative synthesis of the zooarchaeological record of eastern Africa from 2.6 to 1.2 Ma. We show that several proxies for the prevalence of hominin carnivory are all strongly related to how well the fossil record has been sampled, which constrains the zooarchaeological visibility of hominin carnivory. When correcting for sampling effort, there is no sustained increase in the amount of evidence for hominin carnivory between 2.6 and 1.2 Ma. Our observations undercut evolutionary narratives linking anatomical and behavioral traits to increased meat consumption in H. erectus, suggesting that other factors are likely responsible for the appearance of its human-like traits.
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11
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Domínguez-Rodrigo M, Courtenay LA, Cobo-Sánchez L, Baquedano E, Mabulla A. A case of hominin scavenging 1.84 million years ago from Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania). Ann N Y Acad Sci 2021; 1510:121-131. [PMID: 34881434 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14727] [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: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 10/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Meat eating is one of the hallmarks of human evolution. It has been linked to the beginning of stone tool use, to physiological changes leading to crucial anatomical transformations defining our genus, and to new socioreproductive and cognitive behaviors. Uncontroversial evidence of meat eating goes back to 2.6 million years ago; however, little is known about the frequency and timing with which early hominins acquired animal resources. Here, we show that the combination of hunting and scavenging documented in some modern human foragers may have a long evolutionary trajectory. Using a new set of artificial intelligence methods for objective identification, we present direct evidence of an episode of hominins scavenging from large felids-probably lions-discovered at Olduvai Gorge (DS site, Bed I). This casts a new perspective on the diversity of hominin carcass acquisition behaviors and survival strategies, and places some early Pleistocene hominins in ecological proximity to African large carnivore guilds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University and Regional Archaeological Museum of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Area of Prehistory (Department History and Philosophy), University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain.,Department of Anthropology, Rice University, Houston, Texas
| | - Lloyd A Courtenay
- Department of Cartographic and Terrain Engineering, Higher Polytechnic School of Ávila, University of Salamanca, Ávila, Spain
| | - Lucía Cobo-Sánchez
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University and Regional Archaeological Museum of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Computational Archaeology (CoDArchLab), Institute of Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Enrique Baquedano
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University and Regional Archaeological Museum of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Regional Archaeological Museum of Madrid, Plaza de las Bernardas s/n, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Audax Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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