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Malherbe M, Webb N, Palisson-Kramer M, Ndiema EK, Braun DR, Haeusler M, Forrest F. Ecomorphology in Kenya's Koobi Fora Formation: Reconstructing Early Pleistocene hominin paleoenvironments with 3D geometric morphometric analyses of bovid metapodials. J Hum Evol 2025; 203:103681. [PMID: 40273661 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103681] [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: 10/03/2024] [Revised: 03/26/2025] [Accepted: 03/26/2025] [Indexed: 04/26/2025]
Abstract
This research presents a new method of ecological morphology (ecomorphology) analysis using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to quantify shape variation in extant bovid metapodials with known habitat preferences. Extant data were used to create a model for classifying bones into distinct habitat categories and to test functional hypotheses related to locomotor behavior in different habitats. The model was then applied to fossils from the Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya, to assess the environmental context during important events in hominin evolution. The use of three-dimensional geometric morphometrics demonstrates significant improvement over traditional methods using caliper measurements. Discriminant function analysis successfully classified 94% of metacarpals and 93% of metatarsals into their correct habitat categories for modern specimens. The protocol was reduced to a subset of landmarks focused on the distal epiphyses. This model produced greater overlap, but classification success rates remained high, with 82% and 83% correct classification for modern metacarpals and metatarsals, respectively. We applied the reduced model to metapodials from Upper Burgi (1.98-1.87 Ma), KBS (1.87-1.56 Ma), and Okote (1.56-1.38 Ma) members in the Koobi Fora Formation. This location is important to understanding human evolution, fossil diversity, and paleoecology. Moreover, previous studies on faunal abundance, paleosol carbonates, and carbon isotopes provide a robust framework to compare the findings of this study. Our analyses classified the majority of fossil specimens as open-habitat dwellers, with a few specimens grouped as closed-adapted, the highest number of these falling within the Okote Member sample. This suggests that open and likely xeric environments dominated the East Turkana region during the Early Pleistocene. These findings are consistent with many previous reconstructions, though with a more open signal for the Okote Member than expected based on bovid abundance research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Malherbe
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich, 190 Winterthurerstrasse, Zürich, 8001, Switzerland; Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Woolsack Drive, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa.
| | - Nicole Webb
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich, 190 Winterthurerstrasse, Zürich, 8001, Switzerland; Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 23 Rümelinstrasse, Tübingen, 72074, Germany
| | - Magdalena Palisson-Kramer
- School of Anthropology, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna, San Joaquín, Santiago, 7820436, Chile
| | - Emmanuel K Ndiema
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya
| | - David R Braun
- Technological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, 04103, Germany; Department of Anthropology and Centre for Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, 20052, USA
| | - Martin Haeusler
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich, 190 Winterthurerstrasse, Zürich, 8001, Switzerland
| | - Frances Forrest
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Fairfield University, 1073 N Benson Rd, Fairfield, CT, 06824, USA; American Museum of Natural History, 200 Central Park West, New York, NY, 10024, USA.
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2
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Gruwier B, Kovarovic K. Paleoenvironments at the Homo erectus type locality of Trinil (Java, Indonesia): The artiodactyl evidence. J Hum Evol 2025; 200:103638. [PMID: 39965465 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103638] [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: 03/03/2024] [Revised: 12/17/2024] [Accepted: 12/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2025]
Abstract
In this study, we assess the artiodactyl fossil record of the Homo erectus type locality of Trinil (Indonesia) and explore the paleoenvironmental implications for the site and for our understanding of early hominin paleoecology. Combining ecomorphological analyses on postcranial elements of cervids from Trinil (n = 43) with a range of existing paleobiological and paleoecological data on the bovids and cervids, a holistic reconstruction is made of the ecology of the artiodactyl community. The ecomorphological analyses indicate that the cervid Axis lydekkeri was adapted to relatively open environments with wet substrate. In combination with evidence of the other families, these results are compared in a correspondence analysis with the artiodactyl communities of contemporary Asian nature reserves. Trinil was shown to be similar to a number of Mainland Southeast Asian sites and reconstructed as an open woodland habitat with a wet component, possibly in the form of alluvial grasslands. The paleoenvironmental conditions reconstructed for Trinil indicate that Homo erectus was present in relatively open environments but that it still had a significant degree of environmental flexibility and was able to persist in wet and dry environments, with a vegetation structure ranging from grassland to open woodland.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Gruwier
- Archaeology, Environmental Changes and Geo-Chemistry Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium; Department of Anthropology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.
| | - K Kovarovic
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
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3
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Ekström AG, Gärdenfors P, Snyder WD, Friedrichs D, McCarthy RC, Tsapos M, Tennie C, Strait DS, Edlund J, Moran S. Correlates of Vocal Tract Evolution in Late Pliocene and Pleistocene Hominins. HUMAN NATURE (HAWTHORNE, N.Y.) 2025; 36:22-69. [PMID: 40244547 PMCID: PMC12058909 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-025-09487-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/20/2025] [Indexed: 04/18/2025]
Abstract
Despite decades of research on the emergence of human speech capacities, an integrative account consistent with hominin evolution remains lacking. We review paleoanthropological and archaeological findings in search of a timeline for the emergence of modern human articulatory morphological features. Our synthesis shows that several behavioral innovations coincide with morphological changes to the would-be speech articulators. We find that significant reductions of the mandible and masticatory muscles and vocal tract anatomy coincide in the hominin fossil record with the incorporation of processed and (ultimately) cooked food, the appearance and development of rudimentary stone tools, increases in brain size, and likely changes to social life and organization. Many changes are likely mutually reinforcing; for example, gracilization of the hominin mandible may have been maintainable in the lineage because food processing had already been outsourced to the hands and stone tools, reducing selection pressures for robust mandibles in the process. We highlight correlates of the evolution of craniofacial and vocal tract features in the hominin lineage and outline a timeline by which our ancestors became 'pre-adapted' for the evolution of fully modern human speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel G Ekström
- Speech, Music & Hearing, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
| | - Peter Gärdenfors
- Department of Philosophy, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Paleo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - William D Snyder
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Daniel Friedrichs
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Linguistics Research Infrastructure (LiRI), University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Robert C McCarthy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Benedictine University, Lisle, IL, US
| | - Melina Tsapos
- Department of Philosophy, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Claudio Tennie
- Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - David S Strait
- Paleo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, US
- DFG Center for Advanced Studies "Words, Bones, Genes, Tools", University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jens Edlund
- Speech, Music & Hearing, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Steven Moran
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Linguistics Research Infrastructure (LiRI), University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Anthropology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, US
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4
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Malherbe M, Pickering R, Stynder D, Haeusler M. The large mammal fossil fauna of the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa: a review. PeerJ 2025; 13:e18946. [PMID: 40017660 PMCID: PMC11867040 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.18946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2025] [Indexed: 03/01/2025] Open
Abstract
South Africa's Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site has remained the single richest source of hominin fossils for over ninety years. While its hominin specimens have been the subject of extensive research, the same is not true for its abundant faunal assemblages, despite their value in Plio-Pleistocene palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Moreover, precise ages and depositional histories have been historically difficult to assess, though advancements in both relative and absolute dating techniques are changing this. This review explores the history of non-hominin large mammal faunal reporting, palaeoenvironmental reconstructions based on these fauna, and dating histories (with a focus on biochronology) at the following eight fossil-bearing sites of the Cradle that have been radiometrically dated with uranium-lead: Bolt's Farm, Cooper's Cave, Drimolen, Haasgat, Hoogland, Malapa, Sterkfontein and Swartkrans. Continued efforts to provide more precise and direct ages for sites using a variety of methods indicate that the bulk of Cradle deposits date to between 3 and 1.4 Ma. We find that, across almost all eight sites, there is little discussion or debate surrounding faunal reports, with some sites described by a single publication. Many of the reports are decades old with little review or reanalysis in the years following, emphasising the need for reviews such as this one. Our analysis of the data indicates that faunal-based paleoenvironmental reconstructions across sites commonly show a trend of wooded landscapes giving way to grasslands. We find that these reconstructions are primarily based on faunal abundance data, despite the availability of many other informative analytical techniques. The findings of this review highlight a need for more extensive and robust faunal reporting, as this will aid in understanding the context of these Cradle sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Malherbe
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Robyn Pickering
- Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Deano Stynder
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Martin Haeusler
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
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5
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Fernandez R, Braga J. The morphology of the oval window in Paranthropus robustus compared to humans and other modern primates. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2025. [PMID: 39976196 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25644] [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: 08/01/2024] [Revised: 12/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/04/2025] [Indexed: 02/21/2025]
Abstract
The oval window (OW) is an opening connecting the inner and middle ear. Its area has been shown to consistently scale with body mass (BM) in primates, and has been used alongside semi-circular canal (SCC) size to differentiate Homo sapiens and fossil hominins, including Paranthropus robustus. However, while the morphology of other inner ear elements, such as cochlea and SCCs, has been extensively studied in primates, OW shape has received little attention. In this study, we assess OW morphological variability in extant primates, and compare P. robustus to extant hominids. The potential of OW size to predict BM is also assessed. For this, measurements were performed on 3D scans from extant primate species and of P. robustus from the sites of Kromdraai, Swartkrans, and Drimolen. Size was assessed using perimeter (OWP), area (OWA), and centroid size (OWCS). Shape was assessed using geometric morphometric methods. The OW has no sexual dimorphism; there is no size difference between juveniles and adults, but there is a slight shape difference between human juveniles and adults, with a seemingly opposite ontogenetic trajectory compared to other primates. P. robustus has an intermediary OW shape between apes and humans, with more ape-like specimens from Kromdraai and more human-like ones from Drimolen. Overall, OW morphology discriminates primate species well enough, especially H. sapiens. BM is well explained by OWA, but OWA is not reliable as a BM proxy due to high prediction errors. Nonetheless, the OWA of P. robustus suggests a BM close to that of a chimpanzee.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruy Fernandez
- Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon-Terre, Planètes, Environnement, CNRS UMR 5276, ENS de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Centre for Anthropobiology & Genomics of Toulouse, CNRS UMR 5288, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - José Braga
- Centre for Anthropobiology & Genomics of Toulouse, CNRS UMR 5288, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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6
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Curran SC, Drăgușin V, Pobiner B, Pante M, Hellstrom J, Woodhead J, Croitor R, Doboș A, Gogol SE, Ersek V, Keevil TL, Petculescu A, Popescu A, Robinson C, Werdelin L, Terhune CE. Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago. Nat Commun 2025; 16:836. [PMID: 39833162 PMCID: PMC11747263 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56154-9] [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: 05/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2025] [Indexed: 01/22/2025] Open
Abstract
The timing of the initial dispersal of hominins into Eurasia is unclear. Current evidence indicates hominins were present at Dmanisi, Georgia by 1.8 million years ago (Ma), but other ephemeral traces of hominins across Eurasia predate Dmanisi. However, no hominin remains have been definitively described from Europe until ~1.4 Ma. Here we present evidence of hominin activity at the site of Grăunceanu, Romania in the form of multiple cut-marked bones. Biostratigraphic and high-resolution U-Pb age estimates suggest Grăunceanu is > 1.95 Ma, making this site one of the best-dated early hominin localities in Europe. Environmental reconstructions based on isotopic analyzes of horse dentition suggest Grăunceanu would have been relatively temperate and seasonal, demonstrating a wide habitat tolerance in even the earliest hominins in Eurasia. Our results, presented along with multiple other lines of evidence, point to a widespread, though perhaps intermittent, presence of hominins across Eurasia by at least 2.0 Ma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina C Curran
- Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Ohio University; Athens, Ohio, USA.
| | - Virgil Drăgușin
- Emil Racoviţă Institute of Speleology, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Briana Pobiner
- Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Michael Pante
- Department of Anthropology and Geography, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - John Hellstrom
- School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Jon Woodhead
- School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Roman Croitor
- Institute of Zoology, Moldova State University, Chișinău, Republic of Moldova
| | - Adrian Doboș
- Department of Paleolithic Archaeology, Vasile Pârvan Institute of Archaeology, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Samantha E Gogol
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Vasile Ersek
- Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Trevor L Keevil
- Department of Anthropology and Geography, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | | | - Chris Robinson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bronx Community College, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Anthropology, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lars Werdelin
- Department of Paleozoology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Claire E Terhune
- Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
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7
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McRae RT, Wood B. Hominin fossil inventory: Quantification and comparison of discrete regional and element representation among early African fossil hominins prior to the emergence of Homo erectus. J Hum Evol 2025; 198:103615. [PMID: 39591817 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103615] [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: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 10/16/2024] [Accepted: 10/20/2024] [Indexed: 11/28/2024]
Abstract
For all but the past few hundred thousand years, skeletal and dental morphology is the only evidence we have of our extinct ancestors and close hominin relatives. With a few exceptions, most lists of early hominin fossils have been assembled for single sites, formations, or taxa, with little attention paid to how different regions of the skeleton contribute to taxon hypodigms. We recognize there are different ways to divide up the hominin fossil record into taxa, but here, we present an inventory of the fossil evidence for the hypodigms of 14 early African hominin taxa that predate the emergence of Homo erectus. The hypodigms are limited to specimens that have been published and unambiguously attributed to a species. We use a novel, fine-resolution coding scheme that allows us to provide detailed counts of element and subelement abundance by taxon. We then compare the element counts of the taxon hypodigms with each other and with a novel standard based on a perfectly preserved skeleton we refer to as 'hominin expected.' The resulting hypodigms generally support commonly held assumptions about the early hominin fossil record (e.g., teeth dominate the hypodigms of all taxa), but they do not support the conventional wisdom that there are differences in the regional representation of the hypodigms of taxa that are found exclusively in eastern versus southern Africa. These data and analyses are a first step in exploring the differences in the composition of early hominin hypodigms. They will allow researchers to focus their comparative research on skeletal regions that are well-represented in the early hominin fossil record, as well as serve as tools for developing and addressing hypodigm-scale hypotheses that are central to our understanding of hominin evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan T McRae
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA; CASHP and Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, 2110 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
| | - Bernard Wood
- CASHP and Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, 2110 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
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8
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Falk D, Marom A. The DNH 7 endocast of Paranthropus robustus from Drimolen, South Africa: Reconsidering the functional significance of an enlarged occipital-marginal (O/M) sinus system in robust australopithecines. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 185:e25010. [PMID: 39150888 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.25010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Revised: 07/08/2024] [Accepted: 07/25/2024] [Indexed: 08/18/2024]
Abstract
This paper presents a detailed analysis of the endocast of one of the most complete Paranthropus robustus crania known, DNH 7, from the Drimolen site (South Africa), and compares it with the morphology of other australopithecine endocasts. We focus on endocranial volume, the impressions of cortical sulci, cranial sutures, and the pattern of cranial venous sinuses on the endocast. A noteworthy observation is the estimated endocranial capacity of 403 cm3, which is small for an adult Paranthropus. Fragmentary sulci identified in the frontal and temporal lobes of DNH 7 exhibit similarities with patterns observed in chimpanzees and gracile australopithecines. We observe the presence of a large remnant of an occipital-marginal sinus on DNH 7 and provide an updated table of 13 Paranthropus endocasts that are scorable for this trait, which reinforces the hypothesis that an enlarged occipital-marginal (O/M) sinus system was fixed across the three species of Paranthropus. In light of this, the possible functional significance of the occipital-marginal sinus system is reevaluated considering the ontogenetic development of cranial venous blood flow in human children. This leads us to hypothesize that the ontogenetic development of cranial blood flow in Paranthropus and Australopithecus africanus infants were different and to suggest that Taung 1 was the only A. africanus specimen known to have exhibited an enlarged O/M sinus system because it was an immature individual.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dean Falk
- Department of Anthropology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Assaf Marom
- Department of Neuroscience, The Farkas Family Center for Anatomical Research and Education, Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
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9
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Yu W, Herries AIR, Edwards T, Armstrong B, Joannes-Boyau R. Combined uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating from the Pliocene fossil sites of Aves and Milo's palaeocaves, Bolt's Farm, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. PeerJ 2024; 12:e17478. [PMID: 38952976 PMCID: PMC11216204 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Bolt's Farm is the name given to a series of non-hominin bearing fossil sites that have often been suggested to be some of the oldest Pliocene sites in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. This article reports the results of the first combined Uranium-Series and Electron Spin Resonance (US-ESR) dating of bovid teeth at Milo's Cave and Aves Cave at Bolt's Farm. Both tooth enamel fragments and tooth enamel powder ages were presented for comparison. US-ESR, EU and LU models are calculated. Overall, the powder ages are consistent with previous uranium-lead and palaeomagnetic age estimates for the Aves Cave deposit, which suggest an age between ~3.15 and 2.61 Ma and provide the first ages for Milo's Cave dates to between ~3.1 and 2.7 Ma. The final ages were not overly dependent on the models used (US-ESR, LU or EU), which all overlap within error. These ages are all consistent with the biochronological age estimate (<3.4->2.6 Ma) based on the occurrence of Stage I Metridiochoerus andrewsi. Preliminary palaeomagnetic analysis from Milo's Cave indicates a reversal takes place at the site with predominantly intermediate directions, suggesting the deposit may date to the period between ~3.03 and 3.11 Ma within error of the ESR ages. This further suggests that there are no definitive examples of palaeocave deposits at Bolt's Farm older than 3.2 Ma. This research indicates that US-ESR dating has the potential to date fossil sites in the Cradle of Humankind to over 3 Ma. However, bulk sample analysis for US-ESR dating is recommended for sites over 3 Ma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjing Yu
- The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Wurundjeri Country, VIC, Australia
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia
| | - Andy I. R. Herries
- The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Wurundjeri Country, VIC, Australia
- Palaeo–Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Tara Edwards
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - Brian Armstrong
- Palaeo–Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
- Department of Infrastructure Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Renaud Joannes-Boyau
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia
- Palaeo–Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
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10
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Sekhavati Y, Strait D. Estimating ancestral ranges and biogeographical processes in early hominins. J Hum Evol 2024; 191:103547. [PMID: 38781711 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103547] [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: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 05/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Historical biogeography provides crucial insights into understanding the evolutionary history of hominins. We applied maximum-likelihood and biogeographical stochastic mapping to infer the ancestral ranges of hominins and estimate the frequency of biogeographical events. These events were inferred using two time-calibrated phylogenetic trees that differ in the position of Australopithecus sediba. Results suggest that regardless of which phylogeny was selected, Northcentral Africa was the preferred ancestral region for the ancestor of the Homo-Pan clade, as well as the ancestor of Sahelanthropus and later hominins. The northern and middle part of eastern Africa was the preferred ancestral region for several clades originating at subsequent deep nodes of the trees (∼5-4 Ma). The choice of tree topology had one important effect on results: whether hominin ancestors appearing after ∼4 Ma were widespread or endemic. These different patterns highlight the biogeographic significance of the phylogenetic relationships of A. sediba. Overall, the results showed that dispersal, local extinction, and sympatry played vital roles in creating the hominin distribution, whereas vicariance and jump dispersal were not as common. The results suggested symmetry in the directionality of dispersals. Distance probably influenced how rapidly taxa colonized a new region, and dispersals often followed the closest path. These findings are potentially impacted by the imperfection of the fossil record, suggesting that the results should be interpreted cautiously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeganeh Sekhavati
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
| | - David Strait
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Cnr Kingsway and University Road Auckland Park, PO Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa
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11
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Finestone EM, Plummer TW, Vincent TH, Blumenthal SA, Ditchfield PW, Bishop LC, Oliver JS, Herries AIR, Palfery CV, Lane TP, McGuire E, Reeves JS, Rodés A, Whitfield E, Braun DR, Bartilol SK, Rotich NK, Parkinson JA, Lemorini C, Caricola I, Kinyanjui RN, Potts R. New Oldowan locality Sare-Abururu (ca. 1.7 Ma) provides evidence of diverse hominin behaviors on the Homa Peninsula, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2024; 190:103498. [PMID: 38581918 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103498] [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: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
The Homa Peninsula, in southwestern Kenya, continues to yield insights into Oldowan hominin landscape behaviors. The Late Pliocene locality of Nyayanga (∼3-2.6 Ma) preserves some of the oldest Oldowan tools. At the Early Pleistocene locality of Kanjera South (∼2 Ma) toolmakers procured a diversity of raw materials from over 10 km away and strategically reduced them in a grassland-dominated ecosystem. Here, we report findings from Sare-Abururu, a younger (∼1.7 Ma) Oldowan locality approximately 12 km southeast of Kanjera South and 18 km east of Nyayanga. Sare-Abururu has yielded 1754 artifacts in relatively undisturbed low-energy silts and sands. Stable isotopic analysis of pedogenic carbonates suggests that hominin activities were carried out in a grassland-dominated setting with similar vegetation structure as documented at Kanjera South. The composition of a nearby paleo-conglomerate indicates that high-quality stone raw materials were locally abundant. Toolmakers at Sare-Abururu produced angular fragments from quartz pebbles, representing a considerable contrast to the strategies used to reduce high quality raw materials at Kanjera South. Although lithic reduction at Sare-Abururu was technologically simple, toolmakers proficiently produced cutting edges, made few mistakes and exhibited a mastery of platform management, demonstrating that expedient technical strategies do not necessarily indicate a lack of skill or suitable raw materials. Lithic procurement and reduction patterns on the Homa Peninsula appear to reflect variation in local resource contexts rather than large-scale evolutionary changes in mobility, energy budget, or toolmaker cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma M Finestone
- Department of Anthropology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval Dr, Cleveland, OH, 44113, United States; Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.
| | - Thomas W Plummer
- Department of Anthropology, Queens College, 314 Powdermaker Hall 65-30 Kissena Boulevard Flushing, Flushing, NY, 11367, United States; The CUNY Graduate Center, 365 5th Ave, New York, NY, 10016, United States; Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, DC, 20560, United States
| | - Thomas H Vincent
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, United Kingdom
| | - Scott A Blumenthal
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, DC, 20560, United States; Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, 1585 East 13th Avenue, Eugene, OR, 97403, United States; Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2020 - 2207 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Peter W Ditchfield
- School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 1 S Parks Rd, Oxford, OX1 3TG, United Kingdom
| | - Laura C Bishop
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, United Kingdom
| | - James S Oliver
- Anthropology Section, Illinois State Museum, 502 S Spring St, Springfield, IL, 62706, United States
| | - Andy I R Herries
- The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Department Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Melbourne Victoria, 3086, Australia; Paleo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, 42 Bunting Rd, Cottesloe, Johannesburg, 2092, South Africa
| | - Christopher Vere Palfery
- The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Department Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Melbourne Victoria, 3086, Australia
| | - Timothy P Lane
- Geography and Environmental Science Research Group, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth McGuire
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, 1585 East 13th Avenue, Eugene, OR, 97403, United States
| | - Jonathan S Reeves
- Technological Origins Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Pl. 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany; Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, 800 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC, 20052, United States
| | - Angel Rodés
- Departamento de Xeografía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Praza da Universidade,1, 15703 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, University of Glasgow, Rankine Ave, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, East Kilbride G75 0QF, United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth Whitfield
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, United Kingdom
| | - David R Braun
- Technological Origins Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Pl. 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany; Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, 800 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC, 20052, United States
| | - Simion K Bartilol
- Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Nelson Kiprono Rotich
- Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197, Nairobi, Kenya; Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, Dorodna 16, 03-195, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jennifer A Parkinson
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, DC, 20560, United States; Department of Anthropology, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park Way, San Diego, CA, 92110, United States
| | - Cristina Lemorini
- LTFAPA Laboratory, Department of Science of Antiquities, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Isabella Caricola
- LTFAPA Laboratory, Department of Science of Antiquities, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy; Zinman Institute of Archaeology, Haifa University, 199 Aba Hushi Avenue, Mount Carmel, Haifa, 3498838, Israel
| | - Rahab N Kinyanjui
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany; Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, DC, 20560, United States; Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Kipande Rd, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Richard Potts
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, DC, 20560, United States; Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Kipande Rd, Nairobi, Kenya
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12
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Martin JM, Leece AB, Baker SE, Herries AIR, Strait DS. A lineage perspective on hominin taxonomy and evolution. Evol Anthropol 2024; 33:e22018. [PMID: 38217397 DOI: 10.1002/evan.22018] [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: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 12/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
An uncritical reliance on the phylogenetic species concept has led paleoanthropologists to become increasingly typological in their delimitation of new species in the hominin fossil record. As a practical matter, this approach identifies species as diagnosably distinct groups of fossils that share a unique suite of morphological characters but, ontologically, a species is a metapopulation lineage segment that extends from initial divergence to eventual extinction or subsequent speciation. Working from first principles of species concept theory, it is clear that a reliance on morphological diagnosabilty will systematically overestimate species diversity in the fossil record; because morphology can evolve within a lineage segment, it follows that early and late populations of the same species can be diagnosably distinct from each other. We suggest that a combination of morphology and chronology provides a more robust test of the single-species null hypothesis than morphology alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse M Martin
- Palaeoanthropology Lab, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - A B Leece
- Palaeoanthropology Lab, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group, Southern Cross Geoscience, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Stephanie E Baker
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Andy I R Herries
- Palaeoanthropology Lab, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - David S Strait
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- DFG Center for Advanced Studies "Words, Bones, Genes, Tools", University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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13
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Davies TW, Gunz P, Spoor F, Alemseged Z, Gidna A, Hublin JJ, Kimbel WH, Kullmer O, Plummer WP, Zanolli C, Skinner MM. Dental morphology in Homo habilis and its implications for the evolution of early Homo. Nat Commun 2024; 15:286. [PMID: 38177110 PMCID: PMC10767101 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44375-9] [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: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The phylogenetic position of Homo habilis is central to debates over the origin and early evolution of the genus Homo. A large portion of the species hypodigm consists of dental remains, but they have only been studied at the often worn enamel surface. We investigate the morphology of the H. habilis enamel-dentine junction (EDJ), which is preserved in cases of moderate tooth wear and known to carry a strong taxonomic signal. Geometric morphometrics is used to characterise dentine crown shape and size across the entire mandibular and maxillary tooth rows, compared with a broad comparative sample (n = 712). We find that EDJ morphology in H. habilis is for the most part remarkably primitive, supporting the hypothesis that the H. habilis hypodigm has more in common with Australopithecus than later Homo. Additionally, the chronologically younger specimen OH 16 displays a suite of derived features; its inclusion in H. habilis leads to excessive levels of variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas W Davies
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
| | - Philipp Gunz
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Fred Spoor
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre for Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Zeresenay Alemseged
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Agness Gidna
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, P. O. Box 1, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Collège de France, Paris, France
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - William H Kimbel
- Institute of Human Origins, and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Ottmar Kullmer
- Palaeobiology and Environment workgroup, Institute of Ecology, Evolution, and Diversity, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
- Division of Palaeoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - William P Plummer
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33600, Pessac, France
| | - Matthew M Skinner
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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14
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Aramendi J, Mabulla A, Baquedano E, Domínguez-Rodrigo M. Biomechanical and taxonomic diversity in the Early Pleistocene in East Africa: Structural analysis of a recently discovered femur shaft from Olduvai Gorge (bed I). J Hum Evol 2024; 186:103469. [PMID: 38071888 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103469] [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: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
Recent Plio-Pleistocene hominin findings have revealed the complexity of human evolutionary history and the difficulties involved in its interpretation. Moreover, the study of hominin long bone remains is particularly problematic, since it commonly depends on the analysis of fragmentary skeletal elements that in many cases are merely represented by small diaphyseal portions and appear in an isolated fashion in the fossil record. Nevertheless, the study of the postcranial skeleton is particularly important to ascertain locomotor patterns. Here we report on the discovery of a robust hominin femoral fragment (OH 84) at the site of Amin Mturi Korongo dated to 1.84 Ma (Olduvai Bed I). External anatomy and internal bone structure of OH 84 were analyzed and compared with previously published data for modern humans and chimpanzees, as well as for Australopithecus, Paranthropus and Homo specimens ranging from the Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene. Biomechanical analyses based on transverse cross-sections and the comparison of OH 84 with another robust Olduvai specimen (OH 80) suggest that OH 84 might be tentatively allocated to Paranthropus boisei. More importantly, the identification of a unique combination of traits in OH 84 could indicate both terrestrial bipedalism and an arboreal component in the locomotor repertoire of this individual. If interpreted correctly, OH 84 could thus add to the already mounting evidence of substantial locomotor diversity among Early Pleistocene hominins. Likewise, our results also highlight the difficulties in accurately interpreting the link between form and function in the human fossil record based on fragmentary remains, and ultimately in distinguishing between coeval hominin groups due to the heterogeneous pattern of inter- and intraspecific morphological variability detected among fossil femora.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Aramendi
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, CB2 1TN, UK.
| | - Audax Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar Es Salaam, P.O. Box 35050, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Enrique Baquedano
- Archaeological and Paleontological Museum of the Community of Madrid, Plaza de Las Bernardas s/n, 28801, Alcalá de Henares, Spain; Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), University of Alcalá and Archaeological and Paleontological Museum of the Community of Madrid, C/Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), University of Alcalá and Archaeological and Paleontological Museum of the Community of Madrid, C/Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain; University of Alcalá, Department of History and Philosophy, Area of Prehistory, C/Colegios 2, 28801, Alcalá de Henares, Spain; Rice University, Department of Anthropology, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX, 77005 1827, USA
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15
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Morley MW, Moffat I, Kotarba-Morley AM, Hernandez VC, Zerboni A, Herries AIR, Joannes-Boyau R, Westaway K. Why the geosciences are becoming increasingly vital to the interpretation of the human evolutionary record. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1971-1977. [PMID: 38036632 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02215-5] [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: 06/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Advanced geoscience techniques are essential to contextualize fossils, artefacts and other archaeologically important material accurately and effectively. Their appropriate use will increase confidence in new interpretations of the fossil and archaeological record, providing important information about the life and depositional history of these materials and so should form an integral component of all human evolutionary studies. Many of the most remarkable recent finds that have transformed the field of human evolution are small and scarce, ranging in size from teeth to strands of DNA, recovered from complex sedimentary environments. Nevertheless, if properly analysed, they hold immense potential to rewrite what we know about the evolution of our species and our closest hominin ancestors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mike W Morley
- Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Archaeology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
| | - Ian Moffat
- Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Archaeology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Anna M Kotarba-Morley
- Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Archaeology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- School of Humanities, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Vito C Hernandez
- Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Archaeology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Andrea Zerboni
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra 'A. Desio', Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy
| | - Andy I R Herries
- Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Renaud Joannes-Boyau
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Kira Westaway
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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16
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Mussi M, Skinner MM, Melis RT, Panera J, Rubio-Jara S, Davies TW, Geraads D, Bocherens H, Briatico G, Le Cabec A, Hublin JJ, Gidna A, Bonnefille R, Di Bianco L, Méndez-Quintas E. Early Homo erectus lived at high altitudes and produced both Oldowan and Acheulean tools. Science 2023:eadd9115. [PMID: 37824630 DOI: 10.1126/science.add9115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
In Africa, the scarcity of hominin remains found in direct association with stone tools has hindered attempts to link Homo habilis and Homo erectus with particular lithic industries. The infant mandible discovered in level E at Garba IV (Melka Kunture) on the highlands of Ethiopia is critical to this issue due to its direct association with an Oldowan lithic industry. Here, we use synchrotron imaging to examine the internal morphology of the unerupted permanent dentition and confirm its identification as Homo erectus. Additionally, we utilize new palaeomagnetic ages to show that (i) the mandible in level E is ca. 2 million-years-old, and represents one of the earliest Homo erectus fossils, and (ii) that overlying level D, ca. 1.95 million-years-old, contains the earliest known Acheulean assemblage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margherita Mussi
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Sapienza Università di Roma, 00185 Roma, Italy
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Italy-Spain
- ISMEO - The International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies, 00186 Roma, Italy
| | - Matthew M Skinner
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NR, UK
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey (CSDHJ), University of the Witwatersrand, Braamfontein 2000, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Rita T Melis
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Italy-Spain
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato, Italy
| | - Joaquín Panera
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Italy-Spain
- Departamento de Prehistoria, Historia Antigua y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Prof. Aranguren, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- IDEA, Instituto de Evolución en África, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, 28010 Madrid, Spain
| | - Susana Rubio-Jara
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Italy-Spain
- Departamento de Prehistoria, Historia Antigua y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Prof. Aranguren, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- IDEA, Instituto de Evolución en África, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, 28010 Madrid, Spain
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, 09002 Burgos, Spain
| | - Thomas W Davies
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NR, UK
| | - Denis Geraads
- Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Hervé Bocherens
- Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Giuseppe Briatico
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Sapienza Università di Roma, 00185 Roma, Italy
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Italy-Spain
- Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Adeline Le Cabec
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA (UMR 5199), F-33600 Pessac, France
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Agness Gidna
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Raymonde Bonnefille
- CEREGE, Université Aix-Marseille, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Technopole Arbois-Méditerranée, 13545 Aix-en-Provence Cedex 04, France
| | - Luca Di Bianco
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Italy-Spain
| | - Eduardo Méndez-Quintas
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Italy-Spain
- IDEA, Instituto de Evolución en África, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, 28010 Madrid, Spain
- GEAAT, Grupo de Estudos de Arqueoloxía, Antigüidade e Territorio. Universidade de Vigo, Facultade de Historia, Campus As Lagoas, 32004 Ourense, Spain
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17
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Delezene LK, Skinner MM, Bailey SE, Brophy JK, Elliott MC, Gurtov A, Irish JD, Moggi-Cecchi J, de Ruiter DJ, Hawks J, Berger LR. Descriptive catalog of Homo naledi dental remains from the 2013 to 2015 excavations of the Dinaledi Chamber, site U.W. 101, within the Rising Star cave system, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2023; 180:103372. [PMID: 37229947 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
More than 150 hominin teeth, dated to ∼330-241 thousand years ago, were recovered during the 2013-2015 excavations of the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system, South Africa. These fossils comprise the first large single-site sample of hominin teeth from the Middle Pleistocene of Africa. Though scattered remains attributable to Homo sapiens, or their possible lineal ancestors, are known from older and younger sites across the continent, the distinctive morphological feature set of the Dinaledi teeth supports the recognition of a novel hominin species, Homo naledi. This material provides evidence of African Homo lineage diversity that lasts until at least the Middle Pleistocene. Here, a catalog, anatomical descriptions, and details of preservation and taphonomic alteration are provided for the Dinaledi teeth. Where possible, provisional associations among teeth are also proposed. To facilitate future research, we also provide access to a catalog of surface files of the Rising Star jaws and teeth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas K Delezene
- Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA; Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africa.
| | - Matthew M Skinner
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africa; School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Marlowe Building, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Shara E Bailey
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Juliet K Brophy
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africa; Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Marina C Elliott
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africa; Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, USA
| | - Alia Gurtov
- Stripe, Inc., 199 Water Street, 30th Floor, New York, NY 10038, USA
| | - Joel D Irish
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africa; School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi
- Laboratory of Anthropology, Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via del Proconsolo 12, Firenze 50122, Italy
| | - Darryl J de Ruiter
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
| | - John Hawks
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Lee R Berger
- National Geographic Society, 1145 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA; Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africa
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18
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Braga J, Wood BA, Zimmer VA, Moreno B, Miller C, Thackeray JF, Zipfel B, Grine FE. Hominin fossils from Kromdraai and Drimolen inform Paranthropus robustus craniofacial ontogeny. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eade7165. [PMID: 37134165 PMCID: PMC10156105 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade7165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Ontogeny provides critical information about the evolutionary history of early hominin adult morphology. We describe fossils from the southern African sites of Kromdraai and Drimolen that provide insights into early craniofacial development in the Pleistocene robust australopith Paranthropus robustus. We show that while most distinctive robust craniofacial features appear relatively late in ontogeny, a few do not. We also find unexpected evidence of independence in the growth of the premaxillary and maxillary regions. Differential growth results in a proportionately larger and more postero-inferiorly rotated cerebral fossa in P. robustus infants than in the developmentally older Australopithecus africanus juvenile from Taung. The accumulated evidence from these fossils suggests that the iconic SK 54 juvenile calvaria is more likely early Homo than Paranthropus. It is also consistent with the hypothesis that P. robustus is more closely related to Homo than to A. africanus.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Braga
- Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse, CNRS UMR 5288, Université de Toulouse, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, Toulouse, France
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Bernard A Wood
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | | | - Benjamin Moreno
- SARL IMA Solutions, 19 rue Jean Mermoz, 31100 Toulouse, France
| | - Catherine Miller
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - John F Thackeray
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Bernhard Zipfel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - 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
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19
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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: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [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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20
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Edwards TR, Pickering R, Mallett TL, Herries AIR. Challenging the antiquity of the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa: Geochronological evidence restricts the age of Eurotomys bolti and Parapapio to less than 2.3 Ma at Waypoint 160, Bolt's Farm. J Hum Evol 2023; 178:103334. [PMID: 36931115 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103334] [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: 08/22/2022] [Revised: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
Abstract
Waypoint 160 is a paleocave at Bolt's Farm in the 'Cradle of Humankind,' South Africa. It is known for the novel murid taxa Eurotomys bolti, argued to be morphologically intermediate between Eurotomys pelomyoides from Langebaanweg (∼5.1 Ma) and the earliest Otomyinae from Makapansgat Limeworks (∼3.0-2.6 Ma). Based on the presence of this specimen, an age of ∼4.5 Ma was inferred for Waypoint 160, making it far older than other Cradle sites. This biochronological age was used to argue that Parapapio and Cercopithecoides fossils from Waypoint 160 were the oldest in the region. Here, we provide a detailed sedimentological context for the in-situ deposits at Waypoint 160. We have identified interior cave deposits, in contrast to other sites at Bolt's Farm. Petrography confirms that one unit (facies D) contains in-situ microfaunal fossils, indicating the likely provenience of the E. bolti specimen. Palaeomagnetic analysis shows four periods of magnetic polarity in the sequence. Using U-Pb ages as chronological pins, we argue that the upper part of the sequence records a polarity change at the end of the Olduvai subChron (1.78 Ma). The lower part of the sequence records a polarity shift from normal to reversed that likely relates to the Feni subChron (2.16-2.12 Ma), based on a basal flowstone U-Pb age of 2.269 ± 0.075 Ma. Together this points to a depositional window of ∼500 ka, with the Parapapio and E. bolti tentatively attributed to the micromammal fossil-bearing layers dating to ∼2.27-2.07 Ma. This has significant implications for other biochronological dates in South Africa, as E. bolti is now less than ∼2.27 Ma, younger than the oldest Otomyinae at Makapansgat Limeworks and thus not ancestral to them. This chronology for Waypoint 160 challenges the presence of older, early to mid-Pliocene deposits >3.20 Ma in the Gauteng portion of the Cradle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara R Edwards
- Department of Geological Sciences, Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa; Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa.
| | - Robyn Pickering
- Department of Geological Sciences, Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa; Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa
| | - Tom L Mallett
- The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Dept. Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Melbourne Campus, Bundoora, 3086, Australia
| | - Andy I R Herries
- The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Dept. Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Melbourne Campus, Bundoora, 3086, Australia; Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, 2006 Johannesburg, South Africa
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21
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Human and African ape myosin heavy chain content and the evolution of hominin skeletal muscle. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2023; 281:111415. [PMID: 36931425 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.111415] [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: 01/09/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
Abstract
Humans are unique among terrestrial mammals in our manner of walking and running, reflecting 7 to 8 Ma of musculoskeletal evolution since diverging with the genus Pan. One component of this is a shift in our skeletal muscle biology towards a predominance of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) I isoforms (i.e. slow fibers) across our pelvis and lower limbs, which distinguishes us from chimpanzees. Here, new MyHC data from 35 pelvis and hind limb muscles of a Western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) are presented. These data are combined with a similar chimpanzee dataset to assess the MyHC I content of humans in comparison to African apes (chimpanzees and gorillas) and other terrestrial mammals. The responsiveness of human skeletal muscle to behavioral interventions is also compared to the human-African ape differential. Humans are distinct from African apes and among a small group of terrestrial mammals whose pelvis and hind/lower limb muscle is slow fiber dominant, on average. Behavioral interventions, including immobilization, bed rest, spaceflight and exercise, can induce modest decreases and increases in human MyHC I content (i.e. -9.3% to 2.3%, n = 2033 subjects), but these shifts are much smaller than the mean human-African ape differential (i.e. 31%). Taken together, these results indicate muscle fiber content is likely an evolvable trait under selection in the hominin lineage. As such, we highlight potential targets of selection in the genome (e.g. regions that regulate MyHC content) that may play an important role in hominin skeletal muscle evolution.
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22
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Szilágyi A, Kovács VP, Czárán T, Szathmáry E. Evolutionary ecology of language origins through confrontational scavenging. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210411. [PMID: 36688391 PMCID: PMC9869442 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
A dynamic model and an agent-based simulation model implementing the assumptions of the confrontational scavenging hypothesis on early protolanguage as an adaptive response of Homo erectus to gradual change in their habitat has been developed and studied. The core assumptions of the hypothesis and the model scenario are the pre-adaptation of our ancestors to occupy the ecological niche that they constructed for themselves by having evolved displaced communication and a rudimentary tool manufacture, two features allowing them to use a new, concentrated and abundant resource-megafauna carrion-on the savannahs replacing arboreal habitats owing to the drying climate of East Africa at about 2 Ma. The shift in diet required coordinated cooperation by the hominin scavengers confronted with concurrent predators. Power scavenging compelled displaced symbolic communication featuring a limited semantic range; syntax was not yet required. We show that phenotypic evolution on the accuracy of information transfer between cooperating hominins is a necessary and sufficient condition for the population of agents to survive the diet shift. Both the individual and the group fitness of the hominin horde increased with the accuracy of their protolanguage, with decreasing time allocated to foraging and thus more time left for culture. This article is part of the theme issue 'Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions'.
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Affiliation(s)
- András Szilágyi
- Institute of Evolution, Centre for Ecological Research, Konkoly-Thege Miklós út 29-33. 1121, Budapest, Hungary
- MTA–ELTE Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. s. 1C 1117 Budapest, Hungary
- Center for Conceptual Foundation of Science, Parmenides Foundation, Hindenburgstrasse 15, 82343 Pöcking, Germany
| | - Viktor P. Kovács
- Institute of Evolution, Centre for Ecological Research, Konkoly-Thege Miklós út 29-33. 1121, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tamás Czárán
- Institute of Evolution, Centre for Ecological Research, Konkoly-Thege Miklós út 29-33. 1121, Budapest, Hungary
- MTA–ELTE Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. s. 1C 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Eörs Szathmáry
- Institute of Evolution, Centre for Ecological Research, Konkoly-Thege Miklós út 29-33. 1121, Budapest, Hungary
- MTA–ELTE Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. s. 1C 1117 Budapest, Hungary
- Center for Conceptual Foundation of Science, Parmenides Foundation, Hindenburgstrasse 15, 82343 Pöcking, Germany
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23
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Leece AB, Martin JM, Baker S, Wilson C, Strait DS, Schwartz GT, Herries AIR. New hominin dental remains from the ∼2.04-1.95 Ma Drimolen Main Quarry, South Africa. Ann Hum Biol 2023; 50:407-427. [PMID: 37812213 DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2023.2261849] [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: 05/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Drimolen Palaeocave site is situated within the UNESCO Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa World Heritage Area and has yielded numerous hominin fossils since its discovery in 1992. Most of these fossils are represented by isolated dental elements, which have been attributed to either of two distinct hominin genera, Paranthropus and Homo. AIM This paper provides morphological descriptions for a further 19 specimens that have been recovered from the ∼2.04-1.95 Ma Drimolen Main Quarry (DMQ) deposits since 2008. This paper also discusses the two primary hypotheses used to explain Paranthropus robustus variation: sexual dimorphism, and micro-evolution within a lineage. SUBJECTS AND METHODS These 19 fossils are represented by 47 dental elements and expand the sample of DMQ early Homo from 13 to 15, and the sample of Paranthropus robustus from 69 to 84. RESULTS The evidence presented in this paper was found to be inconsistent with the sexual dimorphism hypothesis. CONCLUSION Some support was found for the micro-evolution hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- A B Leece
- Palaeoscience, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group, Southern Cross GeoScience, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia
| | - J M Martin
- Palaeoscience, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
| | - S Baker
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - C Wilson
- Palaeoscience, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
| | - D S Strait
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, WA University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - G T Schwartz
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, AZ State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - A I R Herries
- Palaeoscience, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
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24
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Beaudet A. The Australopithecus assemblage from Sterkfontein Member 4 (South Africa) and the concept of variation in palaeontology. Evol Anthropol 2023. [PMID: 36632711 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21972] [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: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Interpreting morphological variation within the early hominin fossil record is particularly challenging. Apart from the fact that there is no absolute threshold for defining species boundaries in palaeontology, the degree of variation related to sexual dimorphism, temporal depth, geographic variation or ontogeny is difficult to appreciate in a fossil taxon mainly represented by fragmentary specimens, and such variation could easily be conflated with taxonomic diversity. One of the most emblematic examples in paleoanthropology is the Australopithecus assemblage from the Sterkfontein Caves in South Africa. Whereas some studies support the presence of multiple Australopithecus species at Sterkfontein, others explore alternative hypotheses to explain the morphological variation within the hominin assemblage. In this review, I briefly summarize the ongoing debates surrounding the interpretation of morphological variation at Sterkfontein Member 4 before exploring two promising avenues that would deserve specific attention in the future, that is, temporal depth and nonhuman primate diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Beaudet
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Sabadell, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
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25
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Comparative description and taxonomic affinity of 3.7-million-year-old hominin mandibles from Woranso-Mille (Ethiopia). J Hum Evol 2022; 173:103265. [PMID: 36306541 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103265] [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: 12/06/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Fossil discoveries of early Australopithecus species from Woranso-Mille have played a significant role in improving our understanding of mid-Pliocene hominin evolution and diversity. Here, we describe two mandibles with dentitions, recovered from sediments immediately above a tuff radiometrically dated to 3.76 ± 0.02 Ma, and assess their taxonomic affinity. The two mandibles (MSD-VP-5/16 and MSD-VP-5/50) show morphological similarities with both Australopithecus anamensis and Australopithecus afarensis. Some of the unique features that distinguish Au. anamensis from Au. afarensis are present in the mandibles, which also share a few derived features with Au. afarensis. Their retention of more Kanapoi Au. anamensis-like traits, compared to the fewer derived features they share with Au. afarensis, and the presence of Au. anamensis at Woranso-Mille in 3.8-million-year-old deposits, lends support to their assignment to Au. anamensis. However, it is equally arguable that the few derived dentognathic features they share with Au. afarensis could be taxonomically more significant, making it difficult to conclusively assign these specimens to either species. Regardless of which species they are assigned to, the mosaic nature of the dentognathic morphology and geological age of the two mandibles lends further support to the hypothesized ancestor-descendant relationship between Au. anamensis and Au. afarensis. However, there is now limited fossil evidence indicating that these two species may have overlapped in time. Hence, the last appearance of Au. anamensis and first appearance of Au. afarensis are currently unknown. Recovery of Australopithecus fossils from 4.1 to 3.8 Ma is critical to further address the timing of these events.
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26
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Biochronology of South African hominin-bearing sites: A reassessment using cercopithecid primates. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2210627119. [PMID: 36279427 PMCID: PMC9659350 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210627119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite recent advances in chronometric techniques (e.g., Uranium-Lead [U-Pb], cosmogenic nuclides, electron spin resonance spectroscopy [ESR]), considerable uncertainty remains regarding the age of many Plio-Pleistocene hominin sites, including several in South Africa. Consequently, biochronology remains important in assessments of Plio-Pleistocene geochronology and provides direct age estimates of the fossils themselves. Historically, cercopithecid monkeys have been among the most useful taxa for biochronology of early hominins because they are widely present and abundant in the African Plio-Pleistocene record. The last major studies using cercopithecids were published over 30 y ago. Since then, new hominin sites have been discovered, radiometric age estimates have been refined, and many changes have occurred in cercopithecid taxonomy and systematics. Thus, a biochronological reassessment using cercopithecids is long overdue. Here, we provide just such a revision based on our recent study of every major cercopithecid collection from African Plio-Pleistocene sites. In addition to correlations based on shared faunal elements, we present an analysis based on the dentition of the abundant cercopithecid
Theropithecus oswaldi
, which increases in size in a manner that is strongly correlated with geological age (
r
2
∼0.83), thereby providing a highly accurate age-estimation tool not previously utilized. In combination with paleomagnetic and U-Pb data, our results provide revised age estimates and suggest that there are no hominin sites in South Africa significantly older than ∼2.8 Ma. Where conflicting age estimates exist, we suggest that additional data are needed and recall that faunal estimates have ultimately proved reliable in the past (e.g., the age of the KBS Tuff).
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27
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Sanz CM, Strait D, Eyana Ayina C, Massamba JM, Ebombi TF, Ndassoba Kialiema S, Ngoteni D, Mbebouti G, Koni Boue DR, Brogan S, Funkhouser JA, Morgan DB. Interspecific interactions between sympatric apes. iScience 2022; 25:105059. [PMID: 36147956 PMCID: PMC9485909 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105059] [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] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Gorillas reside in sympatry with chimpanzees over the majority of their range. Compiling all known reports of overlap between apes and augmenting these with observations made over twenty years in the Ndoki Forest, we examine the potential predation-related, foraging, and social contexts of interspecific associations between gorillas and chimpanzees. We reveal a greater diversity of interactions than previously recognized, which range from play to lethal aggression. Furthermore, there are indications that interactions between ape species may serve multiple functions. Interactions between gorillas and chimpanzees were most common during foraging activities, but they also overlapped in several other contexts. From a social perspective, we provide evidence of consistent relationships between particular chimpanzee-gorilla dyads. In addition to providing new insights into extant primate community dynamics, the diversity of interactions between apes points to an entirely new field of study in early human origins as early hominins also likely had opportunities to associate. First evidence of social relationships between chimpanzees and gorillas is reported Social ties between chimpanzees and gorillas persisted over years and across contexts Ape species engaged in a wide range of interactions, from play to aggression Coexisting great apes may inform us about interactions between some early hominins
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Affiliation(s)
- Crickette M Sanz
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in Saint Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA.,Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, B.P. 14537, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - David Strait
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in Saint Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA.,Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Crepin Eyana Ayina
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, B.P. 14537, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Jean Marie Massamba
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, B.P. 14537, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Thierry Fabrice Ebombi
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, B.P. 14537, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | | | - Delon Ngoteni
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, B.P. 14537, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Gaeton Mbebouti
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, B.P. 14537, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | | | - Sean Brogan
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, B.P. 14537, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
| | - Jake A Funkhouser
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in Saint Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - David B Morgan
- Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, 2001 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60614, USA
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28
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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: 3] [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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Leece AB, Martin JM, Herries AIR, Riga A, Menter CG, Moggi‐Cecchi J. New hominin dental remains from the Drimolen Main Quarry, South Africa (1999–2008). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022; 179:240-260. [PMCID: PMC9796117 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Objectives Twenty‐four dental specimens from the Drimolen Main Quarry (DMQ) are described. This increases the number of DMQ Paranthropus robustus specimens from 48 to 63 and DMQ Homo specimens from 8 to 12. This allows reassessment of the proposed differences between the DMQ P. robustus assemblage and that of Swartkrans. Analysis conducted assesses intraspecific and inter‐locality variation. Materials and Methods We examined the P. robustus and early Homo assemblages from South Africa. Morphology was observed using a hand lens and a binocular microscope. Mesiodistal and buccolingual measurements were taken using plastic‐tipped calipers. Summary statistics were generated and patterns of variability in P. robustus were assessed through box plots and Mann–Whitney U tests. Results Comparison between the expanded DMQ and Swartkrans P. robustus assemblages demonstrates overlap in size. Ten dental variables show statistically significant differences. Discussion The expanded P. robustus sample allowed us to re‐examine previous analyses of differences in tooth size between the samples. While analyses presented here show a high degree of overlap in the MD and BL dimensions of the two assemblages, significant differences were found in the mean values of these variables in the postcanine maxillary teeth—consistent with previous analyses. Two current hypotheses may explain this pattern: 1) dental size increase through the P. robustus lineage or 2) different sample composition between the two sites. Small sample sizes for all permanent dental classes in the DMQ assemblage represents a limitation on this analysis and interpretations thereof. Any addition to the DMQ or the Swartkrans samples may alter these results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angeline B. Leece
- Palaeoscience Labs, Department of Archaeology and HistoryLa Trobe University, Melbourne CampusBundooraVictoriaAustralia
| | - Jesse M. Martin
- Palaeoscience Labs, Department of Archaeology and HistoryLa Trobe University, Melbourne CampusBundooraVictoriaAustralia
| | - Andy I. R. Herries
- Palaeoscience Labs, Department of Archaeology and HistoryLa Trobe University, Melbourne CampusBundooraVictoriaAustralia
- Palaeo Research Institute, Humanities Research VillageUniversity of JohannesburgAuckland ParkSouth Africa
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Abstract
The origins of Homo, as well as the diversity and biogeographic distribution of early Homo species, remain critical outstanding issues in paleoanthropology. Debates about the recognition of early Homo, first appearance dates, and taxonomic diversity within Homo are particularly important for determining the role that southern African taxa may have played in the origins of the genus. The correct identification of Homo remains also has implications for reconstructing phylogenetic relationships between species of Australopithecus and Paranthropus, and the links between early Homo species and Homo erectus. We use microcomputed tomography and landmark-free deformation-based three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to extract taxonomically informative data from the internal structure of postcanine teeth attributed to Early Pleistocene Homo in the southern African hominin-bearing sites of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Drimolen, and Kromdraai B. Our results indicate that, from our sample of 23 specimens, only 4 are unambiguously attributed to Homo, 3 of them coming from Swartkrans member 1 (SK 27, SK 847, and SKX 21204) and 1 from Sterkfontein (Sts 9). Three other specimens from Sterkfontein (StW 80 and 81, SE 1508, and StW 669) approximate the Homo condition in terms of overall enamel-dentine junction shape, but retain Australopithecus-like dental traits, and their generic status remains unclear. The other specimens, including SK 15, present a dominant australopith dental signature. In light of these results, previous dietary and ecological interpretations can be reevaluated, showing that the geochemical signal of one tooth from Kromdraai (KB 5223) and two from Swartkrans (SK 96 and SKX 268) is consistent with that of australopiths.
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Abstract
Sterkfontein is the most prolific single source of Australopithecus fossils, the vast majority of which were recovered from Member 4, a cave breccia now exposed by erosion and weathering at the landscape surface. A few other Australopithecus fossils, including the StW 573 skeleton, come from subterranean deposits [T. C. Partridge et al., Science 300, 607-612 (2003); R. J. Clarke, K. Kuman, J. Hum. Evol. 134, 102634 (2019)]. Here, we report a cosmogenic nuclide isochron burial date of 3.41 ± 0.11 million years (My) within the lower middle part of Member 4, and simple burial dates of 3.49 ± 0.19 My in the upper middle part of Member 4 and 3.61 ± 0.09 My in Jacovec Cavern. Together with a previously published isochron burial date of 3.67 ± 0.16 My for StW 573 [D. E. Granger et al., Nature 522, 85-88 (2015)], these results place nearly the entire Australopithecus assemblage at Sterkfontein in the mid-Pliocene, contemporaneous with Australopithecus afarensis in East Africa. Our ages for the fossil-bearing breccia in Member 4 are considerably older than the previous ages of ca. 2.1 to 2.6 My interpreted from flowstones associated with the same deposit. We show that these previously dated flowstones are stratigraphically intrusive within Member 4 and that they therefore underestimate the true age of the fossils.
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A Middle Pleistocene Denisovan molar from the Annamite Chain of northern Laos. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2557. [PMID: 35581187 PMCID: PMC9114389 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29923-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The Pleistocene presence of the genus Homo in continental Southeast Asia is primarily evidenced by a sparse stone tool record and rare human remains. Here we report a Middle Pleistocene hominin specimen from Laos, with the discovery of a molar from the Tam Ngu Hao 2 (Cobra Cave) limestone cave in the Annamite Mountains. The age of the fossil-bearing breccia ranges between 164–131 kyr, based on the Bayesian modelling of luminescence dating of the sedimentary matrix from which it was recovered, U-series dating of an overlying flowstone, and U-series–ESR dating of associated faunal teeth. Analyses of the internal structure of the molar in tandem with palaeoproteomic analyses of the enamel indicate that the tooth derives from a young, likely female, Homo individual. The close morphological affinities with the Xiahe specimen from China indicate that they belong to the same taxon and that Tam Ngu Hao 2 most likely represents a Denisovan. Evidence for the presence of Homo during the Middle Pleistocene is limited in continental Southeast Asia. Here, the authors report a hominin molar from Tam Ngu Hao 2 (Cobra Cave), dated to 164–131 kyr. They use morphological and paleoproteomic analysis to show that it likely belonged to a female Denisovan.
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Chiarini V, Duckeck J, De Waele J. A Global Perspective on Sustainable Show Cave Tourism. GEOHERITAGE 2022; 14:82. [PMCID: PMC9244007 DOI: 10.1007/s12371-022-00717-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Caves are among the most visited geological features in the world, attracting over 70 million people every year in more than 1,200 caves worldwide, and amounting up to 800 million Euros in entrance fees alone. The global business of show caves employs roughly 25,000 people directly (management, guides), and at least 100 times more people if we consider the connected tourist activities (souvenir shops, local transport, travel agencies, restaurants, and bars). It is estimated that the whole show cave business has a global commercial value of roughly 2 billion Euros, a number that is increasing constantly. Show caves are generally fragile ecosystems, and care should be taken in their management to safeguard their value for future generations. The international scientific (speleological) community has issued international guidelines for the sustainable development and management of show caves eight years ago, but their application is still far from being applied globally, especially in developing and least developed countries. Cave tourism is expected to increase, especially in countries where caves are abundant but not yet considered as tourist attractions, and where economic and political instability slow down the development of tourism. There are still a lot of possibilities for the opening of new show caves, especially in countries with low Gross Domestic Income (GDI), but their management needs to be sustainable, so that caves become a means of sustaining local economies, educating people on these fragile geo- and ecosystems, and protecting contemporarily their scientific and cultural heritage for future generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Chiarini
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Zamboni 67, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | | | - Jo De Waele
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Zamboni 67, 40126 Bologna, Italy
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Hanon R, Patou-Mathis M, Péan S, Prat S, Cohen BF, Steininger C. Early Pleistocene hominin subsistence behaviors in South Africa: Evidence from the hominin-bearing deposit of Cooper's D (Bloubank Valley, South Africa). J Hum Evol 2021; 162:103116. [PMID: 34915399 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Evidence of the consumption of meat through hunting or scavenging by Early Pleistocene hominins is scarce, particularly in South Africa. Moreover, the interpretations of taphonomic evidence are subject to an important discussion commonly called the 'hunting-vs-scavenging debate.' Until today, only the Swartkrans Members 1-3 site has yielded a butchered bone assemblage large enough to permit reconstruction of carcass acquisition strategies by Early Pleistocene hominins in South Africa. This leaves an information gap between 1.4 and 1.0 Ma. Here, we provide the first evidence of meat consumption by hominins during this gap, based on the zooarchaeological study of the large mammal bone assemblage recovered from the Cooper's D site, South Africa. Based on skeletal part representation, our results show density-mediated attrition of bovid bones due to predepositional and postdepositional destruction. We argue that this attrition is the result of both abiotic (i.e., decalcification) and biotic (i.e., carnivore ravaging) processes. Bovid mortality profiles point out the involvement of ambush predators such as large felids. Bone surface modifications also indicate that the assemblage has been accumulated mostly by carnivores but with some hominin involvement as well. We observe all the stages of animal carcass processing (skinning, disarticulation, defleshing, marrow extraction) as well as the exploitation of a diversity of prey size classes at both Swartkrans Members 1-3 and Cooper's D. Thus, our study shows the importance of the Cooper's D bone assemblage for understanding Early Pleistocene hominin subsistence behaviors. Moreover, this article highlights the need for including long bone flake specimens in the analysis of large bone assemblages from South African caves to better understand the Early Pleistocene hominin bone damage record.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphaël Hanon
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa; UMR 7194, HNHP, MNHN/CNRS/UPVD, Alliance Sorbonne Université, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France.
| | - Marylène Patou-Mathis
- UMR 7194, HNHP, MNHN/CNRS/UPVD, Alliance Sorbonne Université, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Stephane Péan
- UMR 7194, HNHP, MNHN/CNRS/UPVD, Alliance Sorbonne Université, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Sandrine Prat
- UMR 7194, HNHP, MNHN/CNRS/UPVD, Alliance Sorbonne Université, 17 place du Trocadéro, 75116 Paris, France
| | - Brigette F Cohen
- National Museum of Bloemfontein, P.O Box 266, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Christine Steininger
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa; Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Baab KL, Rogers M, Bruner E, Semaw S. Reconstruction and analysis of the DAN5/P1 and BSN12/P1 Gona Early Pleistocene Homo fossils. J Hum Evol 2021; 162:103102. [PMID: 34891069 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103102] [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: 06/10/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Two Early Pleistocene fossils from Gona, Ethiopia, were originally assigned to Homo erectus, and their differences in size and robusticity were attributed to either sexual dimorphism or anagenetic evolution. In the current study, we both revisit the taxonomic affinities of these fossils and assess whether morphological differences between them reflect temporal evolution or sexual variation. We generated virtual reconstructions of the mostly complete ∼1.55 Ma DAN5/P1 calvaria and the less complete 1.26 Ma BSN12/P1 fossil, allowing us to directly compare their anterior vault shapes using landmark-based shape analysis. The two fossils are similar in calvaria shape to H. erectus and also to other Early Pleistocene Homo species based on a geometric morphometric analysis of calvaria landmarks and semilandmarks. The DAN5/P1 fossil bears a particularly close affinity to the Georgian H. erectus fossils and to KNM-ER 1813 (H. habilis), probably reflecting allometric influences on vault shape. Combined with species-specific traits of the neurocranium (e.g., midline keeling, angular torus), we confirm that these fossils are likely early African H. erectus. We calculated regression-based estimates of endocranial volume for BSN12/P1 of 882-910 cm3 based on three virtual reconstructions. Although BSN12/P1 is markedly larger than DAN5/P1 (598 cm3), both fossils represent the smallest adult H. erectus known from their respective time periods in Africa. Some of the difference in endocranial volume between the two Gona fossils reflects broader species-level brain expansion from 1.77 to 0.01 Ma, confirmed here using a large sample (n = 38) of H. erectus. However, shape differences between these fossils did not reflect species-level changes to calvaria shape. Moreover, the analysis failed to recover a clear pattern of sexually patterned size or shape differences within H. erectus based on our current assessments of sex for individual fossils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen L Baab
- Department of Anatomy, Midwestern University, 19555 N. 59th Ave., Glendale, AZ 85012, USA.
| | - Michael Rogers
- Department of Anthropology, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent St., New Haven, CT 06515, USA
| | - Emiliano Bruner
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Sierra de Atapuerca 3, Burgos, 09002, Spain
| | - Sileshi Semaw
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Sierra de Atapuerca 3, Burgos, 09002, Spain; Stone Age Institute and CRAFT Research Center, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd. Gosport, IN 47408, USA
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DeSilva JM, Traniello JFA, Claxton AG, Fannin LD. When and Why Did Human Brains Decrease in Size? A New Change-Point Analysis and Insights From Brain Evolution in Ants. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.742639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Human brain size nearly quadrupled in the six million years since Homo last shared a common ancestor with chimpanzees, but human brains are thought to have decreased in volume since the end of the last Ice Age. The timing and reason for this decrease is enigmatic. Here we use change-point analysis to estimate the timing of changes in the rate of hominin brain evolution. We find that hominin brains experienced positive rate changes at 2.1 and 1.5 million years ago, coincident with the early evolution of Homo and technological innovations evident in the archeological record. But we also find that human brain size reduction was surprisingly recent, occurring in the last 3,000 years. Our dating does not support hypotheses concerning brain size reduction as a by-product of body size reduction, a result of a shift to an agricultural diet, or a consequence of self-domestication. We suggest our analysis supports the hypothesis that the recent decrease in brain size may instead result from the externalization of knowledge and advantages of group-level decision-making due in part to the advent of social systems of distributed cognition and the storage and sharing of information. Humans live in social groups in which multiple brains contribute to the emergence of collective intelligence. Although difficult to study in the deep history of Homo, the impacts of group size, social organization, collective intelligence and other potential selective forces on brain evolution can be elucidated using ants as models. The remarkable ecological diversity of ants and their species richness encompasses forms convergent in aspects of human sociality, including large group size, agrarian life histories, division of labor, and collective cognition. Ants provide a wide range of social systems to generate and test hypotheses concerning brain size enlargement or reduction and aid in interpreting patterns of brain evolution identified in humans. Although humans and ants represent very different routes in social and cognitive evolution, the insights ants offer can broadly inform us of the selective forces that influence brain size.
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Abstract
The earliest South African hominids (humans and their ancestral kin) belong to the genera Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Homo, with the oldest being a ca. 3.67 million-year-old nearly complete skeleton of Australopithecus (StW 573) from Sterkfontein Caves. This skeleton has provided, for the first time in almost a century of research, the full anatomy of an Australopithecus individual with indisputably associated skull and postcranial bones that give complete limb lengths. The three genera are also found in East Africa, but scholars have disagreed on the taxonomic assignment for some fossils owing to historical preconceptions. Here we focus on the South African representatives to help clarify these debates. The uncovering of the StW 573 skeleton in situ revealed significant clues concerning events that had affected it over time and demonstrated that the associated stalagmite flowstones cannot provide direct dating of the fossil, as they are infillings of voids caused by postdepositional collapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald J. Clarke
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Travis Rayne Pickering
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
| | - Jason L. Heaton
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Biology, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama 35254, USA
| | - Kathleen Kuman
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
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High-resolution high-throughput thermal neutron tomographic imaging of fossiliferous cave breccias from Sumatra. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19953. [PMID: 34620926 PMCID: PMC8497489 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99290-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
We employ high-throughput thermal-neutron tomographic imaging to visualise internal diagnostic features of dense fossiliferous breccia from three Pleistocene cave localities in Sumatra, Indonesia. We demonstrate that these seemingly homogeneous breccias are an excellent source of data to aid in determining taphonomic and depositional histories of complex depositional sites such as tropical caves. X-ray Computed Tomographic (CT) imaging is gaining importance amongst palaeontologists as a non-destructive approach to studying fossil remains. Traditional methods of fossil preparation risk damage to the specimen and may destroy contextual evidence in the surrounding matrix. CT imaging can reveal the internal composition and structure of fossils contained within consolidated sediment/rock matrices prior to any destructive mechanical or chemical preparation. Neutron computed tomography (NCT) provides an alternative contrast to X-rays, and in some circumstances, is capable of discerning denser matrices impenetrable to or yielding no contrast with CT imaging. High-throughput neutron imaging reduces neutron fluence during scanning which means there is less residual neutron-induced radioactivation in geological samples; allowing for earlier subsequent analyses. However, this approach remains unutilised in palaeontology, archaeology or geological surveys. Results suggest that the primary agents in the formation of the breccias and concentration of incorporated vertebrate remains are several rapid depositional phases of water and sediment gravity flow. This study highlights the potential for future analyses of breccia deposits in palaeontological studies in caves around the world.
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Domínguez-Rodrigo M, Baquedano E, Organista E, Cobo-Sánchez L, Mabulla A, Maskara V, Gidna A, Pizarro-Monzo M, Aramendi J, Galán AB, Cifuentes-Alcobendas G, Vegara-Riquelme M, Jiménez-García B, Abellán N, Barba R, Uribelarrea D, Martín-Perea D, Diez-Martin F, Maíllo-Fernández JM, Rodríguez-Hidalgo A, Courtenay L, Mora R, Maté-González MA, González-Aguilera D. Early Pleistocene faunivorous hominins were not kleptoparasitic, and this impacted the evolution of human anatomy and socio-ecology. Sci Rep 2021; 11:16135. [PMID: 34373471 PMCID: PMC8352906 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94783-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans are unique in their diet, physiology and socio-reproductive behavior compared to other primates. They are also unique in the ubiquitous adaptation to all biomes and habitats. From an evolutionary perspective, these trends seem to have started about two million years ago, coinciding with the emergence of encephalization, the reduction of the dental apparatus, the adoption of a fully terrestrial lifestyle, resulting in the emergence of the modern anatomical bauplan, the focalization of certain activities in the landscape, the use of stone tools, and the exit from Africa. It is in this period that clear taphonomic evidence of a switch in diet with respect to Pliocene hominins occurred, with the adoption of carnivory. Until now, the degree of carnivorism in early humans remained controversial. A persistent hypothesis is that hominins acquired meat irregularly (potentially as fallback food) and opportunistically through klepto-foraging. Here, we test this hypothesis and show, in contrast, that the butchery practices of early Pleistocene hominins (unveiled through systematic study of the patterning and intensity of cut marks on their prey) could not have resulted from having frequent secondary access to carcasses. We provide evidence of hominin primary access to animal resources and emphasize the role that meat played in their diets, their ecology and their anatomical evolution, ultimately resulting in the ecologically unrestricted terrestrial adaptation of our species. This has major implications to the evolution of human physiology and potentially for the evolution of the human brain.
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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.
| | - Enrique Baquedano
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- Regional Archaeological Museum of Madrid, Plaza de las Bernardas s/n, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Elia Organista
- Osteoarchaeological Research Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Stockholm University, 106 91, WallenberglaboratorietStockholm, Sweden
| | - Lucía Cobo-Sánchez
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- Computational Archaeology (CoDArchLab) Institute of Archaeology, University of Cologne, Albertus-Magnus-Platz D-50923, Cologne, Germany
| | - Audax Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar Es Salaam, P.O. Box 35050, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Vivek Maskara
- The Luminosity Lab, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Agness Gidna
- Paleontology Unit, National Museum of Tanzania in Dar Es Salaam, Robert Shaban St, P.O. Box 511, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Marcos Pizarro-Monzo
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
| | - Julia Aramendi
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana Belén Galán
- UMR5608, CNRS TRACES, Université Toulouse Jean-Jaurès, Maison de La Recherche, 5 allées Antonio Machado, 31058, Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - 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
- Artificial Intelligence Department, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, UNED, Juan del Rosal 16, Madrid, Spain
| | - Natalia Abellán
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- Artificial Intelligence Department, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, UNED, Juan del Rosal 16, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rebeca Barba
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Uribelarrea
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- Geodynamics, Stratigraphy and Palaeontology Department, Complutense University of Madrid, José Antonio Novais 12, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Martín-Perea
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- Paleobiology Department, National Natural Sciences Museum-CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando Diez-Martin
- Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
| | - José Manuel Maíllo-Fernández
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, UNED, Paseo Senda del Rey, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), Alcalá University, Covarrubias 36, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- IPHES, University Rovira I Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Lloyd Courtenay
- Department of Cartographic and Terrain Engineering, Superior Polytechnic School of Ávila, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Rocío Mora
- Department of Cartographic and Terrain Engineering, Superior Polytechnic School of Ávila, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Miguel Angel Maté-González
- Department of Cartographic and Terrain Engineering, Superior Polytechnic School of Ávila, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, 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 González-Aguilera
- Department of Cartographic and Terrain Engineering, Superior Polytechnic School of Ávila, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
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Ahlquist KD, Bañuelos MM, Funk A, Lai J, Rong S, Villanea FA, Witt KE. Our Tangled Family Tree: New Genomic Methods Offer Insight into the Legacy of Archaic Admixture. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:evab115. [PMID: 34028527 PMCID: PMC8480178 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evab115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The archaic ancestry present in the human genome has captured the imagination of both scientists and the wider public in recent years. This excitement is the result of new studies pushing the envelope of what we can learn from the archaic genetic information that has survived for over 50,000 years in the human genome. Here, we review the most recent ten years of literature on the topic of archaic introgression, including the current state of knowledge on Neanderthal and Denisovan introgression, as well as introgression from other as-yet unidentified archaic populations. We focus this review on four topics: 1) a reimagining of human demographic history, including evidence for multiple admixture events between modern humans, Neanderthals, Denisovans, and other archaic populations; 2) state-of-the-art methods for detecting archaic ancestry in population-level genomic data; 3) how these novel methods can detect archaic introgression in modern African populations; and 4) the functional consequences of archaic gene variants, including how those variants were co-opted into novel function in modern human populations. The goal of this review is to provide a simple-to-access reference for the relevant methods and novel data, which has changed our understanding of the relationship between our species and its siblings. This body of literature reveals the large degree to which the genetic legacy of these extinct hominins has been integrated into the human populations of today.
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Affiliation(s)
- K D Ahlquist
- Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Mayra M Bañuelos
- Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Alyssa Funk
- Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Jiaying Lai
- Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- Brown Center for Biomedical Informatics, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Stephen Rong
- Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Fernando A Villanea
- Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Kelsey E Witt
- Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
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41
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Spitzer M. Unsere Vorfahren. NERVENHEILKUNDE 2021; 40:492-510. [DOI: 10.1055/a-1389-6941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2025]
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42
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Kuman K, Granger DE, Gibbon RJ, Pickering TR, Caruana MV, Bruxelles L, Clarke RJ, Heaton JL, Stratford D, Brain CK. A new absolute date from Swartkrans Cave for the oldest occurrences of Paranthropus robustus and Oldowan stone tools in South Africa. J Hum Evol 2021; 156:103000. [PMID: 34020297 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The Early Pleistocene site of Swartkrans in South Africa's Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site has been significant for our understanding of the evolution of both early Homo and Paranthropus, as well as the earliest archaeology of southern Africa. Previous attempts to improve a faunal age estimate of the earliest deposit, Member 1, had produced results obtained with uranium-lead dating (U-Pb) on flowstones and cosmogenic burial dating of quartz, which placed the entire member in the range of >1.7/1.8 Ma and <2.3 Ma. In 2014, two simple burial dates for the Lower Bank, the earliest unit within Member 1, narrowed its age to between ca. 1.8 Ma and 2.2 Ma. A new dating program using the isochron method for burial dating has established an absolute age of 2.22 ± 0.09 Ma for a large portion of the Lower Bank, which can now be identified as containing the earliest Oldowan stone tools and fossils of Paranthropus robustus in South Africa. This date agrees within one sigma with the U-Pb age of 2.25 ± 0.08 Ma previously published for the flowstone underlying the Lower Bank and confirms a relatively rapid rate of accumulation for a large portion of the talus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen Kuman
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, WITS 2050, South Africa.
| | - Darryl E Granger
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, IN, 47907, USA.
| | | | - Travis Rayne Pickering
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, WITS 2050, South Africa
| | - Matthew V Caruana
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, 2006, South Africa
| | - Laurent Bruxelles
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, WITS 2050, South Africa; TRACES, UMR 5608 du CNRS, 5 allées Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse Cedex 09, France; INRAP, French Institute for Preventive Archaeological Researches, 561 rue Etienne Lenoir, km delta, 30900, Nîmes, France
| | - Ronald J Clarke
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, WITS 2050, South Africa
| | - Jason L Heaton
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, WITS 2050, South Africa; Department of Biology, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, AL 35254, USA
| | - Dominic Stratford
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, WITS 2050, South Africa
| | - C K Brain
- Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (Transvaal Museum), Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
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43
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Hammond AS, Mavuso SS, Biernat M, Braun DR, Jinnah Z, Kuo S, Melaku S, Wemanya SN, Ndiema EK, Patterson DB, Uno KT, Palcu DV. New hominin remains and revised context from the earliest Homo erectus locality in East Turkana, Kenya. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1939. [PMID: 33850143 PMCID: PMC8044126 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22208-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The KNM-ER 2598 occipital is among the oldest fossils attributed to Homo erectus but questions have been raised about whether it may derive from a younger horizon. Here we report on efforts to relocate the KNM-ER 2598 locality and investigate its paleontological and geological context. Although located in a different East Turkana collection area (Area 13) than initially reported, the locality is stratigraphically positioned below the KBS Tuff and the outcrops show no evidence of deflation of a younger unit, supporting an age of >1.855 Ma. Newly recovered faunal material consists primarily of C4 grazers, further confirmed by enamel isotope data. A hominin proximal 3rd metatarsal and partial ilium were discovered <50 m from the reconstructed location where KNM-ER 2598 was originally found but these cannot be associated directly with the occipital. The postcrania are consistent with fossil Homo and may represent the earliest postcrania attributable to Homo erectus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley S Hammond
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.
- New York Consortium of Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), New York, NY, USA.
| | | | - Maryse Biernat
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - David R Braun
- Department of Anthropology and Center for Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Zubair Jinnah
- School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Sharon Kuo
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Sahleselasie Melaku
- Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH), National Museum of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Paleoanthropology and Paleoenvironment Program, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Sylvia N Wemanya
- Archaeology Section, Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
- Department of Archaeology and History, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Emmanuel K Ndiema
- Archaeology Section, Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - David B Patterson
- Department of Biology, University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, GA, USA
| | - Kevin T Uno
- Division of Biology and Paleo Environment, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
| | - Dan V Palcu
- Paleomagnetic Laboratory 'Fort Hoofddijk', Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
- Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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44
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Beaudet
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. .,School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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45
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Baab KL, Nesbitt A, Hublin JJ, Neubauer S. Assessing the status of the KNM-ER 42700 fossil using Homo erectus neurocranial development. J Hum Evol 2021; 154:102980. [PMID: 33794419 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Based on ontogenetic data of endocranial shape, it has been proposed that a younger than previously assumed developmental status of the 1.5-Myr-old KNM-ER 42700 calvaria could explain why the calvaria of this fossil does not conform to the shape of other Homo erectus individuals. Here, we investigate (ecto)neurocranial ontogeny in H. erectus and assess the proposed juvenile status of this fossil using recent Homo sapiens, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), and Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) to model and discuss changes in neurocranial shape from the juvenile to adult stages. We show that all four species share common patterns of developmental shape change resulting in a relatively lower cranial vault and expanded supraorbital torus at later developmental stages. This finding suggests that ectoneurocranial data from extant hominids can be used to model the ontogenetic trajectory for H. erectus, for which only one well-preserved very young individual is known. However, our study also reveals differences in the magnitudes and, to a lesser extent, directions of the species-specific trajectories that add to the overall shared pattern of neurocranial shape changes. We demonstrate that the very young H. erectus juvenile from Mojokerto together with subadult and adult H. erectus individuals cannot be accommodated within the pattern of the postnatal neurocranial trajectory for humans. Instead, the chimpanzee pattern might be a better 'fit' for H. erectus despite their more distant phylogenetic relatedness. The data are also compatible with an ontogenetic shape trajectory that is in some regards intermediate between that of recent H. sapiens and chimpanzees, implying a unique trajectory for H. erectus that combines elements of both extant species. Based on this new knowledge, neurocranial shape supports the assessment that KNM-ER 42700 is a young juvenile H. erectus if H. erectus followed an ontogenetic shape trajectory that was more similar to chimpanzees than humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen L Baab
- Department of Anatomy, College of Graduate Studies, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, 85308, USA; NYCEP Morphometrics Group, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
| | - Allison Nesbitt
- Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Simon Neubauer
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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46
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Karakostis FA, Haeufle D, Anastopoulou I, Moraitis K, Hotz G, Tourloukis V, Harvati K. Biomechanics of the human thumb and the evolution of dexterity. Curr Biol 2021; 31:1317-1325.e8. [PMID: 33513351 PMCID: PMC7987722 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 12/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Systematic tool production and use is one of humanity's defining characteristics, possibly originating as early as >3 million years ago.1-3 Although heightened manual dexterity is considered to be intrinsically intertwined with tool use and manufacture, and critical for human evolution, its role in the emergence of early culture remains unclear. Most previous research on this question exclusively relied on direct morphological comparisons between early hominin and modern human skeletal elements, assuming that the degree of a species' dexterity depends on its similarity with the modern human form. Here, we develop a new approach to investigate the efficiency of thumb opposition, a fundamental component of manual dexterity, in several species of fossil hominins. Our work for the first time takes into account soft tissue as well as bone anatomy, integrating virtual modeling of musculus opponens pollicis and its interaction with three-dimensional bone shape form. Results indicate that a fundamental aspect of efficient thumb opposition appeared approximately 2 million years ago, possibly associated with our own genus Homo, and did not characterize Australopithecus, the earliest proposed stone tool maker. This was true also of the late Australopithecus species, Australopithecus sediba, previously found to exhibit human-like thumb proportions. In contrast, later Homo species, including the small-brained Homo naledi, show high levels of thumb opposition dexterity, highlighting the increasing importance of cultural processes and manual dexterity in later human evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fotios Alexandros Karakostis
- Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Daniel Haeufle
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research and Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Strasse 3, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Institute for Modelling and Simulation of Biomechanical Systems, University of Stuttgart, Nobelstrasse 15, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Ioanna Anastopoulou
- Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Mikras Asias Street 75, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Konstantinos Moraitis
- Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Mikras Asias Street 75, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Gerhard Hotz
- Anthropological Collection, Natural History Museum of Basel, Basel 4051, Switzerland
| | - Vangelis Tourloukis
- Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Katerina Harvati
- Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; DFG Centre of Advanced Studies 'Words, Bones, Genes, Tools', Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, D-72070 Tübingen, Germany.
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47
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Rak Y, Kimbel WH, Moggi-Cecchi J, Lockwood CA, Menter C. The DNH 7 skull of Australopithecus robustus from Drimolen (Main Quarry), South Africa. J Hum Evol 2020; 151:102913. [PMID: 33388495 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Revised: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Although the early hominin species Australopithecus robustus has been known for more than eight decades and is represented by hundreds of fossils from sites in South Africa, a complete, well-preserved skull has been elusive. DNH 7, an adult cranium and mandible from the Drimolen site, was identified, on the basis of its small size, as a presumptive female of A. robustus. Here, we provide a detailed comparative description of the specimen. In cranial, facial, and dental size, DNH 7 is confirmed to lie at the extreme small end of the A. robustus range of variation, along with a few fragmentary maxillofacial specimens from Swartkrans. In addition, relative to the classically derived craniofacial features of the Swartkrans+Kromdraai portions of the A. robustus hypodigm, primitive anatomy pervades the DNH 7 face, braincase, and cranial base. Taken together, these pieces of evidence place DNH 7 in a previously unfilled position on the robust Australopithecus morphocline, where the specimen highlights the morphological distinctions between southern and eastern African species of this group and epitomizes the anatomy expected of the group's last common ancestor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoel Rak
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel; Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, PO Box 874101, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - William H Kimbel
- Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, PO Box 874101, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA; School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, PO Box 872402, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA.
| | - Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122, Florence, Italy
| | - Charles A Lockwood
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Colin Menter
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122, Florence, Italy
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48
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Murszewski A, Boschian G, Herries AI. Complexities of assessing palaeocave stratigraphy: reconstructing site formation of the ∼2.61 Ma Drimolen Makondo fossil site. PeerJ 2020; 8:e10360. [PMID: 33391865 PMCID: PMC7759135 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Palaeocave sites in South Africa are world renowned repositories for palaeontological and archaeological material, dating from the terminal Pliocene to the Early Pleistocene. Due to their antiquity, complex karstification history and multifaceted infilling phases, palaeocave sites are notoriously difficult to contextualise. Further to this, 19th century lime-mining and diverse excavation and sampling techniques, have complicated stratigraphic interpretations of fossil-bearing deposits within the region. Locating and assessing newly discovered, minimally disturbed palaeocave sites allow for contextual information to be gathered with greater confidence and can aid in constructing a more robust understanding of the South African fossil record. Here, we use Drimolen Makondo; a minimally lime-mined ∼2.61 Ma palaeontological site, to apply a series of in-depth stratigraphic and micromorphological studies. Contextual data presented within this study, testifies to a relatively rapid infill with greater fluvial activity when compared to adjacent deposits at the younger ∼2.04-1.95 Ma Drimolen Main Quarry. The quantity of articulated macromammalian remains, high density of micromammalian remains and pollen identified, also highlights Drimolen Makondo as a key site for ongoing palaeoenvironmental studies at the Pliocene to Pleistocene transition in South Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashleigh Murszewski
- The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Giovanni Boschian
- Biology Department, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Andy I.R. Herries
- The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Gauteng, South Africa
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49
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Froment C, Zanolli C, Hourset M, Mouton-Barbosa E, Moreira A, Burlet-Schiltz O, Mollereau C. Protein sequence comparison of human and non-human primate tooth proteomes. J Proteomics 2020; 231:104045. [PMID: 33189847 DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2020.104045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Revised: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In the context of human evolution, the study of proteins may overcome the limitation of the high degradation of ancient DNA over time to provide biomolecular information useful for the phylogenetic reconstruction of hominid taxa. In this study, we used a shotgun proteomics approach to compare the tooth proteomes of extant human and non-human primates (gorilla, chimpanzee, orangutan and baboon) in order to search for a panel of peptides able to discriminate between taxa and further help reconstructing the evolutionary relationships of fossil primates. Among the 25 proteins shared by the five genera datasets, we found a combination of peptides with sequence variations allowing to differentiate the hominid taxa in the proteins AHSG, AMBN, APOA1, BGN, C9, COL11A2, COL22A1, COL3A1, DSPP, F2, LUM, OMD, PCOLCE and SERPINA1. The phylogenetic tree confirms the placement of the samples in the appropriate genus branches. Altogether, the results provide experimental evidence that a shotgun proteomics approach on dental tissue has the potential to detect taxonomic variation, which is promising for future investigations of uncharacterized and/or fossil hominid/hominin specimens. SIGNIFICANCE: A shotgun proteomics approach on human and non-human primate teeth allowed to identify peptides with taxonomic interest, highlighting the potential for future studies on hominid fossils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carine Froment
- Institut de Pharmacologie et Biologie Structurale (IPBS), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Laboratoire PACEA, UMR 5199 CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | - Mathilde Hourset
- Laboratoire d'Anthropobiologie Moléculaire et Imagerie de Synthèse (AMIS), UMR 5288 CNRS, Université de Toulouse, UPS, Toulouse, France; Faculté de chirurgie dentaire de Toulouse, Université de Toulouse, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Emmanuelle Mouton-Barbosa
- Institut de Pharmacologie et Biologie Structurale (IPBS), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Andreia Moreira
- Laboratoire d'Anthropobiologie Moléculaire et Imagerie de Synthèse (AMIS), UMR 5288 CNRS, Université de Toulouse, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Odile Burlet-Schiltz
- Institut de Pharmacologie et Biologie Structurale (IPBS), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France.
| | - Catherine Mollereau
- Laboratoire d'Anthropobiologie Moléculaire et Imagerie de Synthèse (AMIS), UMR 5288 CNRS, Université de Toulouse, UPS, Toulouse, France.
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50
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Martin JM, Leece AB, Neubauer S, Baker SE, Mongle CS, Boschian G, Schwartz GT, Smith AL, Ledogar JA, Strait DS, Herries AIR. Drimolen cranium DNH 155 documents microevolution in an early hominin species. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 5:38-45. [PMID: 33168991 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-01319-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Paranthropus robustus is a small-brained extinct hominin from South Africa characterized by derived, robust craniodental morphology. The most complete known skull of this species is DNH 7 from Drimolen Main Quarry, which differs from P. robustus specimens recovered elsewhere in ways attributed to sexual dimorphism. Here, we describe a new fossil specimen from Drimolen Main Quarry, dated from approximately 2.04-1.95 million years ago, that challenges this view. DNH 155 is a well-preserved adult male cranium that shares with DNH 7 a suite of primitive and derived features unlike those seen in adult P. robustus specimens from other chronologically younger deposits. This refutes existing hypotheses linking sexual dimorphism, ontogeny and social behaviour within this taxon, and clarifies hypotheses concerning hominin phylogeny. We document small-scale morphological changes in P. robustus associated with ecological change within a short time frame and restricted geography. This represents the most highly resolved evidence yet of microevolutionary change within an early hominin species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse M Martin
- Palaeoscience, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - A B Leece
- Palaeoscience, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - Simon Neubauer
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stephanie E Baker
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Carrie S Mongle
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.,Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Giovanni Boschian
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Gary T Schwartz
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Amanda L Smith
- Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Justin A Ledogar
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - David S Strait
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa. .,Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Andy I R Herries
- Palaeoscience, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.,Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa
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