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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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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). Am J Biol Anthropol 2022; 179:240-260. [PMCID: PMC9796117 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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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: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Cazenave M, Oettlé A, Pickering TR, Heaton JL, Nakatsukasa M, Francis Thackeray J, Hoffman J, Macchiarelli R. Trabecular organization of the proximal femur in Paranthropus robustus: Implications for the assessment of its hip joint loading conditions. J Hum Evol 2021; 153:102964. [PMID: 33713985 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Reconstruction of the locomotor repertoire of the australopiths (Australopithecus and Paranthropus) has progressively integrated information from the mechanosensitive internal structure of the appendicular skeleton. Recent investigations showed that the arrangement of the trabecular network at the femoral head center is biomechanically compatible with the pattern of cortical bone distribution across the neck, both suggesting a full commitment to bipedalism in australopiths, but associated with a slightly altered gait kinematics compared to Homo involving more lateral deviation of the body center of mass over the stance limb. To provide a global picture in Paranthropus robustus of the trabecular architecture of the proximal femur across the head, neck and greater trochanter compartments, we applied techniques of virtual imaging to the variably preserved Early Pleistocene specimens SK 82, SK 97, SK 3121, SKW 19 and SWT1/LB-2 from the cave site of Swartkrans, South Africa. We also assessed the coherence between the structural signals from the center of the head and those from the trabecular network of the inferolateral portion of the head and the inferior margin of the neck, sampling the so-called vertical bundle, which in humans represents the principal compressive system of the joint. Our analyses show a functionally related trabecular organization in Pa. robustus that closely resembles the extant human condition, but which also includes some specificities in local textural arrangement. The network of the inferolateral portion of the head shows a humanlike degree of anisotropy and a bone volume fraction intermediate between the extant human and the African ape patterns. These results suggest slight differences in gait kinematics between Pa. robustus and extant humans. The neck portion of the vertical bundle revealed a less biomechanically sensitive signal. Future investigations on the australopith hip joint loading environment should more carefully investigate the trabecular structure of the trochanteric region and possible structural covariation between cortical bone distribution across the neck and site-specific trabecular properties of the arcuate bundle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Cazenave
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
| | - Anna Oettlé
- Department of Anatomy and Histology, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Travis Rayne Pickering
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (Transvaal Museum), Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Jason L Heaton
- Department of Biology, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (Transvaal Museum), Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Masato Nakatsukasa
- Laboratory of Physical Anthropology, Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - J Francis Thackeray
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Jakobus Hoffman
- South African Nuclear Energy Corporation SOC Ltd., Pelindaba, South Africa
| | - Roberto Macchiarelli
- Département Homme & Environnement, UMR 7194 CNRS, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, 75116, Paris, France; Unité de Formation Géosciences, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
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Davies TW, Delezene LK, Gunz P, Hublin JJ, Berger LR, Gidna A, Skinner MM. Distinct mandibular premolar crown morphology in Homo naledi and its implications for the evolution of Homo species in southern Africa. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13196. [PMID: 32764597 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69993-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Homo naledi displays a combination of features across the skeleton not found in any other hominin taxon, which has hindered attempts to determine its placement within the hominin clade. Using geometric morphometrics, we assess the morphology of the mandibular premolars of the species at the enamel-dentine junction (EDJ). Comparing with specimens of Paranthropus, Australopithecus and Homo (n = 97), we find that the H. naledi premolars from the Dinaledi chamber consistently display a suite of traits (e.g., tall crown, well-developed P3 and P4 metaconid, strongly developed P3 mesial marginal ridge, and a P3 > P4 size relationship) that distinguish them from known hominin groups. Premolars from a second locality, the Lesedi Chamber, are consistent with this morphology. We also find that two specimens from South Africa, SK 96 (usually attributed to Paranthropus) and Stw 80 (Homo sp.), show similarities to the species, and we discuss a potential evolutionary link between H. naledi and hominins from Sterkfontein and Swartkrans.
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Cazenave M, Braga J, Oettlé A, Pickering TR, Heaton JL, Nakatsukasa M, Thackeray JF, de Beer F, Hoffman J, Dumoncel J, Macchiarelli R. Cortical bone distribution in the femoral neck of Paranthropus robustus. J Hum Evol 2019; 135:102666. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2018] [Revised: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Caley T, Extier T, Collins JA, Schefuß E, Dupont L, Malaizé B, Rossignol L, Souron A, McClymont EL, Jimenez-Espejo FJ, García-Comas C, Eynaud F, Martinez P, Roche DM, Jorry SJ, Charlier K, Wary M, Gourves PY, Billy I, Giraudeau J. A two-million-year-long hydroclimatic context for hominin evolution in southeastern Africa. Nature 2018; 560:76-79. [PMID: 29988081 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0309-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 04/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The past two million years of eastern African climate variability is currently poorly constrained, despite interest in understanding its assumed role in early human evolution1-4. Rare palaeoclimate records from northeastern Africa suggest progressively drier conditions2,5 or a stable hydroclimate6. By contrast, records from Lake Malawi in tropical southeastern Africa reveal a trend of a progressively wetter climate over the past 1.3 million years7,8. The climatic forcings that controlled these past hydrological changes are also a matter of debate. Some studies suggest a dominant local insolation forcing on hydrological changes9-11, whereas others infer a potential influence of sea surface temperature changes in the Indian Ocean8,12,13. Here we show that the hydroclimate in southeastern Africa (20-25° S) is controlled by interplay between low-latitude insolation forcing (precession and eccentricity) and changes in ice volume at high latitudes. Our results are based on a multiple-proxy reconstruction of hydrological changes in the Limpopo River catchment, combined with a reconstruction of sea surface temperature in the southwestern Indian Ocean for the past 2.14 million years. We find a long-term aridification in the Limpopo catchment between around 1 and 0.6 million years ago, opposite to the hydroclimatic evolution suggested by records from Lake Malawi. Our results, together with evidence of wetting at Lake Malawi, imply that the rainbelt contracted toward the Equator in response to increased ice volume at high latitudes. By reducing the extent of woodland or wetlands in terrestrial ecosystems, the observed changes in the hydroclimate of southeastern Africa-both in terms of its long-term state and marked precessional variability-could have had a role in the evolution of early hominins, particularly in the extinction of Paranthropus robustus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thibaut Caley
- EPOC, UMR 5805, CNRS, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France.
| | - Thomas Extier
- EPOC, UMR 5805, CNRS, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France.,Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - James A Collins
- GFZ - German Research Center for Geosciences, Section 5.1 Geomorphology, Organic Surface Geochemistry Laboratory, Potsdam, Germany.,Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Enno Schefuß
- MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Lydie Dupont
- MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Bruno Malaizé
- EPOC, UMR 5805, CNRS, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | - Linda Rossignol
- EPOC, UMR 5805, CNRS, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | - Antoine Souron
- PACEA, UMR 5199, CNRS, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | | | | | - Carmen García-Comas
- Research and Development Center for Global Change, (JAMSTEC), Yokohama, Japan.,Ecology Group, University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | | | - Didier M Roche
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.,Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculty of Science, Cluster Earth and Climate, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Stephan J Jorry
- Unité Géosciences Marines, Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), Plouzané, France
| | - Karine Charlier
- EPOC, UMR 5805, CNRS, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | - Mélanie Wary
- EPOC, UMR 5805, CNRS, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | | | - Isabelle Billy
- EPOC, UMR 5805, CNRS, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France
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Odes EJ, Randolph-Quinney PS, Steyn M, Throckmorton Z, Smilg JS, Zipfel B, Augustine TN, de Beer F, Hoffman JW, Franklin RD, Berger LR. Earliest hominin cancer: 1.7-million-year-old osteosarcoma from Swartkrans Cave, South Africa. S AFR J SCI 2016. [DOI: 10.17159/sajs.2016/20150471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract The reported incidence of neoplasia in the extinct human lineage is rare, with only a few confirmed cases of Middle or Later Pleistocene dates reported. It has generally been assumed that pre-modern incidence of neoplastic disease of any kind is rare and limited to benign conditions, but new fossil evidence suggests otherwise. We here present the earliest identifiable case of malignant neoplastic disease from an early human ancestor dated to 1.8–1.6 million years old. The diagnosis has been made possible only by advances in 3D imaging methods as diagnostic aids. We present a case report based on re-analysis of a hominin metatarsal specimen (SK 7923) from the cave site of Swartkrans in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. The expression of malignant osteosarcoma in the Swartkrans specimen indicates that whilst the upsurge in malignancy incidence is correlated with modern lifestyles, there is no reason to suspect that primary bone tumours would have been any less frequent in ancient specimens. Such tumours are not related to lifestyle and often occur in younger individuals. As such, malignancy has a considerable antiquity in the fossil record, as evidenced by this specimen.
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Cornélio AM, de Bittencourt-Navarrete RE, de Bittencourt Brum R, Queiroz CM, Costa MR. Human Brain Expansion during Evolution Is Independent of Fire Control and Cooking. Front Neurosci 2016; 10:167. [PMID: 27199631 PMCID: PMC4842772 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2016] [Accepted: 04/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
What makes humans unique? This question has fascinated scientists and philosophers for centuries and it is still a matter of intense debate. Nowadays, human brain expansion during evolution has been acknowledged to explain our empowered cognitive capabilities. The drivers for such accelerated expansion remain, however, largely unknown. In this sense, studies have suggested that the cooking of food could be a pre-requisite for the expansion of brain size in early hominins. However, this appealing hypothesis is only supported by a mathematical model suggesting that the increasing number of neurons in the brain would constrain body size among primates due to a limited amount of calories obtained from diets. Here, we show, by using a similar mathematical model, that a tradeoff between body mass and the number of brain neurons imposed by dietary constraints during hominin evolution is unlikely. Instead, the predictable number of neurons in the hominin brain varies much more in function of foraging efficiency than body mass. We also review archeological data to show that the expansion of the brain volume in the hominin lineage is described by a linear function independent of evidence of fire control, and therefore, thermal processing of food does not account for this phenomenon. Finally, we report experiments in mice showing that thermal processing of meat does not increase its caloric availability in mice. Altogether, our data indicate that cooking is neither sufficient nor necessary to explain hominin brain expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alianda M Cornélio
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do NorteNatal, Brazil; Department of Morphology, Center of Biosciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do NorteNatal, Brazil
| | | | | | - Claudio M Queiroz
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte Natal, Brazil
| | - Marcos R Costa
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte Natal, Brazil
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Gilbert CC, Frost SR, Delson E. Reassessment of Olduvai Bed I cercopithecoids: A new biochronological and biogeographical link to the South African fossil record. J Hum Evol 2016; 92:50-9. [PMID: 26989016 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2015] [Revised: 12/04/2015] [Accepted: 12/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Fossil monkeys have long been used as important faunal elements in studies of African Plio-Pleistocene biochronology, particularly in the case of the South African karst cave sites. Cercopithecoid fossils have been known from Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge for nearly a century, with multiple taxa documented including Theropithecus oswaldi and Cercopithecoides kimeui, along with papionins and colobines less clearly attributable to species. A small number of large papionin fossils, including a partial male cranium and partial female skull, have been previously identified as an early form of Papio, but noted as distinct from extant baboons as well as other fossil Papio species. In 2013 we reviewed the Olduvai cercopithecoid material at the National Museum of Tanzania, with a particular focus on the specimens from Beds I-IV. Quantitative and qualitative comparisons of the Olduvai papionins largely confirmed previous observations, with one notable exception. The large papionin taxon from Bed I previously recognized as Papio sp. is more properly recognized as Gorgopithecus major, a taxon previously known only from South Africa. Features shared between the Olduvai specimens and G. major include relatively short and concavo-convex tubular nasals, antero-posteriorly curved upper incisor roots, downwardly curved brow ridges in the midline, and robust zygomatic arches. The recognition of G. major at Olduvai Bed I, a well-known horizon with precise radiometric dates, provides an important biochronological and biogeographical link with South African localities Kromdraai A, Swartkrans Member 1 and possibly Swartkrans Members 2-3 and Cooper's A and D.
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Duval M. Evaluating the accuracy of ESR dose determination of pseudo-Early Pleistocene fossil tooth enamel samples using dose recovery tests. RADIAT MEAS 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2015.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Grine FE, Bromage TG, Daegling DJ, Burr DB, Brain CK. Microbial osteolysis in an Early Pleistocene hominin (Paranthropus robustus) from Swartkrans, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2015; 85:126-35. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2014] [Revised: 03/18/2015] [Accepted: 05/06/2015] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
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Abstract
Abstract
Pleistocene Paranthropus robustus fossils from Swartkrans have yielded stable isotope values suggesting some foraging on C4 plants possibly including underground storage organs. Dental microwear texture analysis on P. robustus (SK 6, SK 34 and SK 47) from Swartkrans Member 1 is performed to examine whether tooth surface damage from mastication agrees with prior dietary inferences from carbon isotopes. There is considerable variation in textural characteristics among the P. robustus specimens. Specifically, adult SK 34 stands apart from the two subadult specimens, SK 6 and SK 47, suggesting life history could be reflected in patterns of dental microwear texture characteristics, although seasonality and availability of fallback foods may also explain the variation observed in P. robustus. The fossils all exhibit elevated surface texture complexity, resembling the values for Lophocebus albigena and Cebus apella, and to a lesser extent, Pan troglodytes. Paranthropus robustus is dissimilar to primary folivores, such as Trachypithecus cristatus or folivore- frugivores such as Alouatta palliata suggesting leaves comprised very little of its diet. The textural fill volume of P. robustus differs from that observed in extant primates from tropical forests indicating extreme durophagy, perhaps a function of differences in habitat. Ingestion of extraneous grit on the underground parts of plants and from terrestrial resources, perhaps as fallback foods or as dietary staples, may account for these enamel textural properties and may help explain the mixed C3/C4 isotopic signal in P. robustus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank L’Engle Williams
- Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
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Will M, Stock JT. Spatial and temporal variation of body size among early Homo. J Hum Evol 2015; 82:15-33. [PMID: 25818180 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2014] [Revised: 01/05/2015] [Accepted: 02/10/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The estimation of body size among the earliest members of the genus Homo (2.4-1.5Myr [millions of years ago]) is central to interpretations of their biology. It is widely accepted that Homo ergaster possessed increased body size compared with Homo habilis and Homo rudolfensis, and that this may have been a factor involved with the dispersal of Homo out of Africa. The study of taxonomic differences in body size, however, is problematic. Postcranial remains are rarely associated with craniodental fossils, and taxonomic attributions frequently rest upon the size of skeletal elements. Previous body size estimates have been based upon well-preserved specimens with a more reliable species assessment. Since these samples are small (n < 5) and disparate in space and time, little is known about geographical and chronological variation in body size within early Homo. We investigate temporal and spatial variation in body size among fossils of early Homo using a 'taxon-free' approach, considering evidence for size variation from isolated and fragmentary postcranial remains (n = 39). To render the size of disparate fossil elements comparable, we derived new regression equations for common parameters of body size from a globally representative sample of hunter-gatherers and applied them to available postcranial measurements from the fossils. The results demonstrate chronological and spatial variation but no simple temporal or geographical trends for the evolution of body size among early Homo. Pronounced body size increases within Africa take place only after hominin populations were established at Dmanisi, suggesting that migrations into Eurasia were not contingent on larger body sizes. The primary evidence for these marked changes among early Homo is based upon material from Koobi Fora after 1.7Myr, indicating regional size variation. The significant body size differences between specimens from Koobi Fora and Olduvai support the cranial evidence for at least two co-existing morphotypes in the Early Pleistocene of eastern Africa.
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Herries AI, Adams JW. Clarifying the context, dating and age range of the Gondolin hominins and Paranthropus in South Africa. J Hum Evol 2013; 65:676-81. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2013] [Revised: 06/06/2013] [Accepted: 06/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Herries AIR, Pickering R, Adams JW, Curnoe D, Warr G, Latham AG, Shaw J. A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective on the Age of Australopithecus in Southern Africa. The Paleobiology of Australopithecus 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-5919-0_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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Grine FE, Jacobs RL, Reed KE, Plavcan JM. The enigmatic molar from Gondolin, South Africa: Implications for Paranthropus paleobiology. J Hum Evol 2012; 63:597-609. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2011] [Revised: 04/11/2012] [Accepted: 06/28/2012] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Herries AIR, Shaw J. Palaeomagnetic analysis of the Sterkfontein palaeocave deposits: Implications for the age of the hominin fossils and stone tool industries. J Hum Evol 2011; 60:523-39. [PMID: 21392817 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2009] [Revised: 07/29/2010] [Accepted: 07/28/2010] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andy I R Herries
- UNSW Archaeomagnetic Laboratory, Integrative Palaeoecological and Anthropological Studies, School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Sydney 2052, Australia.
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Abstract
A review is presented of some of the ways in which electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy may be useful to investigate systems of relevance to the environmental sciences. Specifically considered are: quantititave ESR, photocatalysis for pollution control; sorption and mobility of molecules in zeolites; free radicals produced by mechanical action and by shock waves from explosives; measurement of peroxyl radicals and nitrate radicals in air; determination of particulate matter polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), soot and black carbon in air; estimation of nitrate and nitrite in vegetables and fruit; lipid-peroxidation by solid particles (silica, asbestos, coal dust); ESR of soils and other biogenic substances: formation of soil organic matter carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and no-till farming; detection of reactive oxygen species in the photosynthetic apparatus of higher plants under light stress; molecular mobility and intracellular glasses in seeds and pollen; molecular mobility in dry cotton; characterisation of the surface of carbon black used for chromatography; ESR dating for archaeology and determining seawater levels; measurement of the quality of tea-leaves by ESR; green-catalysts and catalytic media; studies of petroleum (crude oil); fuels; methane hydrate; fuel cells; photovoltaics; source rocks; kerogen; carbonaceous chondrites to find an ESR-based marker for extraterrestrial origin; samples from the Moon taken on the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 missions to understand space-weathering; ESR studies of organic matter in regard to oil and gas formation in the North Sea; solvation by ionic liquids as green solvents, ESR in food and nutraceutical research.
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Haile-Selassie Y, Latimer BM, Alene M, Deino AL, Gibert L, Melillo SM, Saylor BZ, Scott GR, Lovejoy CO. An early Australopithecus afarensis postcranium from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010; 107:12121-6. [PMID: 20566837 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1004527107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Only one partial skeleton that includes both forelimb and hindlimb elements has been reported for Australopithecus afarensis. The diminutive size of this specimen (A.L. 288-1 ["Lucy"]) has hampered our understanding of the paleobiology of this species absent the potential impact of allometry. Here we describe a large-bodied (i.e., well within the range of living Homo) specimen that, at 3.58 Ma, also substantially antedates A.L. 288-1. It provides fundamental evidence of limb proportions, thoracic form, and locomotor heritage in Australopithecus afarensis. Together, these characteristics further establish that bipedality in Australopithecus was highly evolved and that thoracic form differed substantially from that of either extant African ape.
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Curnoe D. A review of early Homo in southern Africa focusing on cranial, mandibular and dental remains, with the description of a new species (Homo gautengensis sp. nov.). HOMO 2010; 61:151-77. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jchb.2010.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2010] [Accepted: 03/22/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Wrangham R, Cheney D, Seyfarth R, Sarmiento E. Shallow-water habitats as sources of fallback foods for hominins. Am J Phys Anthropol 2009; 140:630-42. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Gilbert CC, Grine FE. Morphometric variation in the papionin muzzle and the biochronology of the South African Plio-Pleistocene karst cave deposits. Am J Phys Anthropol 2009; 141:418-29. [PMID: 19918994 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Papionin monkeys are widespread, relatively common members of Plio-Pleistocene faunal assemblages across Africa. For these reasons, papionin taxa have been used as biochronological indicators by which to infer the ages of the South African karst cave deposits. A recent morphometric study of South African fossil papionin muzzle shape concluded that its variation attests to a substantial and greater time depth for these sites than is generally estimated. This inference is significant, because accurate dating of the South African cave sites is critical to our knowledge of hominin evolution and mammalian biogeographic history. We here report the results of a comparative analysis of extant papionin monkeys by which variability of the South African fossil papionins may be assessed. The muzzles of 106 specimens representing six extant papionin genera were digitized and interlandmark distances were calculated. Results demonstrate that the overall amount of morphological variation present within the fossil assemblage fits comfortably within the range exhibited by the extant sample. We also performed a statistical experiment to assess the limitations imposed by small sample sizes, such as typically encountered in the fossil record. Results suggest that 15 specimens are sufficient to accurately represent the population mean for a given phenotype, but small sample sizes are insufficient to permit the accurate estimation of the population standard deviation, variance, and range. The suggestion that the muzzle morphology of fossil papionins attests to a considerable and previously unrecognized temporal depth of the South African karst cave sites is unwarranted.
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O'Regan HJ, Reynolds SC. An ecological reassessment of the southern African carnivore guild: a case study from Member 4, Sterkfontein, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2009; 57:212-22. [PMID: 19647856 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2007] [Revised: 03/03/2009] [Accepted: 11/15/2009] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- H J O'Regan
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK. h.j.o'
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de Ruiter DJ, Sponheimer M, Lee-Thorp JA. Indications of habitat association of Australopithecus robustus in the Bloubank Valley, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2008; 55:1015-30. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2007] [Revised: 04/21/2008] [Accepted: 06/06/2008] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Herries AIR, Adams JW, Kuykendall KL, Shaw J. Speleology and magnetobiostratigraphic chronology of the GD 2 locality of the Gondolin hominin-bearing paleocave deposits, North West Province, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2006; 51:617-31. [PMID: 16949648 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2005] [Revised: 06/09/2006] [Accepted: 07/07/2006] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Speleological, paleomagnetic, mineral magnetic, and biochronological analyses have been undertaken at the Gondolin hominin-bearing paleocave, North West Province, South Africa. Two fossiliferous but stratigraphically separate sequences, GD2 and GD1/3, which were once part of a large cavern system, have been identified. Although some comparative paleomagnetic samples were taken from the GD 1, 3, and 4 localities that are currently under investigation, the research presented here focuses on the fossil-rich, in situ deposits at locality GD 2, excavated by E.S. Vrba in 1979. The GD 2 deposits are dominated by normal-polarity calcified clastic deposits that are sandwiched between clastic-free flowstone speleothems. The lower flowstone has a sharp contact with the red siltstone deposits and is of reversed polarity. The capping flowstone shows a change from normal to reversed polarity, thereby preserving a polarity reversal. While the paleomagnetic work indicates that the GD 2 fossil material was deposited during a normal-polarity period, the shortness of the sequence made matching of the magnetostratigraphy to the geomagnetic polarity time scale (GPTS) impossible without the aid of biochronology. While lacking multiple time-sensitive taxa, the recovery of specimens attributable to Stage III Metridiochoerus andrewsi is consistent with a deposition date between 1.9 and 1.5 Ma. A comparison of the magnetostratigraphy with the GPTS therefore suggests that the fauna-bearing siltstone of GD 2 date to the Olduvai normal-polarity event, which occurred between 1.95 and 1.78 Ma, and that the reversal from normal to reversed polarity identified in the capping flowstone dates to 1.78 Ma. The main faunal layers therefore date to slightly older than 1.78 Ma. Deposits from the GD 1 locality are dominated by reversed directions of magnetization, which show that this deposit is not of the same age as the faunal layers from the GD 2 locality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andy I R Herries
- Palaeoanthropology Research Group, Department of Anatomy, School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington 2052, Sydney, Australia.
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de Ruiter DJ, Steininger CM, Berger LR. A cranial base ofAustralopithecus robustus from the hanging remnant of Swartkrans, South Africa. Am J Phys Anthropol 2006; 130:435-44. [PMID: 16425189 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.20386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
SKW 18, a partial hominin cranium recovered from the site of Swartkrans, South Africa, in 1968 is described. It is derived from ex situ breccia of the Hanging Remnant of Member 1, dated to approximately 1.5-1.8 Mya. Although partially encased in breccia, it was refit to the facial fragment SK 52 (Clarke 1977 The Cranium of the Swartkrans Hominid SK 847 and Its Relevance to Human Origins, Ph.D. dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg), producing the composite cranium SKW 18/SK 52. Subsequent preparation revealed the most complete cranial base attributable to the species Australopithecus robustus. SKW 18 suffered weathering and slight postdepositional distortion, but retains considerable anatomical detail. The composite cranium most likely represents a large, subadult male, based on the incomplete fusion of the spheno-occipital synchondrosis; unerupted third molar; pronounced development of muscular insertions; and large teeth. Cranial base measures of SKW 18 expand the range of values previously recorded for A. robustus. SKW 18 provides information on anatomical features not previously visible in this taxon, and expands our knowledge of morphological variability recognizable in the cranial base. Morphological heterogeneity in the development of the prevertebral and nuchal muscular insertions is likely the result of sexual dimorphism in A. robustus, while differences in cranial base angles and the development of the occipital/marginal sinus drainage system cannot be attributed to size dimorphism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darryl J de Ruiter
- Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4352, USA.
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Grün R, Stringer C, McDermott F, Nathan R, Porat N, Robertson S, Taylor L, Mortimer G, Eggins S, McCulloch M. U-series and ESR analyses of bones and teeth relating to the human burials from Skhul. J Hum Evol 2005; 49:316-34. [PMID: 15970310 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2004] [Accepted: 04/20/2005] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In order to resolve long-standing issues surrounding the age of the Skhul early modern humans, new analyses have been conducted, including the dating of four well-provenanced fossils by ESR and U-series. If the Skhul burials took place within a relatively short time span, then the best age estimate lies between 100 and 135 ka. This result agrees very well with TL ages obtained from burnt flint of 119+/-18 ka (Mercier et al., 1993). However, we cannot exclude the possibility that the material associated with the Skhul IX burial is older than those of Skhul II and Skhul V. These and other recent age estimates suggest that the three burial sites, Skhul, Qafzeh and Tabun are broadly contemporaneous, falling within the time range of 100 to 130 ka. The presence of early representatives of both early modern humans and Neanderthals in the Levant during Marine Isotope Stage 5 inevitably complicates attempts at segregating these populations by date or archaeological association. Nevertheless, it does appear that the oldest known symbolic burials are those of early modern humans at Skhul and Qafzeh. This supports the view that, despite the associated Middle Palaeolithic technology, elements of modern human behaviour were represented at Skhul and Qafzeh prior to 100 ka.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rainer Grün
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia; Research Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
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Berger LR, Lacruz R, De Ruiter DJ. Revised age estimates of Australopithecus-bearing deposits at Sterkfontein, South Africa. Am J Phys Anthropol 2002; 119:192-7. [PMID: 12237940 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.10156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The Sterkfontein fossil site in South Africa has produced the largest concentration of early hominin fossils from a single locality. Recent reports suggest that Australopithecus from this site is found within a broad paleontological age of between 2.5-3.5 Ma (Partridge [2000] The Cenozoic of Southern Africa, Oxford: Oxford Monographs, p. 100-125; Partridge et al. [2000a], The Cenozoic of Southern Africa, Oxford: Oxford Monographs, p. 129-130; Kuman and Clarke [2000] J Hum Evol 38:827-847). Specifically, the hominin fossil commonly referred to as the "Little Foot" skeleton from Member 2, which is arguably the most complete early hominin skeleton yet discovered, has been magnetostratigraphically dated to 3.30-3.33 Ma (Partridge [2000] The Cenozoic of Southern Africa, Oxford: Oxford Monographs, p. 100-125; Partridge et al. [2000a], The Cenozoic of Southern Africa, Oxford: Oxford Monographs, p. 129-130). More recent claims suggest that hominin fossils from the Jacovec Cavern are even older, being dated to approximately 3.5 Ma. Our interpretation of the fauna, the archeometric results, and the magnetostratigraphy of Sterkfontein indicate that it is unlikely that any Members yet described from Sterkfontein are in excess of 3.04 Ma in age. We estimate that Member 2, including the Little Foot skeleton, is younger than 3.0 Ma, and that Member 4, previously dated to between 2.4-2.8 Ma, is more likely to fall between 1.5-2.5 Ma. Our results suggest that Australopithecus africanus should not be considered as a temporal contemporary of Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus bahrelghazali, and Kenyanthropus platyops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee R Berger
- Palaeoanthropology Unit for Research and Exploration, Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa.
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