Herto Brains and Minds: Behaviour of Early Homo sapiens from the Middle Awash

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonas Beyene
Keyword(s):  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Mortuary Practices ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Post Mortem ◽  
Early Homo ◽  
Middle Awash ◽  
Late Middle Pleistocene

The discovery of three late Middle Pleistocene hominid crania, Homo sapiens idaltu, at Herto in the Middle Awash research area in Ethiopia in 1997 shed considerable light on this little-known period in Africa. These fossils consist of two adults' and a child's crania. All are morphologically intermediate between geologically earlier African fossils and anatomically modern later Pleistocene humans. The three Herto Homo sapiens idaltu crania show cutmarks indicating defleshing using sharp-edged stone tools. The post-mortem modifications and manipulation of the crania, demonstrated best on the child and broken adult crania, suggest that Homo sapiens idaltu performed ritual mortuary practices of which the dimension, context and meaning might only be revealed by further discoveries.

scholarly journals Deciphering African late middle Pleistocene hominin diversity and the origin of our species

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélien Mounier ◽  
Marta Mirazón Lahr
Keyword(s):  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Morphological Diversity ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Last Common Ancestor ◽  
North African ◽  
East African ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Source Populations ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Late Middle Pleistocene

Abstract The origin of Homo sapiens remains a matter of debate. The extent and geographic patterning of morphological diversity among Late Middle Pleistocene (LMP) African hominins is largely unknown, thus precluding the definition of boundaries of variability in early H. sapiens and the interpretation of individual fossils. Here we use a phylogenetic modelling method to predict possible morphologies of a last common ancestor of all modern humans, which we compare to LMP African fossils (KNM-ES 11693, Florisbad, Irhoud 1, Omo II, and LH18). Our results support a complex process for the evolution of H. sapiens, with the recognition of different, geographically localised, populations and lineages in Africa – not all of which contributed to our species’ origin. Based on the available fossils, H. sapiens appears to have originated from the coalescence of South and, possibly, East-African source populations, while North-African fossils may represent a population which introgressed into Neandertals during the LMP.

scholarly journals Revisiting the age of the Florisbad hominin material

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee R. Berger ◽  
John Hawks
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Age Determination ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Early Homo ◽  
Geological Age ◽  
Evolutionary Context ◽  
Critical Investigation

In 1996, Grün and coworkers provided an ESR age determination for a hominin molar from Florisbad, South Africa, at 259 ± 35 ka. The most anatomically informative hominin specimen from Florisbad is a fragmentary craniofacial specimen, attributed by many to early Homo sapiens, which has been assumed to derive from the same individual as this tooth. Since 1996, evidence about the evolutionary context for the later Middle Pleistocene and its associated hominins in Africa had markedly changed. If the Florisbad date is accurate and if the molar is associated with the craniofacial specimen, this evidence may suggest that Homo naledi coexisted in time and geography with H. sapiens in southern Africa. Thus, the accuracy for all dates needs critical investigation. This study examines the published record of excavation and subsequent analyses for the Florisbad material. We find that the contemporary records raise doubt about the contemporaneity of the tooth and calvaria. The site’s complex stratigraphy and the details about the tooth’s discovery also pose challenges for the previous ESR age estimate. Because the fragmentary cranial specimen has value for morphological comparisons, developing additional means of understanding its geological age is necessary. The current data do not demonstrate the presence of H. sapiens in southern Africa at ~260 ka.

scholarly journals Constraining the Likely Technological Niches of Late Middle Pleistocene Hominins with Homo naledi as Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerrit L. Dusseldorp ◽  
Marlize Lombard
Keyword(s):  
Tool Use ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Classification Systems ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Structural Part ◽  
Core Technology ◽  
Ecological Principles ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Late Middle Pleistocene

AbstractWe develop a framework to differentiate the technological niches of co-existing hominin species by reviewing some theoretical biases influential in thinking about techno-behaviours of extinct hominins, such as a teleological bias in discussing technological evolution. We suggest that some stone-tool classification systems underestimate technological variability, while overestimating the complexity of the behaviours most commonly represented. To model the likely technological niches of extinct populations, we combine ecological principles (i.e. competitive exclusion) with physical anthropology and the archaeological record. We test the framework by applying it to the co-existence of Homo naledi and Homo sapiens during the late Middle Pleistocene in southern Africa. Based on our analysis, we suggest that tool use was probably not an essential part of H. naledi’s niche, but that technology occasionally provided caloric benefits. In contrast, tool use was a structural part of the H. sapiens way of life. We provide reasoning for our interpretation that the latter population is associated with more sophisticated reduction strategies and the development of prepared core technology. The method also has applicability to cases such as the co-existence of different toolmakers during the Earlier Stone Age (ESA) in East Africa and the co-existence of Neanderthals and H. sapiens in Eurasia.

scholarly journals Wooden tools and fire technology in the early Neanderthal site of Poggetti Vecchi (Italy)

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (9) ◽  
pp. 2054-2059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biancamaria Aranguren ◽  
Anna Revedin ◽  
Nicola Amico ◽  
Fabio Cavulli ◽  
Gianna Giachi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fire Technology ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
The Other ◽  
Marine Isotope Stage ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Buxus Sempervirens ◽  
Fossil Bones ◽  
Late Middle Pleistocene

Excavations for the construction of thermal pools at Poggetti Vecchi (Grosseto, Tuscany, central Italy) exposed a series of wooden tools in an open-air stratified site referable to late Middle Pleistocene. The wooden artifacts were uncovered, together with stone tools and fossil bones, largely belonging to the straight-tusked elephant Paleoloxodon antiquus. The site is radiometrically dated to around 171,000 y B.P., and hence correlated with the early marine isotope stage 6 [Benvenuti M, et al. (2017) Quat Res 88:327–344]. The sticks, all fragmentary, are made from boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) and were over 1 m long, rounded at one end and pointed at the other. They have been partially charred, possibly to lessen the labor of scraping boxwood, using a technique so far not documented at the time. The wooden artifacts have the size and features of multipurpose tools known as “digging sticks,” which are quite commonly used by foragers. This discovery from Poggetti Vecchi provides evidence of the processing and use of wood by early Neanderthals, showing their ability to use fire in tool making from very tough wood.

Hominin transition to Upper Pliocene

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco J. Ayala ◽  
Camilo J. Cela-Conde
Keyword(s):  
Brain Development ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Technological Progress ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Australopithecus Afarensis ◽  
Phylogenetic Significance ◽  
Homo Neanderthalensis ◽  
Surprising Discovery

This chapter analyzes the transition of the hominins from the Middle Pleistocene to the Late Pleistocene. Two alternative models are explored, the “Multiregional Hypothesis” (MH) and the “Replacement Hypothesis,” and how each model evaluates the existing relationships between the taxa Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. Next is the investigation of the transitional (or “archaic,” if this grade is taken into account) exemplars found in Europe, Africa, and Asia and their evolutionary significance. In particular, the comparison between H. erectus and H. sapiens in China and Java is investigated, as the main foundation of the MH. The chapter ends with the surprising discovery of Homo floresiensis and its description and interpretations concerning its taxonomic and phylogenetic significance. The correlation between brain development and technological progress is at odds with the attribution of perforators, microblades, and fishing hooks to a hominin with a small cranial volume, similar to that of Australopithecus afarensis.

scholarly journals Changes in Paleovegetation and Paleoclimate in China Since the Late Middle Pleistocene: A Case Study of the Dajiuhu Basin

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4848
Author(s):  
Liwei Wu ◽  
Xinling Li ◽  
Qinghai Xu ◽  
Manyue Li ◽  
Qiufeng Zheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Asian Monsoon ◽  
East Asian Monsoon ◽  
Asian Summer Monsoon ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Central China ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Pollen Record ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Late Middle Pleistocene

The East Asian monsoon system is an important part of global atmospheric circulation; however, records of the East Asian monsoon from different regions exhibit different evolutionary rhythms. Here, we show a high-resolution record of grain size and pollen data from a lacustrine sediment core of Dajiuhu Lake in Shennongjia, Hubei Province, China, in order to reconstruct the paleovegetation and paleoeclimate evolution of the Dajiuhu Basin since the late Middle Pleistocene (~237.9 ka to the present). The results show that grain size and pollen record of the core DJH-2 are consistent with the δ18O record of stalagmites from Sanbao Cave in the same area, which is closely related to the changes of insolation at the precessional (~20-kyr) scale in the Northern Hemisphere. This is different from the records of the Asian summer monsoon recorded in the Loess Plateau of North China, which exhibited dominant 100-kyr change cyclicities. We suggest that the difference between paleoclimatic records from North and South China is closely related to the east–west-oriented mountain ranges of the Qinling Mountains in central China that blocked weakened East Asia summer monsoons across the mountains during glacial periods.

scholarly journals Directional changes in Levallois core technologies between Eastern Africa, Arabia, and the Levant during MIS 5

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Blinkhorn ◽  
Huw S. Groucutt ◽  
Eleanor M. L. Scerri ◽  
Michael D. Petraglia ◽  
Simon Blockley
Keyword(s):  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Detailed Comparison ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Reduction Activity ◽  
Core Technology ◽  
Geographic Expansion ◽  
First Time ◽  
Mis 5

AbstractMarine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, ~ 130 to 71 thousand years ago, was a key period for the geographic expansion of Homo sapiens, including engagement with new landscapes within Africa and dispersal into Asia. Occupation of the Levant by Homo sapiens in MIS 5 is well established, while recent research has documented complementary evidence in Arabia. Here, we undertake the first detailed comparison of Levallois core technology from eastern Africa, Arabia, and the Levant during MIS 5, including multiple sites associated with Homo sapiens fossils. We employ quantitative comparisons of individual artefacts that provides a detailed appraisal of Levallois reduction activity in MIS 5, thereby enabling assessment of intra- and inter-assemblage variability for the first time. Our results demonstrate a pattern of geographically structured variability embedded within a shared focus on centripetal Levallois reduction schemes and overlapping core morphologies. We reveal directional changes in core shaping and flake production from eastern Africa to Arabia and the Levant that are independent of differences in geographic or environmental parameters. These results are consistent with a common cultural inheritance between these regions, potentially stemming from a shared late Middle Pleistocene source in eastern Africa.

scholarly journals An Evolutionary Facelift: Varied Cranial Vaults of Early Homo sapiens

Neurosurgery ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. N47-N48
Author(s):  
Rahul Jandial ◽  
Reid Hoshide
Keyword(s):  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Early Homo

scholarly journals Luminescence dating of a late Middle Pleistocene glacial advance in eastern England

2021 ◽  
Vol 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip L. Gibbard ◽  
Mark D. Bateman ◽  
Jane Leathard ◽  
R.G. West
Keyword(s):  
Previous Investigation ◽  
Alluvial Fan ◽  
Luminescence Dating ◽  
Marine Isotope Stage ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Eastern Margin ◽  
First Time ◽  
Late Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Glacial Advance

Abstract Previous investigation of isolated landforms, on the eastern margin of the East Anglian Fenland, England, has demonstrated that they represent an ice-marginal delta and alluvial fan complex deposited at the margin of an ice lobe that entered the Fenland during the ‘Tottenhill glaciation’ (termed the ‘Skertchly Line’). They have been attributed, based on regional correlations, to a glaciation during the Late Wolstonian (i.e. Late Saalian) Substage (Drenthe Stadial, early Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6). This paper aimed to test this correlation by directly optically luminescence dating, for the first time, sediments found within the Skertchly Line at Shouldham Thorpe, Norfolk, and Maidscross Hill, Suffolk, together with those in associated kame terrace deposits at Watlington, Norfolk. Ages ranged from 244 ± 10 ka to 12.8 ± 0.46 ka, all the results being younger than MIS 8 with some clearly showing the landforms have been subsequently subjected to periglacial processes, particularly during the Late Devensian Substage (∼MIS 2). Most of the remainder fall within the range 169–212 ka and could be assigned to MIS 6, thus confirming the previously proposed age of the glaciation. The local and regional implications of these conclusions are discussed, the maximum ice limit being linked to that of the Amersfoort–Nijmegen glaciotectonic ridge limit in the central Netherlands.

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