Hominin Femur finding from Banjarejo: Its morphological character and taxonomical position

Recently, Banjarejo became an important prehistoric site for Quaternary research because of its significant faunal and hominin remains. This study aims to describe a new finding of the hominin femur specimen from the site and its taxonomical position in human evolution. The specimen was identified by morphological and metric descriptions of the external feature of the femur. Then, comparative study to Homo erectus (n=2), Homo neanderthalensis (n=8), Homo heidelbergensis (n=1), prehistoric Homo sapiens (n=44), Australopithecus africanus (n=1), Paranthropus robustus (n=2), also non-human primate including Pongo (n=1), Macaca (n=1) and Gibbon (n=1) using bivariate and multivariate statistical analysis presented the specimen in the evolutionary perspective. This study shows the morphological and metric character of Banjarejo specimen located between Homo erectus and prehistoric Homo sapiens population sample. Further study should be addressed to investigate the cultural and chronological context of the hominin specimen.

Crown outline analysis of the hominin upper third molar from the Megalopolis Basin, Peloponnese, Greece

The left upper third molar from the Megalopolis Basin is enigmatic due to its problematic preservation and context. The Megalopolis molar is the only possible human fossil known to date from the Megalopolis Basin. It was found on the surface during geological surveys in 1962-63. Based on the faunal assemblage collected during the same survey, it was proposed to be of Middle Pleistocene age and possibly one of the oldest human fossils in Europe. However, its actual geological age is unknown. In the past, dental crown outline analysis has been successfully used to differentiate between hominin species and populations. We applied the method to upper third molars, attempting to shed light on the affinities of the Megalopolis specimen. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the crown outline shape grouped the Megalopolis molar with our Homo sapiens sample; however, the PCA in form space, including shape plus size, as well as Procrustes distances based on overall shape, grouped it with our Neanderthal comparative sample. We conclude that its most likely identification is as a member of the Neanderthal lineage. However, we urge further analyses with an increased fossil comparative sample to include representatives of Homo heidelbergensis, which is underrepresented in our study. The Megalopolis molar contributes to the scarce Pleistocene human fossil record of Greece and highlights the potential of the Megalopolis Basin for yielding further paleoanthropological finds.

Evolution

Making or listening to music is pan-cultural, nearly universal, and highly valued. Musical behaviours probably appeared between 500,000 and 60,000 years ago. The more recent date captures the era when Homo sapiens spread globally from Africa. The older date corresponds with a time when song might have produced individual or social benefits and the physiological and cognitive conditions for its production were present (in our predecessor, Homo heidelbergensis). Music is so multifunctional, however, that it is not clear if it was an evolutionary adaptation (as opposed to a by-product or non-biological technology) or, if so, what it was an adaptation for. This chapter examines these issues with a particular focus on questions of musicality, fitness, language, and sound processing.

Infant and Child Diets of Hunter-Fisher-Gatherer Societies: A Systematic Review

Objectives To identify key changes in child diets during the transition to agriculture by synthesizing evidence on 1) infant and child hunter-fisher-gatherer diets to identify common elements of an evolutionary child diet and 2) early agricultural groups. Methods We searched five databases (Academic Search Complete via EBSCO, Anthropology Plus via EBSCO, Medline via PubMed, Scopus, and SocIndex with Full Text via EBSCO). Childhood was defined as children 10 years or younger. Early agriculture was defined as cultivation activities during the Neolithic or regional Neolithic equivalent era (e.g., Woodland Period), to account for the variation in the transition to agriculture. Studies examining hominins from the following species were eligible: Homo erectus/Homo ergaster, Homo neanderthalensis, Homo heidelbergensis, and Homo sapiens. We included peer-reviewed papers of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods on infant and childhood diets for groups whose primary subsistence method was hunting, fishing, or gathering or groups who were transitioning to early agriculture. Title and abstract reviews were conducted in Rayyan QCRI by two blinded authors. Discrepancies were reviewed by a third author. Full text review was also blinded. We scored studies with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (2018), and we synthesized evidence using a narrative synthesis with sub-group analysis as appropriate. Results The publications covered a range of subsistence groups and study types (e.g., ethnography, isotopic analysis). Groups from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America were represented, and time periods ranged from the Mesolithic Era to present. Our analysis indicated a significant shift in child diet accompanying the shift to agriculture. Hunter-gatherer-fisher children had more varied diets with a larger proportion of animal-source foods during and after the complementary feeding period compared to early agricultural groups. Conclusions Early agricultural diets, similar to current child dietary patterns, have diverged from the diets of hunter-fisher-gatherer children in important ways. These differences could offer insight into child feeding guidelines today. Funding Sources This project was internally funded by the E3 Nutrition Lab at Washington University in St. Louis.