Tribute to Brain Titlepage.Indd

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Tribute to Brain Titlepage.Indd stone age institute publication series Series Editors Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth Stone Age Institute Gosport, Indiana and Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana Number 1. THE OLDOWAN: Case Studies into the Earliest Stone Age Nicholas Toth and Kathy Schick, editors Number 2. BREATHING LIFE INTO FOSSILS: Taphonomic Studies in Honor of C.K. (Bob) Brain Travis Rayne Pickering, Kathy Schick, and Nicholas Toth, editors Number 3. THE CUTTING EDGE: New Approaches to the Archaeology of Human Origins Kathy Schick, and Nicholas Toth, editors Number 4. THE HUMAN BRAIN EVOLVING: Paleoneurological Studies in Honor of Ralph L. Holloway Douglas Broadfield, Michael Yuan, Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth, editors THE STONE AGE INSTITUTE PRESS PUBLICATION SERIES COMMENT BY SERIES EDITORS The Stone Age Institute Press has been established to publish critical research into the archae- ology of human origins. The Stone Age Institute is a federally-approved non-profi t organization whose mission is investigating and understanding the origins and development of human technol- ogy and culture throughout the course of human evolution. The ultimate goal of these undertakings is to provide a better understanding of the human species and our place in nature. An unbroken line of technology and culture extends from our present day back in time at least two-and-a-half million years. The earliest stone tool-makers were upright-walking, small-brained ape-men, and from these primordial origins, the human lineage embarked upon a pathway that is extraordinary and unique in the history of life. This evolutionary pathway has shaped our bodies, our brains, and our way of life, and has had an ever-accelerating impact on the earth and its other organisms. Well over 99% of the time span of this technological evolution occurred in the Stone Age, so it is no exaggeration to say that modern humans have evolved as Stone Age creatures. The Stone Age Institute’s goal is to provide a haven for this research, providing support for scholars from around the world conducting cutting-edge human origins research. Our research team and associates include professional research scientists in long-term positions, postdoctoral research fellows, and visiting scholars. Fieldwork, collecting primary data from important archae- ological sites, as well as laboratory studies and experimental archaeological research are all critical components of our operation. Other vital functions of the Institute include organizing workshops - convening top scientists to discuss and work together on special topics–and organizing and spon- soring conferences and lectures to disseminate information to a broader, general public. An equally critical component of our operations is the publication of research results in journal articles and books. Breathing Life into Fossils: Taphonomic Studies in Honor of C.K. (Bob) Brain is the second volume in a new publication series initiated by the Stone Age Institute Press. This volume emanates from a Stone Age Institute conference in honor of the lifework of C.K. (Bob) Brain in natural history and taphonomy. This meeting convened researchers at the Institute for two days in April of 2004 in a workshop conference on taphonomic studies and their impact on human origins research. The Stone Age Institute Press is devoted to the publication of seminal research in the form of high-quality, data-rich volumes, including information and interpretations from origi- nal research as well as critical syntheses of research results. For more information on the Stone Age Institute, including its research programs, lectures, conferences, and publications, we invite you to visit our web site at www.stoneageinstitute.org. Nicholas Toth and Kathy Schick Co-Directors, Stone Age Institute Series Editors, Stone Age Institute Press Publication Series STONE AGE INSTITUTE PUBLICATION SERIES NUMBER 2 Series Editors Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth breathing life into fossils: Taphonomic Studies in Honor of C.K. (Bob) Brain Editors Travis Rayne Pickering University of Wisconsin, Madison Kathy Schick Indiana University Nicholas Toth Indiana University Stone Age Institute Press · www.stoneageinstitute.org 1392 W. Dittemore Road · Gosport, IN 47433 COVER CAPTIONS AND CREDITS. Front cover, clockwise from top left. Top left: Artist’s reconstruction of the depositional context of Swartkrans Cave, South Africa, with a leopard consuming a hominid carcass in a tree outside the cave: bones would subsequently wash into the cave and be incorporated in the breccia deposits. © 1985 Jay H. Matternes. Top right: The Swartkrans cave deposits in South Africa, where excavations have yielded many hominids and other animal fossils. ©1985 David L. Brill. Bottom right: Reconstruction of a hominid being carried by a leopard. © 1985 Jay H. Matternes. Bottom left: Photograph of a leopard mandible and the skull cap of a hominid from Swartkrans, with the leopard’s canines juxtaposed with puncture marks likely produced by a leopard carrying its hominid prey. © 1985 David L. Brill. Center: Photo of Bob Brain holding a cast of a spotted hyena skull signed by all of the taphonomy conference participants. © 2004 Kathy Schick, Stone Age Institute. Back cover credits. Top: © 2004 Stone Age Institute. Bottom left: © 2004 Kathy Schick, Stone Age Institute. Bottom right: © 2005 Greg Murphy. Published by the Stone Age Institute. ISBN-10: 0-9792-2761-5 ISBN-13: 978-0-9792-2761-5 Copyright © 2007, Stone Age Institute Press. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher. CONTRIBUTORS Peter Andrews ([email protected]) Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom Anna K. Behrensmeyer ([email protected]) Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., USA Robert Blumenschine ([email protected]) Center for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Anthropology, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA Bob Brain ([email protected]) Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, South Africa Maia Bukshianidze Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia Henry Bunn ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA Salvatore Capaldo ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA Ron Clarke ([email protected]) School of Anatomical Sciences and Institute for Human Evolution, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa Naomi E. Cleghorn, ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo ([email protected]) Departmento de Prehistoria, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain Charles Egeland ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA Reid Ferring Department of Geography, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, USA Tom Gehling ([email protected]) El Cerrito, California, USA Gary Haynes ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, Nevada, USA Gail Krovitz ([email protected]) eCollege, Denver, Colorado, USA Kathleen Kuman ([email protected]) School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies and Institute for Human Evolution, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa David Lordkipanidze ([email protected]) Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia Curtis W. Marean ([email protected]) Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA Jackson Njau ([email protected]) National Natural History Museum, National Museums of Tanzania, Arusha, Tanzania Charles Peters ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology and Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA Travis Pickering ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA Briana Pobiner ([email protected]) Human Origins Program, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., USA Kathy Schick ([email protected]) Stone Age Institute and Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA Pat Shipman ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, USA Martha Tappen ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Francis Thackeray (thack@nfi .org.za) Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, South Africa Nicholas Toth ([email protected]) Stone Age Institute and Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA Abesalom Vekua, Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia Alan Walker ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, USA Tim White ([email protected]) Human Evolution Research Center and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The editors would like to thank a number of organizations and offi ces for their support of the conference that led to this volume. These include the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthro- pological Research, the Stone Age Institute and Friends of CRAFT, and the following offi ces of Indiana University: Vice President for Research and the University Graduate School, Offi ce of
Recommended publications
  • South African Palaeo-Scientists the Names Listed Below Are Just Some of South Africa’S Excellent Researchers Who Are Working Towards Understanding Our African Origins
    2010 African Origins Research MAP_Layout 1 2010/04/15 11:02 AM Page 1 South African Palaeo-scientists The names listed below are just some of South Africa’s excellent researchers who are working towards understanding our African origins. UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN (UCT) Dr Thalassa Matthews analyses the Dr Job Kibii focuses PALAEOBIOLOGICAL RESEARCH thousands of tiny teeth and bones of fossil on how fossil hominid Professor Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan is one microfauna to reconstruct palaeoenviron- and non-hominid of only a few specialists in the world who mental and climatic changes on the west faunal communities coast over the last 5 million years. changed over time and African Origins Research studies the microscopic structure of bones of dinosaurs, pterosaurs and mammal-like uses this to reconstruct reptiles in order to interpret various aspects ALBANY MUSEUM, past palaeoenviron- of the biology of extinct animals. GRAHAMSTOWN ments and palaeo- A summary of current research into fossils of animals, plants and early hominids from the beginning of life on Earth to the Middle Stone Age PERMIAN AGE PLANTS ecology. THE HOFMEYR SKULL Dr Rose Prevec studies the “No other country in the world can boast the oldest evidence of life on Earth extending back more than 3 billion years, the oldest multi-cellular animals, the oldest land-living plants, Professor Alan Morris described the Glossopteris flora of South Africa (the PAST HUMAN BEHAVIOUR Hofmeyer skull, a prehistoric, fossilized ancient forests that formed our coal Professor Chris Henshilwood directs the most distant ancestors of dinosaurs, the most complete record of the more than 80 million year ancestry of mammals, and, together with several other African countries, a most remarkable human skull about 36 000 years old deposits) and their end-Permian excavations at Blombos Cave where that corroborates genetic evidence that extinction.
    [Show full text]
  • Dental Pathology, Wear and Developmental Defects in South African Hominins
    Dental pathology, wear and developmental defects in South African hominins IAN EDWARD TOWLE A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Liverpool John Moores University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2017 Abstract Studying different types of dental pathology, wear, and developmental defects can allow inferences into diet and behaviour in a variety of ways. In this project data on these different variables were collected for South African hominins and compared with extant primates. The species studied include Paranthropus robustus, Australopithecus africanus, A. sediba, early Homo, Homo naledi, baboons, chimpanzees and gorillas. Macroscopic examination of each specimen was performed, with a 10X hand lens used to verify certain pathologies. Variables recorded include antemortem chipping, enamel hypoplasia, caries, occlusal wear, tertiary dentine, abscesses, and periodontal disease. Clear differences in frequencies were found in the different South African hominin species. Homo naledi displays high rates of chipping, especially small fractures above molar wear facets, likely reflecting a diet containing high levels of contaminants. Other noteworthy results include the high levels of pitting enamel hypoplasia in P. robustus molars compared to other species, likely due to a species-specific enamel formation property or developmental disturbance. The low rates of chipping in P. robustus does not fit with this species being a hard food specialist. Instead, the wear best supports a diet of low-quality tough vegetation. Australopithecus africanus likely had a broad diet, with angled molar wear, lack of caries, and high chipping frequencies supporting this conclusion. Seven new carious lesions are described, two from H. naledi and five P.
    [Show full text]
  • The Partial Skeleton Stw 431 from Sterkfontein – Is It Time to Rethink the Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diversity in South Africa?
    doie-pub 10.4436/JASS.98020 ahead of print JASs Reports doi: 10.4436/jass.89003 Journal of Anthropological Sciences Vol. 98 (2020), pp. 73-88 The partial skeleton StW 431 from Sterkfontein – Is it time to rethink the Plio-Pleistocene hominin diversity in South Africa? Gabriele A. Macho1, Cinzia Fornai 2, Christine Tardieu3, Philip Hopley4, Martin Haeusler5 & Michel Toussaint6 1) Earth and Planetary Science, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, England; School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, England email: [email protected]; [email protected] 2) Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Anthropology, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria 3) Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France 4) Earth and Planetary Science, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX; Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, England 5) Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland 6) retired palaeoanthropologist, Belgium email: [email protected] Summary - The discovery of the nearly complete Plio-Pleistocene skeleton StW 573 Australopithecus prometheus from Sterkfontein Member 2, South Africa, has intensified debates as to whether Sterkfontein Member 4 contains a hominin species other than Australopithecus africanus. For example, it has recently been suggested that the partial skeleton StW 431 should be removed from the A. africanus hypodigm and be placed into A. prometheus. Here we re-evaluate this latter proposition, using published information and new comparative data. Although both StW 573 and StW 431 are apparently comparable in their arboreal (i.e., climbing) and bipedal adaptations, they also show significant morphological differences.
    [Show full text]
  • Title: Drimolen Crania Indicate Contemporaneity of Australopithecus, Paranthropus and Early Homo Erectus in S
    Submitted Manuscript: Confidential Title: Drimolen crania indicate contemporaneity of Australopithecus, Paranthropus and early Homo erectus in S. Africa Authors: Andy I.R. Herries1,2*†, Jesse M. Martin1†, A.B. Leece1†, Justin W. Adams3,2†, Giovanni Boschian4,2†, Renaud Joannes-Boyau5,2, Tara R. Edwards1, Tom Mallett1, Jason Massey3,6, Ashleigh Murszewski1, Simon Neuebauer7, Robyn Pickering8.9, David Strait10,2, Brian J. Armstrong2, Stephanie Baker2, Matthew V. Caruana2, Tim Denham11, John Hellstrom12, Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi13, Simon Mokobane2, Paul Penzo-Kajewski1, Douglass S. Rovinsky3, Gary T. Schwartz14, Rhiannon C. Stammers1, Coen Wilson1, Jon Woodhead12, Colin Menter13 Affiliations: 1. Palaeoscience Labs, Dept. Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, 3086, VIC, Australia. 2. Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. 3. Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, VIC, Australia. 4. Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Italy 5. Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group (GARG), Southern Cross University, Military Rd, Lismore, 2480, NSW, Australia 6. Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of Minnesota Medical School, USA 7. Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany. 8. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa 9. Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa 10. Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA 11. Geoarchaeology Research Group, School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia 12. Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia 13. Department of Biology, University of Florence, Italy 14. Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, U.S.A.
    [Show full text]
  • Surface Model and Tomographic Archive of Fossil Primate and Other
    RESEARCH ARTICLE Surface Model and Tomographic Archive of Fossil Primate and Other Mammal Holotype and Paratype Specimens of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa Justin W. Adams1*, Angela Olah2,3, Matthew R. McCurry1,3, Stephany Potze4 a11111 1 Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia, 2 Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia, 3 Geosciences, Museum Victoria, Carlton, Victoria, Australia, 4 Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa * [email protected] OPEN ACCESS Citation: Adams JW, Olah A, McCurry MR, Potze S (2015) Surface Model and Tomographic Archive of Abstract Fossil Primate and Other Mammal Holotype and Nearly a century of paleontological excavation and analysis from the cave deposits of the Paratype Specimens of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa. PLoS ONE Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site in northeastern South Africa underlies 10(10): e0139800. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0139800 much of our understanding of the evolutionary history of hominins, other primates and other Editor: Brenda A Wilson, University of Illinois at mammal lineages in the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene of Africa. As one of few desig- Urbana-Champaign, UNITED STATES nated fossil repositories, the Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section of the Ditsong National Received: January 29, 2015 Museum of Natural History (DNMNH; the former Transvaal Museum) curates much of the mammalian faunas recovered from the fossil-rich deposits of major South African hominin- Accepted: September 17, 2015 bearing localities, including the holotype and paratype specimens of many primate, carni- Published: October 6, 2015 vore, and other mammal species (Orders Primates, Carnivora, Artiodactyla, Eulipotyphla, Copyright: © 2015 Adams et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Teaching Materials Associated with Module 1 Taung Child
    Teaching Materials Associated With Module 1 Taung Child: - Discovered in 1924 by Australian anatomy professor Raymond Dart - Among the first human fossils to be found in Africa - Dated to between 2.5 and 3 million years ago - Based on dental eruption patterns, Taung child’s age at death was ~3.3 years old - It is thought that an eagle killed Taung child based on what appear to be talon puncture marks on the skull Discovery of Taung Child: - Dart’s discovery: “Australian anatomy professor Raymond Dart was adjusting the collar of his dress suit in preparation for a friend’s wedding when a box, shipped from a limestone quarry near Taung, South Africa, arrived at the doorstep of his Johannesburg home in November 1924. Dart abandoned his collar to dig through the package’s contents—all the while ignoring the grumblings of his wife and the groom, who were anxious to begin the wedding ceremony. Inside the box, he found a fossilized mold of a brain and a matching child’s skull partially buried in stone. Dart quickly realized the significance of the finding, and by February 1925 had published an article in Nature identifying a new species: Australopithecus africanus. The 2.5-million-year-old “Taung Child” or “Taung Baby,” as Dart called it, was the first member of the Australopithecus genus discovered, and it challenged contemporary ideas about human evolution.” – The Scientist Magazine - This can be considered “armchair paleoanthropology” as Dart did not participate in the excavation of Taung child himself. Instead, he was sent the samples and completed the analysis from Johannesburg.
    [Show full text]
  • Little Foot, a South African Australopithecus As Old As
    Press release Little Foot, a South African Australopithecus as 14 March 2014 old as Lucy? Laurent Bruxelles of Inrap has co-published an article with Ronald Clarke, Richard Maire, Richard Ortega and Dominic Stratford in the Journal of Human Evolution on the dating of Little Foot (StW 573) through stratigraphic analysis (Silberberg Grotto, Sterkfontein, South Africa). Sterkfontein, located to the north-west of Johannesburg in the province of Gauteng, is part of a zone classified by UNESCO in 1999 as a World Heritage Site called the “Cradle of Humankind”. Since its discovery in 1997 in Silberberg Grotto, a skeleton known as Little Foot has been meticulously excavated. Found under exceptional circumstances, this Australopithecine, which is the most complete ever identified, contributes unique elements to our knowledge of human origins. Although its age, somewhere between 2 and 4 million years, is still debated, a team of French researchers, in collaboration with the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg), has contributed new elements to its dating. An exceptional discovery On September 6, 1994, in a box of animal bones, Ronald J. Clarke discovered four left foot bones belonging to a hominid found during an excavation of the lime miners’ rubble in the Sterkfontein cave system. This first discovery was dubbed “Little Foot” by P.V. Tobias, due to the small size of the foot that was identified. In May 1997, in a different box, he identified more bones from the same foot and a fragment of right shin bone.Being certain that these bones belonged to the same individual, Ron Clarke sent his assistants, Stephen Motsumi and Nkwane Molefe, to find the entire skeleton.
    [Show full text]
  • Use-Trace Analysis of Bone Tools: a Brief Overview of Four
    South African Archaeological Bulletin 70 (201): 3–14, 2015 3 Research Article USE-TRACE ANALYSIS OF BONE TOOLS: A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF FOUR METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES JUSTIN BRADFIELD Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, 2006, South Africa E-mail: [email protected] (Received January 2015. Revised April 2015) ABSTRACT until mechanical failure results in a fracture (Johnson 1985; In comparison with some other parts of the world, there has been a Lakes et al. 1990; Kim et al. 2006; Rennick 2012). Adhesive wear marked lack of engagement with the functional study of bone tools in arises from frictional contact between two surfaces. However, southern Africa. Only a handful of researchers are actively conducting instead of resulting in material attrition, as occurs with abrasive work on this important aspect of material culture on the sub- wear, material from one object is transferred to the other continent. In this paper, I explore four avenues of use-trace analyses (LeMoine 1994; Francis 2002). The contact material is identified, that can be used to investigate the past function of bone tools, namely, based on the residue of the adhering material. Chemical wear is use-wear, macrofracture analysis, morphological residues studies and the physical alteration of a tool surface due to chemical action, micro-focus computed tomography. Despite the increasing application which normally occurs after deposition but which can also of sophisticated analytical software, definitions of use-traces still differ occur as a result of contact with skin and other acidic sub- among analysts. Here I provide a brief overview of various use-trace stances or organic enzymes.
    [Show full text]
  • Little Foot’ Fossil Chiselled out of Stone Yields Secrets Mysterious Ancient Hominin Retrieved After 20-Year Effort Might Be a Distinct Species
    NEWS IN FOCUS HEALTH Mysterious polio- PUBLISHING China gets behind INFECTIOUS DISEASE Ebola NEUROSCIENCE Unlocking like disease probed with bold European open-access cases slip under how the brain makes machine learning p.170 plan p.171 the radar p.174 sense of faces p.176 PATRICK LANDMANN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY LANDMANN/SCIENCE PHOTO PATRICK The unique skeleton was embedded in rock deep inside a South African cave. ARCHAEOLOGY ‘Little Foot’ fossil chiselled out of stone yields secrets Mysterious ancient hominin retrieved after 20-year effort might be a distinct species. BY COLIN BARRAS a musculoskeletal biologist at the University He realized that a handful of small bones in the of Liverpool, UK, who collaborated with the collection belonged to a species of Australo- fter a tortuous 20-year-long excavation, research team that excavated the skeleton. pithecus — ape-like hominins in Africa between an ancient skeleton is starting to reveal The nickname Little Foot, echoing the mythi- about 4 million and 2 million years ago, before new information about early human cal ‘Bigfoot’, refers to the small foot bones that the human genus Homo rose to dominance1. Aevolution. The first of a raft of papers about ‘Lit- were among the first parts of the skeleton to Clarke and his colleagues then found more tle Foot’ suggests that the fossil is a female who be discovered. In 1994, Ronald Clarke, a pal- bones embedded in a matrix of solid rock deep showed some of the earliest signs of human-like, aeoanthropologist at the University of the Wit- in the caves.
    [Show full text]
  • Paleoanthropology Society Meeting Abstracts, Memphis, Tn, 17-18 April 2012
    PALEOANTHROPOLOGY SOCIETY MEETING ABSTRACTS, MEMPHIS, TN, 17-18 APRIL 2012 Paleolithic Foragers of the Hrazdan Gorge, Armenia Daniel Adler, Anthropology, University of Connecticut, USA B. Yeritsyan, Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology & Ethnography, ARMENIA K. Wilkinson, Archaeology, Winchester University, UNITED KINGDOM R. Pinhasi, Archaeology, UC Cork, IRELAND B. Gasparyan, Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology & Ethnography, ARMENIA For more than a century numerous archaeological sites attributed to the Middle Paleolithic have been investigated in the Southern Caucasus, but to date few have been excavated, analyzed, or dated using modern techniques. Thus only a handful of sites provide the contextual data necessary to address evolutionary questions regarding regional hominin adaptations and life-ways. This talk will consider current archaeological research in the Southern Caucasus, specifically that being conducted in the Republic of Armenia. While the relative frequency of well-studied Middle Paleolithic sites in the Southern Caucasus is low, those considered in this talk, Nor Geghi 1 (late Middle Pleistocene) and Lusakert Cave 1 (Upper Pleistocene), span a variety of environmental, temporal, and cultural contexts that provide fragmentary glimpses into what were complex and evolving patterns of subsistence, settlement, and mobility over the last ~200,000 years. While a sample of two sites is too small to attempt a serious reconstruction of Middle Paleolithic life-ways across such a vast and environmentally diverse region, the sites
    [Show full text]
  • 1St Uj Palaeo-Research Symposium
    PROGRAMME 1ST UJ PALAEO-RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM in combination with the 2ND PALAEO-TRACKS SYMPOSIUM Monday 13 November 2017 Funded by the African Origins Platform of the National Research Foundation of South Africa Through the Palaeo-TrACKS Research Programme 08:30 Arrival, coffee & loading of Power Point presentations Freshly brewed tea and coffee with a selection of freshly baked croissants, Danish pastries & muffins 09:00 5 min Welcome Prof Alex Broadbent (Executive Dean of Humanities & Professor of Philosophy, University of Johannesburg) Introduction of Chairs Morning session: Prof Kammila Naidoo, Humanities Deputy Dean Research & Professor of Sociology Afternoon session: Prof Marlize Lombard, Director of the Centre for Anthropological Research 09:05 10 min Opening address Prof Angina Parekh (Deputy Vice Chancellor: Academic and Institutional Planning, University of Johannesburg) SESSION 1: INVITED KEYNOTE LECTURES 09:15 30 min The Rising Star fossil discoveries and human origins Prof John Hawks (Vilas-Borghesi Distinguished Achievement Professor of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA) Abstract: Discoveries in the Dinaledi and Lesedi Chambers of the Rising Star cave system have transformed our knowledge of South African fossil hominins during the Middle Pleistocene. The research strategies undertaken in the Rising Star cave system provide a strong framework for inter- disciplinary work in palaeo-anthropology. This talk gives an overview of the Rising Star research project, focusing on the processes that have enabled effective
    [Show full text]
  • Human Origin Sites and the World Heritage Convention in Eurasia
    World Heritage papers41 HEADWORLD HERITAGES 4 Human Origin Sites and the World Heritage Convention in Eurasia VOLUME I In support of UNESCO’s 70th Anniversary Celebrations United Nations [ Cultural Organization Human Origin Sites and the World Heritage Convention in Eurasia Nuria Sanz, Editor General Coordinator of HEADS Programme on Human Evolution HEADS 4 VOLUME I Published in 2015 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France and the UNESCO Office in Mexico, Presidente Masaryk 526, Polanco, Miguel Hidalgo, 11550 Ciudad de Mexico, D.F., Mexico. © UNESCO 2015 ISBN 978-92-3-100107-9 This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/). By using the content of this publication, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO Open Access Repository (http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors; they are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. Cover Photos: Top: Hohle Fels excavation. © Harry Vetter bottom (from left to right): Petroglyphs from Sikachi-Alyan rock art site.
    [Show full text]