Neanderthal Language Revisited: Not Only Us
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
An Early Modern Human from the Pes¸Tera Cu Oase, Romania
An early modern human from the Pes¸tera cu Oase, Romania Erik Trinkaus*†, Oana Moldovan‡,S¸ tefan Milota§, Adrian Bıˆlga˘r¶, Laurent¸iu Sarcina§, Sheela Athreyaʈ, Shara E. Bailey**, Ricardo Rodrigo††, Gherase Mircea§, Thomas Higham‡‡, Christopher Bronk Ramsey‡‡, and Johannes van der Plicht§§ *Department of Anthropology, Campus Box 1114, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130; ‡Institutul de Speologie ‘‘Emil Racovit¸a˘ ,’’ Clinicilor 5, P.O. Box 58, 3400 Cluj, Romania; §Pro Acva Grup, Strada˘Surduc 1, 1900 Timis¸oara, Romania; ¶Strada˘Decebal 1, 1500 Drobeta Turnu Severin, Romania; ʈDepartment of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843; **Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, 2110 G Street, Washington, DC 20052; ††Centro Nacional da Arqueologia Na´utica e Subaqua´tica, Instituto Portugueˆs de Arqueologia, Avenida da India 136, 1300 Lisboa, Portugal; ‡‡Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, 6 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3QJ, United Kingdom; and §§Centrum voor Isotopen Onderzoek, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands Contributed by Erik Trinkaus, August 8, 2003 The 2002 discovery of a robust modern human mandible in the Pes¸tera cu Oase, southwestern Romania, provides evidence of early modern humans in the lower Danubian Corridor. Directly accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (14C)-dated to 34,000– 36,000 14C years B.P., the Oase 1 mandible is the oldest definite early modern human specimen in Europe and provides perspec- tives on the emergence and evolution of early modern humans in the northwestern Old World. The moderately long Oase 1 mandi- ble exhibits a prominent tuber symphyseos and overall proportions that place it close to earlier Upper Paleolithic European specimens. -
The Fate of the Neanderthals Announcement
The Fate of the Neanderthals Announcement The first midterm exam will take place in class on Monday, October 1. You only need to bring a pencil or pen with you. The exam will have 2 parts: 1) 16 multiple choice questions (1 point each, 15 minutes) 2) 6 out of 7 short IDs (4 points each, 30 minutes) Sample questions are posted on the course website. After Homo erectus, several species of archaic Homo emerged during the Middle Paleolithic Homo heidelbergensis, Neanderthals, and Denisovans are often called “Archaic Homo” or “Archaic Humans” Neanderthals Homo sapiens Denisovans (400-30kya) (200kya-present) (40kya) Europe and Middle East Africa first Asia Homo heidelbergensis (600-200kya) Africa, Europe, and the Middle East Homo erectus (2mya-150kya?) Africa and Asia. Europe? Outline of Today’s Class: The Fate of the Neanderthals 1) Neanderthal biology and behavior 2) Modern humans - Early expansions out of Africa >100kya - Later expansions out of Africa 60kya associated with Upper Paleolithic modern human behavior 3) Neanderthal ancient DNA and clues about Neanderthal extinction The Neanderthals (300kya-30kya) • First fossils discovered in 1856 in the Neander Valley, Germany. • Large brains, large noses, and large brow ridges. Short, stocky bodies. • Cold-weather adapted to life during the Pleistocene “Ice Ages” (ca. 736kya-11.7kya). • Covered a wide geographic range extending from Europe to the Near Boyd & Silk (2014). East and West Asia. • Neanderthals living in different regions had different diets and behaviors (e.g., European Neanderthals hunted large game whereas Near Eastern Neanderthals had a more diverse diet of plants and small animals). -
Upper Pleistocene Human Remains from Vindija Cave, Croatia, Yugoslavia
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 54~499-545(1981) Upper Pleistocene Human Remains From Vindija Cave, Croatia, Yugoslavia MILFORD H. WOLPOFF, FRED H. SMITH, MIRKO MALEZ, JAKOV RADOVCIC, AND DARKO RUKAVINA Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 (MH.W.1,Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Kmxuille, Tennessee 37916 (FHS.),and Institute for Paleontology and Quaternary Geology, Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts, 41000 Zagreb, Yugoslavia (M.M., J.R., D.R.) KEY WORDS Vindija, Neandertal, South Central Europe, Modern Homo sapiens origin, Evolution ABSTRACT Human remains excavated from Vindija cave include a large although fragmentary sample of late Mousterian-associated specimens and a few additional individuals from the overlying early Upper Paleolithic levels. The Mousterian-associated sample is similar to European Neandertals from other regions. Compared with earlier Neandertals from south central Europe, this sam- ple evinces evolutionary trends in the direction of Upper Paleolithic Europeans. Compared with the western European Neandertals, the same trends can be demon- strated, although the magnitude of difference is less, and there is a potential for confusing temporal with regional sources of variation. The early Upper Paleo- lithic-associated sample cannot be distinguished from the Mousterian-associated hominids. We believe that this site provides support for Hrdlicka’s “Neandertal phase” of human evolution, as it was originally applied in Europe. The Pannonian Basin and surrounding val- the earliest chronometrically dated Upper leys of south central Europe have yielded a Paleolithic-associated hominid in Europe large and significant series of Upper Pleisto- (Smith, 1976a). cene fossil hominids (e.g. Jelinek, 1969) as well This report presents a detailed comparative as extensive evidence of their cultural behavior description of a sample of fossil hominids re- (e.g. -
Download Full Article in PDF Format
Hafting and raw materials from animals. Guide to the identification of hafting traces on stone tools Veerle ROTS Prehistoric Archaeology Unit Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Geo-Institute Celestijnenlaan 200E (Pb: 02409), B-3001 Leuven, Heverlee (Belgique) [email protected] Rots V. 2008. – Hafting and raw materials from animals. Guide to the identification of hafting traces on stone tools. [DVD-ROM]1 . Anthropozoologica 43 (1): 43-66. ABSTRACT Stone tool hafting has been a widely discussed topic, but its identifica- tion on a prehistoric level has long been hampered. Given the organic nature of hafting arrangements, few remains are generally preserved. An overview is presented of animal materials that can be used for haft- ing stone tools, and examples are provided of preserved hafting arrangements made out of animal raw material. Based on the same principles as those determining the formation of use-wear traces on stone tools, it is argued that hafting traces are formed and can be iden- tified. The variables influencing the formation of hafting traces are KEY WORDS discussed. Specific wear patterns and trace attributes are provided for Stone tools, use-wear, different hafting arrangements that use animal raw material. It is hafting, concluded that the provided referential data allow for the identifi- wear pattern, experiments, cation of hafted stone tools on prehistoric sites and the identification animal raw material. of the hafting arrangement used. RÉSUMÉ Emmanchements et matières premières animales. Un guide pour l’identification des traces d’emmanchement sur des outils de pierre. Le sujet des emmanchements des outils de pierre a été largement discuté, mais leurs identifications à un niveau préhistorique ont longtemps été difficiles. -
Human Evolution: a Paleoanthropological Perspective - F.H
PHYSICAL (BIOLOGICAL) ANTHROPOLOGY - Human Evolution: A Paleoanthropological Perspective - F.H. Smith HUMAN EVOLUTION: A PALEOANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE F.H. Smith Department of Anthropology, Loyola University Chicago, USA Keywords: Human evolution, Miocene apes, Sahelanthropus, australopithecines, Australopithecus afarensis, cladogenesis, robust australopithecines, early Homo, Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, Australopithecus africanus/Australopithecus garhi, mitochondrial DNA, homology, Neandertals, modern human origins, African Transitional Group. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Reconstructing Biological History: The Relationship of Humans and Apes 3. The Human Fossil Record: Basal Hominins 4. The Earliest Definite Hominins: The Australopithecines 5. Early Australopithecines as Primitive Humans 6. The Australopithecine Radiation 7. Origin and Evolution of the Genus Homo 8. Explaining Early Hominin Evolution: Controversy and the Documentation- Explanation Controversy 9. Early Homo erectus in East Africa and the Initial Radiation of Homo 10. After Homo erectus: The Middle Range of the Evolution of the Genus Homo 11. Neandertals and Late Archaics from Africa and Asia: The Hominin World before Modernity 12. The Origin of Modern Humans 13. Closing Perspective Glossary Bibliography Biographical Sketch Summary UNESCO – EOLSS The basic course of human biological history is well represented by the existing fossil record, although there is considerable debate on the details of that history. This review details both what is firmly understood (first echelon issues) and what is contentious concerning humanSAMPLE evolution. Most of the coCHAPTERSntention actually concerns the details (second echelon issues) of human evolution rather than the fundamental issues. For example, both anatomical and molecular evidence on living (extant) hominoids (apes and humans) suggests the close relationship of African great apes and humans (hominins). That relationship is demonstrated by the existing hominoid fossil record, including that of early hominins. -
Universidad Complutense De Madrid
UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS BIOLÓGICAS Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física TESIS DOCTORAL Las poblaciones del Holoceno inicial en la región cantábrica: cambios ambientales y microevolución humana MEMORIA PARA OPTAR AL GRADO DE DOCTOR PRESENTADA POR Labib Drak Hernández Directora María Dolores Garralda Benajes Madrid, 2016 © Labib Drak Hernández, 2016 UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS BIOLÓGICAS DEPARTAMENTO DE ZOOLOGÍA Y ANTROPOLOGÍA FÍSICA TESIS DOCTORAL LAS POBLACIONES DEL HOLOCENO INICIAL EN LA REGIÓN CANTÁBRICA: CAMBIOS AMBIENTALES Y MICROEVOLUCIÓN HUMANA MEMORIA PARA OPTAR AL GRADO DE DOCTOR PRESENTADA POR LABIB DRAK HERNÁNDEZ BAJO LA DIRECCIÓN DE LA DOCTORA: MARÍA DOLORES GARRALDA BENAJES MADRID, 2015 UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS BIOLÓGICAS DEPARTAMENTO DE ZOOLOGÍA Y ANTROPOLOGÍA FÍSICA TESIS DOCTORAL LAS POBLACIONES DEL HOLOCENO INICIAL EN LA REGIÓN CANTÁBRICA: CAMBIOS AMBIENTALES Y MICROEVOLUCIÓN HUMANA MEMORIA PARA OPTAR AL GRADO DE DOCTOR PRESENTADA POR LABIB DRAK HERNÁNDEZ BAJO LA DIRECCIÓN DE LA DOCTORA: MARÍA DOLORES GARRALDA BENAJES MADRID, 2015 MARÍA DOLORES GARRALDA BENAJES, PROFESORA TITULAR DEL DEPARTAMENTO DE ZOOLOGÍA Y ANTROPOLOGÍA FÍSICA DE LA FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS BIOLÓGICAS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID, CERTIFICA: Que la presente memoria titulada “Las poblaciones del Holoceno inicial en la región cantábrica: cambios ambientales y microevolución humana” presentada por D. Labib Drak Hernández para optar al Título de Doctor en Biología, ha sido realizada en el Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física de la Facultad de CC. Biológicas de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid bajo mi dirección. Y considerando que representa trabajo de Tesis, autorizo su presentación a la Junta de Facultad. -
What Makes a Modern Human We Probably All Carry Genes from Archaic Species Such As Neanderthals
COMMENT NATURAL HISTORY Edward EARTH SCIENCE How rocks and MUSIC Philip Glass on Einstein EMPLOYMENT The skills gained Lear’s forgotten work life evolved together on our and the unpredictability of in PhD training make it on ornithology p.36 planet p.39 opera composition p.40 worth the money p.41 ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTIAN DARKIN CHRISTIAN BY ILLUSTRATION What makes a modern human We probably all carry genes from archaic species such as Neanderthals. Chris Stringer explains why the DNA we have in common is more important than any differences. n many ways, what makes a modern we were trying to set up strict criteria, based non-modern (or, in palaeontological human is obvious. Compared with our on cranial measurements, to test whether terms, archaic). What I did not foresee evolutionary forebears, Homo sapiens is controversial fossils from Omo Kibish in was that some researchers who were not Icharacterized by a lightly built skeleton and Ethiopia were within the range of human impressed with our test would reverse it, several novel skull features. But attempts to skeletal variation today — anatomically applying it back onto the skeletal range of distinguish the traits of modern humans modern humans. all modern humans to claim that our diag- from those of our ancestors can be fraught Our results suggested that one skull nosis wrongly excluded some skulls of with problems. was modern, whereas the other was recent populations from being modern2. Decades ago, a colleague and I got into This, they suggested, implied that some difficulties over an attempt to define (or, as PEOPLING THE PLANET people today were more ‘modern’ than oth- I prefer, diagnose) modern humans using Interactive map of migrations: ers. -
Denisovan Portrait Drawn From
IN FOCUS NEWS trees across 13 provinces in the country’s north since the programme began in 1978. Around 2000, deserts across the country MAAYAN HAREL MAAYAN were expanding by 10,400 square kilometres a year, says the government. But in 2017, it reported that China’s deserts were shrinking by more than 2,400 square kilometres a year. A 2018 study1 of satellite data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that forest cover has increased in line with government statistics, but suggested that changes in logging policy were more important than afforestation — planting forests where none were before. In 1999, the Chinese government began planting millions of trees in its Grain for Green Program, intended to repair dam- aged farmland in the northern Loess Plateau, which is roughly the size of France. And the afforestation drive is continuing apace: in 2018, the government announced a target of 30% forest coverage by 2050. At the moment, the coverage is around 22%. It’s still too early to determine whether it has solved the problem, says Congbin Fu, director of the Institute for Climate and Global Change Research at Nanjing University. Land restoration can take An artist’s impression of a young female Denisovan, based on skeletal traits derived from ancient DNA. several decades or even 100 years, he says. There are pitfalls to mass tree-planting. ANCIENT HUMANS Large parts of China — including some areas where trees are being planted — are getting drier. A paper2 co-authored by Sternberg found that arid areas in China had increased Denisovan portrait by roughly 1.6 million square kilometres, about the size of Iran, since 1980 — probably due largely to anthropogenic climate change. -
Questions of Hafting Technology, Use and Adaptation in the Neolithic Lake
Questions of hafting technology, use and adaptation in the Neolithic lake-dwelling sites (a case study of antler sleeves from "Swiss collection"stored in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia) Madina Galimova∗1 1Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh. Khalikov of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences (IA TAS) { Butlerov str.,30, Kazan, 420012, the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation, Russia Abstract "Swiss collection" in National Museum of Tatarstan Republic was probably obtained in 1882 by professor N.F. Vysotsky from lake-dwelling sites revealed on the lake Neuchatel. Collection consists of 94 antler sleeves { connection devices between wooden haft and stone axe, adze or cutting blade as well as many tools made from stone and bone (adzes, chisels etc.). Antler sleeve as intermediate device prevented wooden haft from splitting and valuable stone tool from damage. Experimental and technological research carried by J´'org Schibler (2001) proved the presence of two detachment techniques of red deer antler during the Ne- olithic of Switzerland: by means of indentation technique and string-saw one. The sleeves morphology and use-wear demonstrate high standardization methods applied by the experienced inhabitants of lake-shore settlements. Sleeves under study are characterized with a variety of shapes and types, among them: sleeves of cylindrical shape with hafting and mounting holes (4) or with one mounting hole (88) including the sleeves of 4 types depend- ing on the presence or absence of clear-cut hafting part, functional of nonfunctional ledge, remnant of the burr.A specific technical method applied to sleeves with such a remnant was the drilling of holes for mounting to the sleeve to handle. -
Darwin and the Recent African Origin of Modern Humans
EDITORIAL Darwin and the recent African origin of modern humans Richard G. Klein1 Program in Human Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 n this 200th anniversary of When Darwin and Huxley were ac- The Course of Human Evolution Charles Darwin’s birth and tive, many respected scientists sub- In the absence of fossils, Darwin could the 150th anniversary of the scribed to the now discredited idea that not have predicted the fundamental pat- publication of his monumen- human races represented variably tern of human evolution, but his evolu- Otal The Origin of Species (1859) (1), it evolved populations of Homo sapiens. tionary theory readily accommodates seems fitting to summarize Darwin’s The original Neanderthal skull had a the pattern we now recognize. Probably views on human evolution and to show conspicuous browridge, and compared the most fundamental finding is that the how far we have come since. Darwin with the skulls of modern humans, it australopithecines, who existed from at famously neglected the subject in The was decidedly long and low. At the same least 4.5 million to 2 million years ago, Origin, except near the end where he time, it had a large braincase, and Hux- were distinguished from apes primarily noted only that ‘‘light would be thrown ley regarded it as ‘‘the extreme term of by anatomical specializations for habit- on the origin of man and his history’’ by a series leading gradually from it to the ual bipedalism, and it was only after 2 the massive evidence he had compiled highest and best developed of [modern] million years ago that people began to for evolution by means of natural selec- human crania.’’ It was only in 1891 that acquire the other traits, including our tion. -
Periodontal Disease and Dental Caries from Krapina Neanderthal to Contemporary Man – Skeletal Studies
Clinical science Acta Medica Academica 2012;41(2):119-130 DOI: 10.5644/ama2006-124.45 Periodontal disease and dental caries from Krapina Neanderthal to contemporary man – skeletal studies Berislav Topić1, Hajrija Raščić-Konjhodžić2, Mojca Čižek Sajko3 1 Academy of Sciences and Arts Objective. The aim of this study was the quantification of alveolar of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo bone resorption as well as the number and percentage of teeth with Bosnia and Herzegovina dental caries. Materials and Methods. Four samples of jaws and sin- 2 Faculty of Stomatology, University gle teeth were studied from four time periods, i.e. from the Krapina of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Neanderthals (KN) who reportedly lived over 130,000 years ago, and Herzegovina groups of humans from the 1st, 10th and 20th centuries. Resorption of 3 Institute for Biostatistics and Medical the alveolar bone of the jaws was quantified by the tooth-cervical- Informatics, Faculty of Medicine height (TCH) index. Diagnosis of dental caries was made by inspec- Ljubljana, Slovenia tion and with a dental probe. TCH-index was calculated for a total of 1097 teeth from 135 jaws. Decay was calculated for a total of 3579 Corresponding author: teeth. Results. Resorptive changes of the alveolar bone in KN and 1st Berislav Topić century man were more pronounced on the vestibular surface than Academy of Sciences and Arts interdentally (p<0.05), while no significant difference could be con- of Bosnia and Herzegovina firmed for 10th and 20th century man (p=0.1). The number (percent- 71000 Sarajevo age) of decayed teeth was 0 (0%, n=281 teeth) in KN, 15 (1.7%; n=860 Bosnia and Herzegovina teeth) in 1st century, 24 (3.4%; n=697 teeth) in 10th century, and 207 [email protected] (11.9%, n=1741 teeth) in 20th century. -
No Evidence for Recent Selection at FOXP2 Among Diverse Human Populations
Article No Evidence for Recent Selection at FOXP2 among Diverse Human Populations Graphical Abstract Authors Elizabeth Grace Atkinson, Amanda Jane Audesse, Julia Adela Palacios, Dean Michael Bobo, Ashley Elizabeth Webb, Sohini Ramachandran, Brenna Mariah Henn Correspondence [email protected] (E.G.A.), [email protected] (B.M.H.) In Brief An in-depth examination of diverse sets of human genomes argues against a recent selective evolutionary sweep of FOXP2, a gene that was believed to be critical for speech evolution in early hominins. Highlights d No support for positive selection at FOXP2 in large genomic datasets d Sample composition and genomic scale significantly affect selection scans d An intronic ROI within FOXP2 is expressed in human brain cells and cortical tissue d This ROI contains a large amount of constrained, human- specific polymorphisms Atkinson et al., 2018, Cell 174, 1424–1435 September 6, 2018 ª 2018 Elsevier Inc. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2018.06.048 Article No Evidence for Recent Selection at FOXP2 among Diverse Human Populations Elizabeth Grace Atkinson,1,8,9,10,* Amanda Jane Audesse,2,3 Julia Adela Palacios,4,5 Dean Michael Bobo,1 Ashley Elizabeth Webb,2,6 Sohini Ramachandran,4 and Brenna Mariah Henn1,7,* 1Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA 2Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA 3Neuroscience Graduate Program, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA 4Department of Ecology and Evolutionary