DOCSLIB.ORG

The Atapuerca Sites and Their Contribution to the Knowledge of Human Evolution in Europe J

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Atapuerca Sites and Their Contribution to the Knowledge of Human Evolution in Europe J Evolutionary Anthropology 13:25–41 (2004) ARTICLES The Atapuerca Sites and Their Contribution to the Knowledge of Human Evolution in Europe J. M. BERMU´ DEZ DE CASTRO, M. MARTINO´ N-TORRES, E. CARBONELL, S. SARMIENTO, A. ROSAS, J. VAN DER MADE, AND M. LOZANO Over the last two decades, the Pleistocene sites of the Sierra de Atapuerca use of terms such as “advanced,” (Spain) have provided two extraordinary assemblages of hominin fossils that have “primitive,” “early archaic,” “archaic,” helped refine the evolutionary story of the genus Homo in Europe. The TD6 level of and “late archaic” to modify Homo the Gran Dolina site has yielded about one hundred remains belonging to a sapiens. These terms and other similar minimum of six individuals of the species Homo antecessor. These fossils, dated ones2,3 have no taxonomical validity, to the end of the Lower Pleistocene (800 kyr), provide the earliest evidence of but suggest a need to describe mor- hominin presence in Western Europe. The origin of these hominins is unknown, but phological diversity. they may represent a speciation event from Homo ergaster/Homo erectus. The The cladogenetic model also has TD6 fossils are characterized by a significant increase in cranial capacity as well as difficulties. Cladistics requires the es- the appearance of a “sapiens” pattern of craniofacial architecture. At the Sima de tablishment of character polarities los Huesos site, more than 4,000 human fossils belonging to a minimum of 28 (the phylogeny of the characters), the individuals of a Middle Pleistocene population (ca. 500–400 kyr) have been re- selection of independent traits, and covered. These hominins document some of the oldest evidence of the European the identification of homoplasies. roots of Neanderthals deep in the Middle Pleistocene. Their origin would be the These difficulties have opened several dispersal out of Africa of a hominin group carrying Mode 2 technologies to Europe. debates concerning the recognition of Comparative study of the TD6 and Sima de la Huesos hominins suggests a one or more species in a given hyp- replacement model for the European Lower Pleistocene population of Europe or odigm. One of the most prominent ex- interbreeding between this population and the new African emigrants. amples concerns the possible parti- tion of a large portion of the Early Pleistocene fossil record into two spe- Since the late 1980s, paleoanthro- the genus Homo.1 The anagenetic evo- cies, Homo erectus, Dubois 1892, and pology has witnessed a paradigm shift lutionary model, which postulate an Homo ergaster, Groves and Mazak in interpretation of the evolution of unbroken lineal temporal succession 1975. Homo ergaster would be re- of the reproductive continuity of stricted to Africa (if we consider the Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and hominins found in the Dmanisi site, Homo sapiens, representing three evo- Republic of Georgia, to belong to a Jose´ Marı´a Bermu´ dez de Castro is Re- lutionary grades, is gradually being different species4), while Homo erec- search Professor at the Consejo Superior replaced by the cladogenetic model of tus may have representatives in Asia de Investigaciones Cientı´ficas(CSIC), Spain 1 and co-director of the Atapuerca Research speciation, which recognizes several and Africa. The distinctions are Project. E-mail: [email protected] speciation events throughout the evo- based on the absence of some specific Eudald Carbonell is Professor at the Uni- lution of the genus Homo. These traits in the African fossils that are versity Rovira i Virgili of Tarragona, Spain and co-director of the Atapuerca Re- events (cladogenesis) might have been present in the Asian ones, to which the search Project. favored by successive dispersals of species name erectus applies. These Marı´a Martino´ n-Torres, Susana Sarmiento and Marina Lozano are researchers with hominins out of Africa and migratory include a midline keel on the vault, the Atapuerca team, having a primary inter- movements between Africa and Eur- strong reduction of the postglenoid est in dental anthropology. asia during the Pleistocene, as well as process, an angular torus at the pos- Antonio Rosas is Research Fellow at the CSIC, Spain and member of the Atapu- events of reproductive isolation due to terior-inferior corner of the parietal erca Research Team. climatic and ecological changes. bone, overall thickening of the brain- Jan van der Made is Research Fellow at the CSIC, Spain and member of the Ata- The anagenetic model divides the case, and reduced superstructures in puerca Research Team. fossil record, or the morphological the temporal-occipital region. More- space of the genus Homo, into three over, Homo erectus ss exhibits a Key words: Homo antecessor; ergaster; heidel- evolutionary grades. As the morphos- styloid process, as well as differences bergensis; Neanderthals pace is filled with new findings, it is in the size and shape of the supraor- becoming increasingly difficult to bital torus.5–7 The debate about the © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. agree on the exact boundaries be- partitioning of the fossil record is be- DOI 10.1002/evan.10130 Published online in Wiley InterScience tween species. The difficulties of this yond the scope of this paper but, from (www.interscience.wiley.com). model are exemplified by the frequent this point on, we assign the specimens 26 Bermu´dez de Castro et al. ARTICLES THE SIERRA DE ATAPUERCA SITES The Sierra de Atapuerca is a small hill of about twelve square kilometers that rises 1,079 meters above sea level and approximately 100 meters above the alluvial flatness of the Arlanzo´n river. The Sierra de Atapuerca is lo- cated in northern central Spain (Du- ero Basin) fourteen kilometers east of the historical city of Burgos. It con- tains numerous karst cavities in Cre- taceous limestones that are filled with Pleistocene sediments (Fig. 1). The Sima de los Huesos is a blind cavity of 8 ϫ 4m2 located well inside the Cueva Mayor-Cueva del Silo cave system of the karst of Sierra de Ata- puerca (Fig. 1). The access to this chamber is a vertical conduit 14 m deep, which ends with a steep inclined ramp about 9 m long. The first human remains, associated with a large as- semblage of cave-bear (Ursus deningeri) fossils, were found here in 1976.12 This site has been systemati- cally excavated since 1984. Over sev- eral decades, tons of sediment were turned over by cavers hunting for cave-bear teeth.13 A meticulous and methodical excavation began in Figure 1. Map of the Trinchera del Ferrocarril and Cueva Mayor, showing the location of the 1988.14 Arsuaga and coworkers14 de- main Atapuerca sites. TD: Gran Dolina; TG: Galerı´a; TN: Trinchera Norte; TZ: Covacha de los scribed the stratigraphy and many Zarpazos; TE: Sima del Elefante; SH: Sima de los Huesos. other aspects of the Sima de los Hue- sos site and other nearby cavities. They also published cross-sectional of the African Early Pleistocene, in- Despite the internal debate gener- diagrams of the Sima de los Huesos cluding KNM-ER 992 (the holotype of ated by the cladogenetic model, most site and a map of the excavation grid. the species), KNM-ER 3733, KNM-ER authors have abandoned the gradual- The stratigraphy, geological history, 3883, and KNW-WT 15000 (the Tur- ist model for the “phylogenetic species and preliminary dating of the site can kana boy) to the species Homo er- concept” and the recognition of a be found in Bischoff and coworkers.15 gaster. larger number of species in the fossil All the human fossils were recovered Most authors suggest the use of record of the genus Homo. This situ- from the same unit, which is shaped apomorphies (unique derived traits) ation has triggered an ongoing debate by breccias of clay-supporting bones, for the recognition of a species in a about the number of cladogenetic blocks, and clasts15 of varying thick- strict application of the cladogenetic events, the nomenclature of the iden- ness along the site’s profile. Appar- model.8 However, trait exclusiveness tified species, and possible evolution- ently, all fossils were deposited in the is not as common in the fossil record ary scenarios. For the past thirty site during the same sedimentation as it might seem. Given this situation, years, the research team of the Sierra period.15 criteria that are less strict, such as the de Atapuerca sites (Spain) has con- Previous radiometric and paleo- presence of a unique combination of tributed to this debate through the magnetic analyses, as well as biochro- apomorphic (derived) and plesiomor- discovery of two hominin fossil as- nological data, pointed to an age of phic (primitive) traits frequently has semblages from the Sima de los Hue- 200 to 320 kyr (oxygen isotope stages been used.9,10 Furthermore, due to the sos and Gran Dolina sites. These as- 7 to 9) for the Sima de los Huesos difficulties we have noted, some au- semblages, as well as other specimens hominins.15–17 However, recent radio- thors consider that the species diag- discovered in the last decade in Africa metric studies (U-series) of a 14-cm- nosis does not need a cladistic basis, and Europe, give insight into the rela- thick in-situ speleothem overlying the but can be made through the phenetic tionship between Early Pleistocene mud-breccia containing the human determination of a distinctive mor- Homo and the lineage that gave rise to bones has provided a minimum age of photype.11 Homo sapiens. 350 kyr for these hominins.18 An esti- ARTICLES The Atapuerca Sites 27 mated age of 400 to 500 kyr (oxygen continuous from TD3 to TD11 and per part of TD6, the Aurora stratum, isotope stages 12 to 14) for these some levels (TD4, 5, 6, 7, 10, and 11) corresponds to a Mediterranean forest hominins is based on the rate of contain abundant stone tools.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Evolutionary History of the Human Face
    This is a repository copy of The evolutionary history of the human face. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/145560/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Lacruz, Rodrigo S, Stringer, Chris B, Kimbel, William H et al. (5 more authors) (2019) The evolutionary history of the human face. Nature Ecology and Evolution. pp. 726-736. ISSN 2397-334X https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0865-7 Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF THE HUMAN FACE Rodrigo S. Lacruz1*, Chris B. Stringer2, William H. Kimbel3, Bernard Wood4, Katerina Harvati5, Paul O’Higgins6, Timothy G. Bromage7, Juan-Luis Arsuaga8 1* Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, New York University College of Dentistry; and NYCEP, New York, USA. 2 Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK 3 Institute of Human Origins and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.
    [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]
  • 5 Years on Ice Age Europe Network Celebrates – Page 5
    network of heritage sites Magazine Issue 2 aPriL 2018 neanderthal rock art Latest research from spanish caves – page 6 Underground theatre British cave balances performances with conservation – page 16 Caves with ice age art get UnesCo Label germany’s swabian Jura awarded world heritage status – page 40 5 Years On ice age europe network celebrates – page 5 tewww.ice-age-europe.euLLING the STORY of iCe AGE PeoPLe in eUROPe anD eXPL ORING PLEISTOCene CULtURAL HERITAGE IntrOductIOn network of heritage sites welcome to the second edition of the ice age europe magazine! Ice Age europe Magazine – issue 2/2018 issn 2568­4353 after the successful launch last year we are happy to present editorial board the new issue, which is again brimming with exciting contri­ katrin hieke, gerd­Christian weniger, nick Powe butions. the magazine showcases the many activities taking Publication editing place in research and conservation, exhibition, education and katrin hieke communication at each of the ice age europe member sites. Layout and design Brightsea Creative, exeter, Uk; in addition, we are pleased to present two special guest Beate tebartz grafik Design, Düsseldorf, germany contributions: the first by Paul Pettitt, University of Durham, cover photo gives a brief overview of a groundbreaking discovery, which fashionable little sapiens © fumane Cave proved in february 2018 that the neanderthals were the first Inside front cover photo cave artists before modern humans. the second by nuria sanz, water bird – hohle fels © urmu, director of UnesCo in Mexico and general coor­­­di nator of the Photo: burkert ideenreich heaDs programme, reports on the new initiative for a serial transnational nomination of neanderthal sites as world heritage, for which this network laid the foundation.
    [Show full text]
  • Homo Heidelbergensis: the Ot Ol to Our Success Alexander Burkard Virginia Commonwealth University
    Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Auctus: The ourJ nal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship 2016 Homo heidelbergensis: The oT ol to Our Success Alexander Burkard Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/auctus Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons, and the Biology Commons © The Author(s) Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/auctus/47 This Social Sciences is brought to you for free and open access by VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Auctus: The ourJ nal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Homo heidelbergensis: The Tool to Our Success By Alexander Burkard Homo heidelbergensis, a physiological variant of the species Homo sapien, is an extinct spe- cies that existed in both Europe and parts of Asia from 700,000 years ago to roughly 300,000 years ago (carbon dating). This “subspecies” of Homo sapiens, as it is formally classified, is a direct ancestor of anatomically modern humans, and is understood to have many of the same physiological characteristics as those of anatomically modern humans while still expressing many of the same physiological attributes of Homo erectus, an earlier human ancestor. Since Homo heidelbergensis represents attributes of both species, it has therefore earned the classifica- tion as a subspecies of Homo sapiens and Homo erectus. Homo heidelbergensis, like anatomically modern humans, is the byproduct of millions of years of natural selection and genetic variation. It is understood through current scientific theory that roughly 200,000 years ago (carbon dat- ing), archaic Homo sapiens and Homo erectus left Africa in pursuit of the small and large animal game that were migrating north into Europe and Asia.
    [Show full text]
  • The Human Evolutionary Calendar - Evolution in a Year)I------1 January • December F------{( March ) ( June September
    The Human Evolutionary Calendar - Evolution in a Year)I---------1 January • December f-------{( March ) ( June September SahelanthropusTchadensi Australopithecus sediba Homo rh odes iensis Ardipithecus ramidus 7,000,000 - 6,000,000 yrs. 2,000,000 - , ,750,000 yrs. 300,000 -125,000 yrs. 3,200,000 • 4,300,000 yrs. Homo rudolfensis Orrorin tugenensis 1,900,000 - 1.750,000 yrs. Homo pekin ensi s 6, 100,000 - 5,BOO,Oci:l yrs. 700,000 - 500,000 yrs. Australopit ec us anamensis 4,200,00 - 3,900,000 yrs. Ardipithecus kadabba 5,750,000 - 5,200,000 yrs. Ho m o Ergaster 1,900,000 - 1,3,000,000 yrs. Homo heidelberge nsis 700,000 • 200,000 yrs. Australopithecus afarensis Homo erectus 3,900,000 - 2,900,000 yrs. 1,800,000 • 250,000 yrs. Ho mo antecessor Australopithecus africa nus Ho mo habilis 1,000,000 -700,000 yrs. 3,800,000 - 3,000,000 yrs. 2,350,000 - 1,450,000 yrs. Ho m o g eorgicus Kenya nthropus platyo ps 1,800,000- 1.3000,000 yrs. 3,500,000 - 3,200,000 yrs. Ho m o nea nderthalensis 200,000 · 28,000 yrs. Paranthropus bo ise i Paranthropus aethiopicu 2,275,000- 1,250,000 yrs. De nisova ho minins 2,650,000 - 2,300,000 yrs. 200,000 - 30,000 yrs. Paranthropus robustus/crass iden s Australopithecus garhi 1,750,000- 1,200,000 yrs. 2,750,000 - 2.400,000 yrs. Red Deer Cave Peo ple ?- 11,000yrs. Ho mo sa piens sapien s 200~ Ho m o fl o res iensis 100,000 • 13,000 yrs.
    [Show full text]
  • Cave Bear Ecology and Interactions With
    CAVEBEAR ECOLOGYAND INTERACTIONSWITH PLEISTOCENE HUMANS MARYC. STINER, Department of Anthropology,Building 30, Universityof Arizona,Tucson, AZ 85721, USA,email: [email protected] Abstract:Human ancestors (Homo spp.), cave bears(Ursus deningeri, U. spelaeus), andbrown bears (U. arctos) have coexisted in Eurasiafor at least one million years, andbear remains and Paleolithic artifacts frequently are found in the same caves. The prevalenceof cave bearbones in some sites is especiallystriking, as thesebears were exceptionallylarge relative to archaichumans. Do artifact-bearassociations in cave depositsindicate predation on cave bearsby earlyhuman hunters, or do they testify simply to earlyhumans' and cave bears'common interest in naturalshelters, occupied on different schedules?Answering these and other questions aboutthe circumstancesof human-cave bear associationsis made possible in partby expectations developedfrom research on modem bearecology, time-scaledfor paleontologicand archaeologic applications. Here I review availableknowledge on Paleolithichuman-bear relations with a special focus on cave bears(Middle Pleistocene U. deningeri)from YarimburgazCave, Turkey.Multiple lines of evidence show thatcave bearand human use of caves were temporallyindependent events; the apparentspatial associations between human artifacts andcave bearbones areexplained principally by slow sedimentationrates relative to the pace of biogenicaccumulation and bears' bed preparationhabits. Hibernation-linkedbehaviors and population characteristics of cave
    [Show full text]
  • The Human Cranium from Bodo, Ethiopia
    G. Philip Rightmire The human cranium from Bodo, Department of Anthropology, State Ethiopia: evidence for speciation in the University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13902-6000, U.S.A. Middle Pleistocene? Received 19 June 1995 The cranium found at Bodo in 1976 is derived from Middle Pleistocene Revision received 13 December deposits containing faunal remains and Acheulean artefacts. A parietal 1995 recovered later must belong to a second individual, probably representing the and accepted 30 December 1995 same taxon. The cranium includes the face, much of the frontal bone, parts of the midvault and the base anterior to the foramen magnum. It is clear that the Keywords: human evolution, Bodo hominids resemble Homo erectus in a number of characters. The facial craniofacial morphology, species, skeleton is large, especially in its breadth dimensions. The braincase is low and Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, decidedly archaic in overall appearance. Individual bones are quite thick. ‘‘archaic’’ Homo sapiens. Behind the projecting supraorbital torus, the frontal profile is flattened. The midline keel and bregmatic eminence are characteristic of H. erectus. Frontal narrowing is less pronounced than in crania from Olduvai and Koobi Fora but slightly greater than in some Sangiran specimens. The parietal displays a prominent angular torus. Whether the inferior part of the tympanic plate was substantially thickened cannot be checked, but in the placement of its petrous bone and the resulting crevice-like configuration of the foramen lacerum, the Bodo hominid resembles H. erectus. Other traits seem more clearly to be synapomorphies uniting Bodo with later Middle Pleistocene populations and recent humans.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • K = Kenyanthropus Platyops “Kenya Man” Discovered by Meave Leaky
    K = Kenyanthropus platyops “Kenya Man” Discovered by Meave Leaky and her team in 1998 west of Lake Turkana, Kenya, and described as a new genus dating back to the middle Pliocene, 3.5 MYA. A = Australopithecus africanus STS-5 “Mrs. Ples” The discovery of this skull in 1947 in South Africa of this virtually complete skull gave additional credence to the establishment of early Hominids. Dated at 2.5 MYA. H = Homo habilis KNM-ER 1813 Discovered in 1973 by Kamoya Kimeu in Koobi Fora, Kenya. Even though it is very small, it is considered to be an adult and is dated at 1.9 MYA. E = Homo erectus “Peking Man” Discovered in China in the 1920’s, this is based on the reconstruction by Sawyer and Tattersall of the American Museum of Natural History. Dated at 400-500,000 YA. (2 parts) L = Australopithecus afarensis “Lucy” Discovered by Donald Johanson in 1974 in Ethiopia. Lucy, at 3.2 million years old has been considered the first human. This is now being challenged by the discovery of Kenyanthropus described by Leaky. (2 parts) TC = Australopithecus africanus “Taung child” Discovered in 1924 in Taung, South Africa by M. de Bruyn. Raymond Dart established it as a new genus and species. Dated at 2.3 MYA. (3 parts) G = Homo ergaster “Nariokotome or Turkana boy” KNM-WT 15000 Discovered in 1984 in Nariokotome, Kenya by Richard Leaky this is the first skull dated before 100,000 years that is complete enough to get accurate measurements to determine brain size. Dated at 1.6 MYA.
    [Show full text]
  • © in This Web Service Cambridge University
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-01829-7 - Human Adaptation in the Asian Palaeolithic: Hominin Dispersal and Behaviour during the Late Quaternary Ryan J. Rabett Index More information Index Abdur, 88 Arborophilia sp., 219 Abri Pataud, 76 Arctictis binturong, 218, 229, 230, 231, 263 Accipiter trivirgatus,cf.,219 Arctogalidia trivirgata, 229 Acclimatization, 2, 7, 268, 271 Arctonyx collaris, 241 Acculturation, 70, 279, 288 Arcy-sur-Cure, 75 Acheulean, 26, 27, 28, 29, 45, 47, 48, 51, 52, 58, 88 Arius sp., 219 Acheulo-Yabrudian, 48 Asian leaf turtle. See Cyclemys dentata Adaptation Asian soft-shell turtle. See Amyda cartilaginea high frequency processes, 286 Asian wild dog. See Cuon alipinus hominin adaptive trajectories, 7, 267, 268 Assamese macaque. See Macaca assamensis low frequency processes, 286–287 Athapaskan, 278 tropical foragers (Southeast Asia), 283 Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC), 23–24 Variability selection hypothesis, 285–286 Attirampakkam, 106 Additive strategies Aurignacian, 69, 71, 72, 73, 76, 78, 102, 103, 268, 272 economic, 274, 280. See Strategy-switching Developed-, 280 (economic) Proto-, 70, 78 technological, 165, 206, 283, 289 Australo-Melanesian population, 109, 116 Agassi, Lake, 285 Australopithecines (robust), 286 Ahmarian, 80 Azilian, 74 Ailuropoda melanoleuca fovealis, 35 Airstrip Mound site, 136 Bacsonian, 188, 192, 194 Altai Mountains, 50, 51, 94, 103 Balobok rock-shelter, 159 Altamira, 73 Ban Don Mun, 54 Amyda cartilaginea, 218, 230 Ban Lum Khao, 164, 165 Amyda sp., 37 Ban Mae Tha, 54 Anderson, D.D., 111, 201 Ban Rai, 203 Anorrhinus galeritus, 219 Banteng. See Bos cf. javanicus Anthracoceros coronatus, 219 Banyan Valley Cave, 201 Anthracoceros malayanus, 219 Barranco Leon,´ 29 Anthropocene, 8, 9, 274, 286, 289 BAT 1, 173, 174 Aq Kupruk, 104, 105 BAT 2, 173 Arboreal-adapted taxa, 96, 110, 111, 113, 122, 151, 152, Bat hawk.
    [Show full text]
  • 0205683290.Pdf
    Hominin footprints preserved at Laetoli, Tanzania, are about 3.6 million years old. These individuals were between 3 and 4 feet tall when standing upright. For a close-up view of one of the footprints and further information, go to the human origins section of the website of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/ humanorigins/ha/laetoli.htm. THE EVOLUTION OF HUMANITY AND CULTURE 2 the BIG questions v What do living nonhuman primates tell us about OUTLINE human culture? Nonhuman Primates and the Roots of Human Culture v Hominin Evolution to Modern What role did culture play Humans during hominin evolution? Critical Thinking: What Is Really in the Toolbox? v How has modern human Eye on the Environment: Clothing as a Thermal culture changed in the past Adaptation to Cold and Wind 12,000 years? The Neolithic Revolution and the Emergence of Cities and States Lessons Applied: Archaeology Findings Increase Food Production in Bolivia 33 Substantial scientific evidence indicates that modern hu- closest to humans and describes how they provide insights into mans have evolved from a shared lineage with primate ances- what the lives of the earliest human ancestors might have been tors between 4 and 8 million years ago. The mid-nineteenth like. It then turns to a description of the main stages in evolu- century was a turning point in European thinking about tion to modern humans. The last section covers the develop- human origins as scientific thinking challenged the biblical ment of settled life, agriculture, and cities and states.
    [Show full text]
  • Early Members of the Genus Homo -. EXPLORATIONS: an OPEN INVITATION to BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
    EXPLORATIONS: AN OPEN INVITATION TO BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY Editors: Beth Shook, Katie Nelson, Kelsie Aguilera and Lara Braff American Anthropological Association Arlington, VA 2019 Explorations: An Open Invitation to Biological Anthropology is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. ISBN – 978-1-931303-63-7 www.explorations.americananthro.org 10. Early Members of the Genus Homo Bonnie Yoshida-Levine Ph.D., Grossmont College Learning Objectives • Describe how early Pleistocene climate change influenced the evolution of the genus Homo. • Identify the characteristics that define the genus Homo. • Describe the skeletal anatomy of Homo habilis and Homo erectus based on the fossil evidence. • Assess opposing points of view about how early Homo should be classified. Describe what is known about the adaptive strategies of early members of the Homo genus, including tool technologies, diet, migration patterns, and other behavioral trends.The boy was no older than 9 when he perished by the swampy shores of the lake. After death, his slender, long-limbed body sank into the mud of the lake shallows. His bones fossilized and lay undisturbed for 1.5 million years. In the 1980s, fossil hunter Kimoya Kimeu, working on the western shore of Lake Turkana, Kenya, glimpsed a dark colored piece of bone eroding in a hillside. This small skull fragment led to the discovery of what is arguably the world’s most complete early hominin fossil—a youth identified as a member of the species Homo erectus. Now known as Nariokotome Boy, after the nearby lake village, the skeleton has provided a wealth of information about the early evolution of our own genus, Homo (see Figure 10.1).
    [Show full text]