DOCSLIB.ORG

Fossil Evidence of Hominins Preying on Rhinoceroses Jun Yana; Tuong-Vi Nguyena; Briana Pobiner, Phdb; Elizabeth V

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Fossil Evidence of Hominins Preying on Rhinoceroses Jun Yana; Tuong-Vi Nguyena; Briana Pobiner, Phdb; Elizabeth V Fossil evidence of hominins preying on rhinoceroses Jun Yana; Tuong-Vi Nguyena; Briana Pobiner, PhDb; Elizabeth V. Berkeley, PhDa a Biology Department, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, b Human Origins Program, NMNH, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Introduction Results Currently, rhinoceroses are mainly hunted for their horns. In prehistoric times, hominins were likely interested in rhinoceroses for their meat. Evidence from butchered bones Figure 1. Interactive map containing 58 detailed specimen data entries and stone tools indicate that hominins first started consuming created using ZeeMaps. Different color pins correspond to the five meat from large animals at least 2.6 Ma5 and then migrated out different categories based on the interaction between rhinoceros and of Africa around 1.9 Ma9*, their diets became broader and more hominin (detailed descriptions of each category are available on the flexible. As the consumption of animal-based foods (especially actual map). Detailed data for each entry can be seen by clicking on meat) provided more calories for various amino acids and the “entry name” on the right list or by clicking on the actual pin point. micronutrients used for rapid development1, the selective Viewers of the map will be able to download the entire database as a pressure to consume these foods increased. We conducted a CSV file. Admin access will also be available for scientist to modify literature review to determine when and where early humans current data or add a data entry. started preying on rhinoceroses, and how rhinoceroses may have been used as food. We also intended explore the evidence for the interactions of hominin and rhinoceros species that inhabited the same geographical location during the same period of time and how often rhinoceros consumption events (a) 0 (c) 14.9KA took place. N/A -20,000 30KA -500,000 40KA 14.5KA -40,000 56.5KA 49KA 16.5KA 55KA 59KA 35KA Materials and Methods 60KA -1,000,000 H. sapiens -60,000 16.9KA 18.5KA 82KA 63.5KA 18.9KA • We searched for relevant scientific archeology, -1,500,000 -80,000 70KA H.neanderthalensis 91KA 72KA paleontology, and evolutionary biology papers -100,000 100KA 64KA -2,000,000 sapiens 100KA in online and print journals and books using H. heidelbergensis 67KA -120,000 H. neanderthalensis Years Ago Years Years Ago Years 120KA -2,500,000 143KA keywords including “rhinoceros”, “cut marks”, H. 125KA H. erectus -140,000 “hunting”, “scavenging” “butchery”, and “stone -3,000,000 Literature H.habilis tools” . -160,000 Search heidelbergensis -3,500,000 -180,000 • We contacted relevant researchers by email to H. H. erectus 200KA obtain information about sites they have studied -4,000,000 -200,000 200KA or are currently studying that provide evidence -900,000 0 (b) (d) 40KA of rhinoceros presence and consumption. 113KA 1.40 MA 1.00 MA -100,000 143KA 127KA 200KA 200KA • We recorded information into a spreadsheet -1,400,000 rectus e -200,000 243KA 1.80 MA 200KA 171KA including the excavation site name, geographic H. 1.71MA 1.93 MA 1.93 MA -300,000 250KA 260KA -1,900,000 habilis 350KA 350KA300KA coordinates, sample ID, estimated age of fossils, 1.89 MA 2.04 MA 2.04 MA 1.95 MA H. -400,000 Literature 2.04 MA 478KA lithic industry, species of hominin and 2.41 MA2.41 MA 420KA400KA -2,400,000 -500,000 Review rhinoceros present, NISP/MNI, age profile, 2.40 MA 2.41 MA 500KA 2.50 MA heidelbergensis 608KA Years Ago Years Years Ago Years -600,000 neanderthalensis number of butchery marks presented, and other H. 582KA -2,900,000 H. fauna found. 2.94 MA -700,000 H. erectus 3.00 MA 700KA -800,000 737KA • We color coded each entry in the spreadsheet. -3,400,000 -900,000 Data • We created a map of locations of relevant fossils 3.75 MA 866KA Visualiza and timeline of existing and our own hypotheses -3,900,000 -1,000,000 -tion regarding human predation on rhinoceroses. Estimated time interval based on rhino specimen Rhinos and hominins co-existed in Rhino fossils without butchery marks were Rhino fossils with butchery marks were Estimated time interval based on evidence other the same area but no hominin found in a concentrated area with evidence of interpreted as the hominin themselves than rhino specimen remains or artifacts were found hominin hunting / scavenging other prey actively hunted / killed rhinos Indicates time flow (before data point / after data Both rhinos and hominin remains Rhino fossils were found with butchery marks No actual dating information was provided point) or artifacts were found in the but it is unresolved whether hominids hunted for the archaeology site / rhino remains Discussion Estimated time has standard deviation correction same location, but no sign of or scavenged the rhinos Timeline of hominin species from (“MA” = “million years ago”; “KA” = “1000 years ago”) butchery activity were discovered Smithsonian’s Human Origins Programs It is clear that hominins interacted with rhinoceroses as food Figure 2. (a) summary of the timeline based on the dating information either provided by rhinoceros remains or other specimens found at each site. sources. Skeletal elements of rhinoceroses were frequently Data entries were reorganized based on the likely interaction between rhinoceros and hominins and the estimated age of the fossil specimen. The reported from zooarcheological sites across Africa, Asia, and left side of each chart is the estimated timeline of the major hominin species according to the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program. The right Europe (Figure 1). According to our literature review, the side of each chart corresponds to the timeline for different sites. (b) detailed dating from 3.75 million years ago to 1.00 million years ago; (c) earliest hominin species to have coexisted with and possibly detailed dating from 150 thousand years ago to 14 thousand years ago; (d) detailed dating from 900 thousand years ago to 150 thousand years ago. had the ability to hunt rhinos were Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis2,3, who lived between 1.89 million and Conclusion Online Source Links / Email 143,000 years ago and from 200,000 to 40,000 years ago • Fossil records form prehistoric sites in Africa, Asia, and Europe showed Homo ZeeMaps: https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=1113706 (respectively)4,9*.Rhinoceroses are large, usually solitary, often erectus and Homo neanderthalensis coexisted and may have been capable of hunting Human Origins Program: http://humanorigins.si.edu aggressive ungulates, which made them rare to encounter and rhinoceroses. Elizabeth V. Berkeley: [email protected] dangerous to kill. However, it may have been possible for • It is highly plausible that early hominins were able to deflesh and consume Tuong-Vi Nguyen: [email protected] hominins to obtain rhinoceros meat by scavenging after other rhinoceros meat. Many bone fossils show butchery marks (cut or percussion) on their Briana Pobiner: [email protected] 6,7 predators had killed the rhinoceros . In addition, numerous surface. Jun Yan: [email protected] skulls and a several bones of rhinos have been round in caves • However, it is difficult to confirm whether or not early hominins hunted rhinoceroses where hominins may have potentially lived or congregated, directly or scavenged the meat after another predator. Acknowledgements which suggests that hominins were at least capable of • It is unclear where early hominins processed the rhino meat. Rhinos are large T-V.N. and J.Y. thank the Smithsonian NMNH for their 8 animals that would have been difficult to drag complete, yet some of their bones scavenging meat and detaching parts of these animals . A main internship opportunity. Also thanks JMU 4-VA foundation have been found in caves. reason we were not able to confirm hunting by hominins on for providing funds to support this project. rhinoceroses is due to their size; it may be possible for an early • We are unable to find evidence of hunting through the fossil records because human to kill prey without leaving any marks on the bones7. hominins may have been able to kill and butcher rhinoceroses without leaving marks Although our literature review found very few butchery marks on their bones. on rhino fossils, the presence of cut marks on other species Key References such as elephants, buffalos, and deer suggest that early 1Aiello, L. C., & Wheeler, P. (1995). The expensive-tissue hypothesis: The brain and the digestive system in human and primate evolution. Current Anthropology, 36(2), 199-221. 2Bocherens, H., Drucker, D. G., et al., (2005). Isotopic evidence for diet and subsistence pattern of the Saint-Ce ́saire I Neanderthal: Review and use of a multi-source mixing model. Journal of Human Evolution, 49(1), 71-87. 3Braun, D., Harris, J., Levin, N., et al., (2010). Early hominin diet included diverse terrestrial and aquatic animals 1.95 Ma in East Turkana, Kenya (R. Klein, Ed.). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107(22), 10002-10007. 4Higham, T., Douka, K., hominins were capable of harvesting meat from large Wood, R., et al., (2014, August 20). The timing and spatiotemporal patterning of Neanderthal disappearance. Nature, 306-309. 5Pobiner, B. L. (2007). Hominin-carnivore interactions: evidence from modern carnivore bone modification and early Pleistocene archaeofaunas (Koobi Fora, Kenya; Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania); Doctoral dissertation. 6Rabinovich, R., Bar-Yosef, O., et al., (2004). Hominid-carnivore interactions in the Paleolithic site of Qafzeh 3,5,6,7 cave, Israel. Revue De Paleobiologie, Geneve, 23(2), 627-637. 7Smith, G.M. (2010). A contextual approach to the study of faunal assemblages from Lower and Middle Palaeolithic sites in the UK. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University animals .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Bibliography
    Bibliography Many books were read and researched in the compilation of Binford, L. R, 1983, Working at Archaeology. Academic Press, The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology: New York. Binford, L. R, and Binford, S. R (eds.), 1968, New Perspectives in American Museum of Natural History, 1993, The First Humans. Archaeology. Aldine, Chicago. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Braidwood, R 1.,1960, Archaeologists and What They Do. Franklin American Museum of Natural History, 1993, People of the Stone Watts, New York. Age. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Branigan, Keith (ed.), 1982, The Atlas ofArchaeology. St. Martin's, American Museum of Natural History, 1994, New World and Pacific New York. Civilizations. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Bray, w., and Tump, D., 1972, Penguin Dictionary ofArchaeology. American Museum of Natural History, 1994, Old World Civiliza­ Penguin, New York. tions. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Brennan, L., 1973, Beginner's Guide to Archaeology. Stackpole Ashmore, w., and Sharer, R. J., 1988, Discovering Our Past: A Brief Books, Harrisburg, PA. Introduction to Archaeology. Mayfield, Mountain View, CA. Broderick, M., and Morton, A. A., 1924, A Concise Dictionary of Atkinson, R J. C., 1985, Field Archaeology, 2d ed. Hyperion, New Egyptian Archaeology. Ares Publishers, Chicago. York. Brothwell, D., 1963, Digging Up Bones: The Excavation, Treatment Bacon, E. (ed.), 1976, The Great Archaeologists. Bobbs-Merrill, and Study ofHuman Skeletal Remains. British Museum, London. New York. Brothwell, D., and Higgs, E. (eds.), 1969, Science in Archaeology, Bahn, P., 1993, Collins Dictionary of Archaeology. ABC-CLIO, 2d ed. Thames and Hudson, London. Santa Barbara, CA. Budge, E. A. Wallis, 1929, The Rosetta Stone. Dover, New York. Bahn, P.
    [Show full text]
  • Harvard University Press, 2015)
    This is a preprint draft of a chapter that appeared in Jeremy Brown and Matthew Johnson, eds. Maoism at the Grassroots (Harvard University Press, 2015). Youth and the "Great Revolutionary Movement" of Scientific Experiment in 1960s-70s Rural China Sigrid Schmalzer1 During the 1960s and 1970s, millions of young Chinese people moved to the countryside to be tempered by the "three great revolutionary movements." Originating in a May 1963 quotation from Chairman Mao, this became a stock phrase in the Cultural Revolution. But what were these three movements? The first two are familiar enough. Class struggle: political study meetings, criticism/self-criticism sessions, violent and sometimes deadly assaults on people identified as "class enemies." The struggle for production: back-breaking labor that defined life for rural people and offered a profound, and often bitter, lesson for sentdown urbanites. But what of the third? Rarely discussed in secondary literature, the “great revolutionary movement” of scientific experiment was nonetheless a significant experience for millions of people in rural China, and especially educated youth. In some areas, as many as one-third of urban, sent-down youth participated in scientific experiment.2 Whether cultivating bacterial fertilizer in makeshift laboratories, observing insect behavior to develop more effective control technologies, or designing new agricultural machinery, youth provided key support to the state's goal of transforming agriculture, and participating in scientific experiment presented opportunities for 1 young people to pursue both intellectual and revolutionary dreams. The idea that science should be pitched to youth is common in modern societies, but the Chinese case stands out because of the degree to which science itself was characterized as youthful, and youth themselves understood as agents of revolutionary scientific transformation.
    [Show full text]
  • Homo Erectus: a Bigger, Faster, Smarter, Longer Lasting Hominin Lineage
    Homo erectus: A Bigger, Faster, Smarter, Longer Lasting Hominin Lineage Charles J. Vella, PhD August, 2019 Acknowledgements Many drawings by Kathryn Cruz-Uribe in Human Career, by R. Klein Many graphics from multiple journal articles (i.e. Nature, Science, PNAS) Ray Troll • Hominin evolution from 3.0 to 1.5 Ma. (Species) • Currently known species temporal ranges for Pa, Paranthropus aethiopicus; Pb, P. boisei; Pr, P. robustus; A afr, Australopithecus africanus; Ag, A. garhi; As, A. sediba; H sp., early Homo >2.1 million years ago (Ma); 1470 group and 1813 group representing a new interpretation of the traditionally recognized H. habilis and H. rudolfensis; and He, H. erectus. He (D) indicates H. erectus from Dmanisi. • (Behavior) Icons indicate from the bottom the • first appearance of stone tools (the Oldowan technology) at ~2.6 Ma, • the dispersal of Homo to Eurasia at ~1.85 Ma, • and the appearance of the Acheulean technology at ~1.76 Ma. • The number of contemporaneous hominin taxa during this period reflects different Susan C. Antón, Richard Potts, Leslie C. Aiello, 2014 strategies of adaptation to habitat variability. Origins of Homo: Summary of shifts in Homo Early Homo appears in the record by 2.3 Ma. By 2.0 Ma at least two facial morphs of early Homo (1813 group and 1470 group) representing two different adaptations are present. And possibly 3 others as well (Ledi-Geraru, Uraha-501, KNM-ER 62000) The 1813 group survives until at least 1.44 Ma. Early Homo erectus represents a third more derived morph and one that is of slightly larger brain and body size but somewhat smaller tooth size.
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliografía – Riferimenti Bibliografici
    STUDII BIOLOGIE 14, 2009.pdf, Flat 4 of 64 - Pages: 6, 7, 01/27/10 06:19 PM 6 Studii şi cercetări, BiologyRhinocerotoidea 14, Bistriţ a,Gill, p. 7-1041872, Bibliography of selected papers... 7 Berkesy Lásló, Berkesy Corina RHINOCEROTOIDEA GILL, 1872 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SELECTED PAPERS – BIBLIOGRAFYA RÉFÉRENCES BIBLIOGRAPHIQUES – BIBLIOGRAFÍA – RIFERIMENTI BIBLIOGRAFICI Emmanuel M.E. BILLIA* For a more rapid and easy consultation a list of bibliographic references concerning the Rhinocerotoidea Superfamily is proposed. As far as regards to the reference codes included in column on the left see the “Legenda” table. Il nous a paru utile, afin d’assurer une consultation du texte à la fois plus rapide et plus aisée, de proposer ici-même des références bibliographiques concernant la Super-famille Rhinocerotoidea. Pour ce qui a trait au choix des références placées dans la liste de gauche, voir la table des “Legenda”. Para una mas rápida y fácil consultación, se propone aquì una lista bibliográfica sobre la Superfamilia Rhinocerotoidea. Por lo que concerne las claves de referimiento de la columna a la izquierda, veer la tabla ”Legenda”. Dlya bolee bystroy i udobnoy konsul’tazii privoditsya spisok bibliografii nadsemeystva Rhinocerotoidea. Chto kasaetsya kodov, privedennyh v kolonke sleva, smotrite tablizu “Legenda”. Ai fini di una più rapida e agevole consultazione, si è ritenuto utile proporre un elenco di riferimenti bibliografici relativi alla Superfamiglia Rhinocerotoidea. Per quanto concerne i codici di riferimento riportati nella colonna a sinistra, si consulti il quadro ”Legenda”. LEGENDA 1a Rhinocerotidae of the European Paleocene-Eocene 1b Rhinocerotidae of the European Oligo-Miocene 1c Rhinocerotidae of the European Pliocene 2 Rhinocerotidae of the European Pleistocene in general or indet.
    [Show full text]
  • Advanced Online Publication
    ChinaXiv合作期刊 古 脊 椎 动 物 学 报 VERTEBRATA PALASIATICA DOI: 10.19615/j.cnki.1000-3118.190525 Cladistic approach on chronological relationship of the Pleistocene mammalian faunas from China DONG Wei1,2 LIU Wen-Hui1,2,3 BAI Wei-Peng1,2,3 (1 Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100044 [email protected]) (2 CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment Beijing 100044) (3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100049) Abstract There are many localities yielding the Pleistocene mammalian faunas in China. It offers excellent material for the study of mammalian evolution, biochronology, paleoecology, Advancedpaleoenvironment, paleozoogeography, etc. Faunal assemblage characters and taxonomic extinction rates were widely used for determining the faunal ages in biochronology. Faunal binary similarity coefficients sequenced according to Brainerd-Robinson’s rule and antiquity coefficients were further developed methods in biochronology for dating the faunal ages. The faunal binary similarity coefficients are based on the presence or absence of a taxon in a fauna. It is similar to the presence or absence of a character of a species in cladistic analyses for phylogeny, and all faunas have a special ancestor-descendant relationship. The present work is an attempt to find the relationship of the faunas withonline cladistic methods by selecting three groups of faunas sequenced by faunal binary similarity coefficients according to Brainerd-Robinson’s rule and antiquity coefficients, to compare the results with different methods, and then to estimate the ages of the faunas not yet dated by physical or chemical methods.
    [Show full text]
  • Ecology and Extinction of Southeast Asia's Megafauna
    ECOLOGY AND EXTINCTION OF SOUTHEAST ASIA’S MEGAFAUNA JULIEN LOUYS Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia December 2007 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Louys First name: Julien Other name/s: Claude Alexandre Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: PhD School: Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty: Science Title: Ecology and Extinction of Southeast Asia’s Megafauna Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE) The Quaternary megafauna of Southeast Asia are among the world’s poorest known. Throughout the Pleistocene, continental collisions, active volcanic systems and fluctuations in sea level have had dramatic effects on the region’s geography, from southern China to Indonesia. Many Southeast Asian megafauna experienced geographical range reduction or complete extinction during that interval. This thesis explores the relative influence of environmental change and human interaction in these extinctions. There is currently no direct evidence to suggest that humans had a negative impact on Southeast Asian megafauna until the Holocene. Rather, extinctions and geographical range reduction experienced by megafauna are likely to have resulted from of loss of suitable habitats, in particular the loss of more open habitats. Environmental change throughout the Pleistocene of Southeast Asia is reconstructed on the basis of discriminant functions analysis of megafauna from twenty-seven Southeast Asian Quaternary sites, as well as Gongwangling, an early Pleistocene hominin site previously interpreted as paleoarctic. The discriminant functions were defined on the basis of species lists drawn from modern Asian nature reserves and national parks, and were analysed using both taxonomic and phylogeny-free variables.
    [Show full text]
  • Earliest African Evidence of Carcass Processing and Consumption In
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Earliest African evidence of carcass processing and consumption in cave at 700 ka, Casablanca, Morocco Camille Daujeard1*, Christophe Falguères1, Qingfeng Shao2, Denis Geraads3,4, Jean-Jacques Hublin4,5, David Lefèvre6, Mohssine El Graoui7, Mathieu Rué 6,8, Rosalia Gallotti6,9, Vincent Delvigne9,10, Alain Quefelec 9, Eslem Ben Arous 1, Olivier Tombret1, Abderrahim Mohib7,11 & Jean-Paul Raynal9,4 To date, in Africa, evidence for animal processing and consumption in caves routinely used as living spaces is only documented in the late Middle Pleistocene of the North and South of the continent and postdates the Middle Pleistocene in East Africa. Here we report the earliest evidence in a North-African cave (Grotte des Rhinocéros at Casablanca, Morocco) of cut, percussion and human gnawing marks on faunal remains directly associated with lithic knapping activities in the same space and in a well- documented stratifed context. Ages for this Acheulean site are provided by the dating of herbivorous teeth to 690–720 ka and 520–550 ka (lower and upper sets) by combined Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) and U-series techniques. Traces of butchery on gazelle, alcelaphin, and zebra bones demonstrate that hominins had primary access to herbivore carcasses. Hominins brought and consumed meat in the cave, as documented by herbivore bones bearing human tooth marks concentrated in a circumscribed area of the excavation. In Africa, this site provides the earliest evidence for in situ carcass processing and meat- eating in cave, directly associated with lithic production and demonstrates the recurrent use by early Middle Pleistocene hominins of a North African cave site 400 000 years before that by Homo sapiens at Jebel Irhoud (Morocco).
    [Show full text]
  • Elephant Survey in the Bia Conservation Area, Western Ghana
    See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267209715 Elephant survey in the Bia Conservation Area, western Ghana Article in Pachyderm · October 2014 CITATIONS READS 0 111 4 authors, including: Emmanuel Danquah Daryl Bosu Kwame Nkrumah University Of Sc… A Rocha Ghana 37 PUBLICATIONS 81 CITATIONS 3 PUBLICATIONS 9 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Monitoring Eidolon helvum, Straw colored fruit bats population on University of Energy and Natural Resources View project All content following this page was uploaded by Emmanuel Danquah on 22 October 2014. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. January – June 2006 Number 40 ISSN 1026 2881 IUCN journal of the African Elephant, African Rhino The World Conservation Union and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups January – June 2006 No. 40 1 Chair reports / Rapports des Présidents 1 African Elephant Specialist Group report / S P E C I E S Rapport du Groupe Spécialiste des Eléphants S U R V I V A L d’Afrique C O M M I S S I O N Holly T. Dublin Editor 11 African Rhino Specialist Group report / Rapport Helen van Houten du Groupe Spécialiste des Rhinos d’Afrique Assistant Editor Martin Brooks Dali Mwagore Editorial Board 15 Asian Rhino Specialist Group report / Rapport du Holly Dublin Groupe Spécialiste des Rhinos d’Asie Esmond Martin Nico van Strien, Tirtha Maskey Leo Niskanen Robert Olivier 24 Research Nico van Strien Lucy Vigne 24 Effect of artificial water points on the movement and behaviour of desert-dwelling elephants of Design and layout north-western Namibia Damary Odanga Keith Leggett Graphics Phillip Miyare 35 Distribution des éléphants autour d’une mare sahélienne en relation avec le cheptel Address all correspondence, domestique et la végétation ligneuse including enquiries about subscription, to Richard F.W.
    [Show full text]
  • Biochronological Framework of Homo Erectus Horizons in China
    Quaternary International 400 (2016) 47e57 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint Biochronological framework of Homo erectus horizons in China Wei Dong Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, IVPP, CAS, Beijing 100044, China article info abstract Article history: A total of 15 sites yielding Homo erectus were discovered in China. Numerical age dating results vary from Available online 27 October 2015 different authors. In an attempt to evaluate and possibly refine controversial dating results, the author proposes five stages as a biochronological framework for Homo erectus horizons in China by sequencing Keywords: all hominin horizons according to fauna antiquity coefficients, faunal binary similarity coefficients, faunal Biochron extinction rates, and ecological composition similarities of the faunas. The first stage is associated with Mammalian fauna the arrival of Homo erectus in East Asia, and the last stage is associated with the decline and final Homo erectus disappearance of Homo erectus as well as arrival of Homo sapiens in East Asia. The faunas experienced Horizon Pleistocene some kind of critical transition or turnover in the third stage. © China 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Well documented mammalian faunas associated with Homo erectus (e.g. Zdansky, 1928; Young, 1932; Li and Ji, 1981) tell us not It is well known that Homo erectus (s.l.) is the earliest prehistory only the probable diet components and paleoenvironments of the tool-maker human in East Asia. The systematic excavations during prehistoric humans, but also the relative ages of their horizons to the 1920s and 1930s at the Zhoukoudian site in Beijing started a calibrate the numerical age dating.
    [Show full text]
  • La Riqueza De Anfibios Y Reptiles En Gran Dolina Permite Conocer Su Clima
    LECTURA FÁCIL > 8 FUNDACIÓN ATAPUERCA > 6 Y 7 ARQUEOLOGÍA INFORMACIÓN ÚTIL ANTROPOLOGÍA > 10 EXPERIMENTAL > 5 Este ITINERARIO 11 Los burros se pictograma Se construye la sede Armas de largo VISITAS A LA SIERRA 14 domesticaron indica que alcance PARA SABER MÁS 15 el texto al que de la Fundación en Ibeas hace unos acompaña se ha LOCALIZACIÓN 15 >EN EL ANTIGUO HOSPITAL DE PEREGRINOS DE ATAPUERCA, SE UBICARÁ TELÉFONOS DE INTERÉS 15 adaptado para su UNA BIBLIOTECA Y ESPACIOS PARA PATROCINADORES Y CIENTÍFICOS 6.000 años fácil lectura COMER Y DORMIR 15 DIARIO DE LOS YACIMIENTOS DE LA SIERRA DE n#27 PRIMAVERA - 2008 Atapuerca EJEMPLAR GRATUITO NUEVOS ESTUDIOS SOBRE GRAN DOLINA OPINIÓN >ETHEL ALLUÉ La riqueza de anfibios Arqueobotánica. Investigadora del IPHES.Tarragona. Miembro del EIA. y reptiles en Gran Dolina VIAJAR A TRAVÉS permite conocer su clima DEL TIEMPO Y EL ESPACIO > EL HUNDIMIENTO DE LA BÓVEDA HACE UNOS 300.000 AÑOS TRANSFORMÓ LA CUEVA EN iajar es uno de los UN ABRIGO ROCOSO DONDE SE INSTALÓ UN CAMPAMENTO DE HOMO HEIDELBERGENSIS Vmayores placeres que me ha brindado la profesión de arqueólo- >TRES NUEVAS PUBLICACIONES. ga. No sólo viajar gra- Los últimos artículos del EIA se cias a los proyectos de han centrado este trimestre en el análisis de Gran Dolina. Carolina investigación o los con- Mallol y Eudald Carbonell han gresos, que me han realizado un estudio sobre los se- permitido visitar nu- dimentos, aplicando una técni- merosos lugares del ca denominada “micromorfolo- mundo, sino también gía”, basada en análisis con mi- croscopio de pequeñas láminas viajar en el espacio y de arcilla.
    [Show full text]
  • The Large Mammals from Tuozidong (Eastern China) and the Early Pleistocene Environmental Availability for Early Human Settlements
    Quaternary International xxx (2012) 1e10 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint The large mammals from Tuozidong (eastern China) and the Early Pleistocene environmental availability for early human settlements Wei Dong a,*, Jinyi Liu a, Yingsan Fang b a Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xizhimen Outer Street, Beijing 100044, China b Nanjing Provincial Museum, Nanjing 210016, Jiangsu, China article info abstract Article history: To test the possibility if the earliest human settlements in Eurasia could be earlier than commonly Available online xxx accepted 1.7 Ma, large mammals from the Tuozidong cave deposits from eastern China were analyzed. Tuozidong deposits were discovered in 2000 and excavated again in 2007. Compared with other Eurasian Early Pleistocene faunas, the Tuozidong fauna is similar to Yuanmou and Gongwangling faunas associ- ated with Homo erectus, indicating that the environments of Tuozidong fauna were suitable for habi- tation of early humans. It is similar to the Longgupo and Renzidong faunas associated with putative Paleolithic industry around 2 Ma in China. It is also similar in some degree to the Saint Vallier and Chilhac faunas in France, which indicates the existence of faunal exchanges between East Asia and West Europe, and the environment barriers between Eurasian continents were not unconquerable in the early Pleis- tocene for mammal migrations. Based on the capability of good mammal migrators, the earliest tool- makers of 2.6 Ma in East Africa should have been able to expand or migrate to Eurasia within 600 ky.
    [Show full text]
  • Thesis Reference
    Thesis Histoire du peuplement de l'Asie orientale révélée par le système HLA DI, Da Abstract Cette thèse se concentre sur l'histoire du peuplement de l'Asie orientale par les humains anatomiquement modernes (Homo sapiens), et plus particulièrement sur les routes possibles de migrations qu'ils auraient empruntées, suite à leur sortie d'Afrique, pour peupler l'Asie. Nous avons analysé des données de fréquences géniques de cinq gènes du système HLA dans 84 populations de différentes régions géographiques et parlant des langues de diverses familles linguistiques d'Asie orientale. Nos analyses statistiques et simulations informatiques nous ont conduit à suggérer un nouveau modèle de peuplement, le « modèle du chevauchement », proposant l'existence de deux routes de migrations longeant d'une part le sud et d'autre part le nord du plateau tibétain depuis l'Asie occidentale, et d'échanges génétiques intervenus ultérieurement, en Asie orientale, entre les populations issues de ces deux migrations. Nos résultats révèlent aussi une histoire complexe de diversification et d'expansion des familles linguistiques est-asiatiques, et aboutissent à une estimation cohérente des coefficients de [...] Reference DI, Da. Histoire du peuplement de l'Asie orientale révélée par le système HLA. Thèse de doctorat : Univ. Genève, 2013, no. Sc. 4543 URN : urn:nbn:ch:unige-279836 DOI : 10.13097/archive-ouverte/unige:27983 Available at: http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:27983 Disclaimer: layout of this document may differ from the published version. 1 / 1 UNIVERSITÉ
    [Show full text]