Late Pleistocene Humans Research Articles

Patterns of humeral asymmetry among Late Pleistocene humans

Human humeral diaphyseal asymmetry in midshaft and mid-distal rigidity is assessed through the Late Pleistocene in samples of late archaic (Neandertal) and early modern humans. It is considered with respect to directionality (handedness), levels of asymmetry, body size and sexual differences. The overall Late Pleistocene sample indicates a right-handed preference in frequencies (right: 74.8%, left: 15.0%, ambiguous: 10.3%), which are similar to those of recent human samples. Average levels of humeral asymmetry are elevated relative to Holocene samples through all but the small Middle Paleolithic modern human and eastern Eurasian late Upper Paleolithic samples. Humeral asymmetry is especially high among the males relative to the females, and the possibility of a division of labor between uni-manual tasks (mostly male) and bi-manual tasks (mostly female) is considered. At the same time, there is a general pattern of increased asymmetry with larger body size, but it remains unclear to what extent it reflects body size versus sexual effects on bilateral humeral loading. There do not appear to have been substantial changes in humeral asymmetry through time, indicating a continuity of similar manual behavioral patterns through the Late Pleistocene, despite considerable changes in technology through the Late Pleistocene.

Direct Dates and mtDNA of Late Pleistocene Human Skeletons from South America: A Comment on Chatters et al. (2014)

In a recent paper in the journal Science (2014, Vol. 344, pp. 750–754), J. Chatters et al. present a new early human skeleton from the Yucatan, Mexico, considering it in the context of eight other ...

The Regourdou 1 Neandertal body size

In order to maximize sample sizes for the assessment of body size and proportions among Late Pleistocene humans, the femoral head diameter of the Regourdou 1 Neandertal was estimated from its ischial acetabular lunate surface, so as to provide a reliable measure for body mass assessment. This estimate was accomplished by fitting a sphere to the 3D surface of the acetabulum and then estimating femoral head diameter using a regression of acetabular sphere diameter to femoral head diameter based on associated recent human femora and ossa coxarum. The resultant mean and range of values for the Regourdou 1 femoral head dimension place it among the smaller of the European and southwest Asian Neandertals, although its humeral length is above average for that sample. Regourdou 1 therefore joins Kebara 2 in having moderately long arms for body core size, and it thereby emphasizes the variation in Neandertal body proportions.

The Sunghir 3 Upper Paleolithic Juvenile: Pathology versus Persistence in the Paleolithic

AbstractThe Mid Upper Paleolithic Sunghir 3 late juvenile early modern human, from the most elaborate burial in the Pleistocene, had pathologically foreshortened and anteriorly bowed femora and, based on her dental enamel hypoplasias and transverse lines, sustained severe and persistent systemic stress throughout her decade of life. Her modest femoral and tibial asymmetry and her femoral bicondylar angles indicate non‐pathological patterns of posture and locomotion. The levels of rigidity for her weight‐bearing tibiae and the non‐dominant left arm reflect normal weight‐bearing and manipulation. These indicators are combined with an elevated level of right humeral strength, leading to pronounced humeral diaphyseal asymmetry, combined with elevated muscular insertion asymmetry. In combination with marked upper limb muscle markings and normal levels of bone formation, these reflections of her robustness indicate that she was fully mobile and participated actively in the tasks of her social group. There is no indication of the skeletal hypotrophy/atrophy that would be associated with less than full participation in the mobility and subsistence of her social group. As such, Sunghir 3 joins a growing list of developmentally or degeneratively pathological Late Pleistocene humans who nonetheless remained mobile and active. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Middle Paleolithic human remains from the Gruta Da Oliveira (Torres Novas), Portugal

Additional Middle Paleolithic human remains from layers 17, 18, and 22 of the Gruta da Oliveira, Portugal consist of a proximal manual phalanx 2 (Oliveira 5), a partial postcanine tooth (Oliveira 6), a humeral diaphysis (Oliveira 7), a distal mandibular molar (Oliveira 8), and a mandibular premolar (P(3) ) (Oliveira 9). Oliveira 5, 6, and 8 are unremarkable for Late Pleistocene humans. The Oliveira 7 right humerus is moderately robust or the individual had the stocky body proportions of other European (including Iberian) Neandertals. The Oliveira 9 P(3) has a large and symmetrical crown and lacks a distal accessory ridge and accessory lingual cusps, overlapping both Neandertal and recent human ranges of variation. It contrasts with at least recent human P(3) s in having relatively thin enamel. These join the Oliveira 1 to 4 remains in further documenting early MIS 3 Neandertal morphology in western Iberia.

Chronology of Late Pleistocene Humans in Eurasia: Results and Perspectives

A compilation of direct age determinations for Late Pleistocene human fossils in eastern Europe and Asia is presented in this paper, and current problems with the dating of hominids in these regions are discussed. Only 25 human finds (4 Neanderthals and 21 modern humans) have been directly dated from Pleistocene eastern Europe and Asia. Indirect dating of human remains (using presumably associated organics) often is insecure, especially when information about the exact provenance of human fossils is lacking. Continuation of direct dating of Late Pleistocene humans in Eurasia, primarily with the help of the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C method, is therefore an urgent task.

The postcranial dimensions of the La Chapelle‐aux‐saints 1 Neandertal

The La Chapelle-aux-Saints 1 Neandertal has figured prominently in considerations of Neandertal body size and proportions. In this context, a reassessment of its major long bones and a reassembly of its principal pelvic elements (sacrum and right ilium) was undertaken. There are secure measurements for its humeral and radial lengths and its femoral head diameter, but the femoral and tibial lengths were almost certainly greater than previous values. The resultant humeral, femoral and tibial lengths are similar to those of other male Neandertals, its femoral head diameter is among the largest known for Middle and Late Pleistocene humans, but its radial length is relatively short. The pelvic assembly provides modest bi-iliac and inlet transverse diameters compared with the few sufficiently complete and undistorted Middle and Late Pleistocene archaic human pelves, but its dimensions are similar to those of large male early modern humans.

Late Pleistocene adult mortality patterns and modern human establishment

The establishment of modern humans in the Late Pleistocene, subsequent to their emergence in eastern Africa, is likely to have involved substantial population increases, during their initial dispersal across southern Asia and their subsequent expansions throughout Africa and into more northern Eurasia. An assessment of younger (20-40 y) versus older (>40 y) adult mortality distributions for late archaic humans (principally Neandertals) and two samples of early modern humans (Middle Paleolithic and earlier Upper Paleolithic) provides little difference across the samples. All three Late Pleistocene samples have a dearth of older individuals compared with Holocene ethnographic/historical samples. They also lack older adults compared with Holocene paleodemographic profiles that have been critiqued for having too few older individuals for subsistence, social, and demographic viability. Although biased, probably through a combination of preservation, age assessment, and especially Pleistocene mobility requirements, these adult mortality distributions suggest low life expectancy and demographic instability across these Late Pleistocene human groups. They indicate only subtle and paleontologically invisible changes in human paleodemographics with the establishment of modern humans; they provide no support for a life history advantage among early modern humans.

Brief communication: High‐resolution assessment of the dental developmental pattern and characterization of tooth tissue proportions in the late Upper Paleolithic child from La Madeleine, France

Affinities and differences in dental maturational patterns between modern humans and Neanderthals remain a matter of discussion. In particular, deciduous teeth are rare for Late Pleistocene humans, and few entire sequences have been detailed for their developmental status. Here, we report the results from the 3D virtual reconstruction and structural analysis of the deciduous lower dentition (nine teeth in situ) of the child from La Madeleine (LM4), France, the first Upper Paleolithic specimen detailed so far by means of high-resolution microtomography (microCT). With respect to the modern dental developmental standards, age at death of this individual is now more likely estimated within the interval 3-4 years. LM4 lacks the slight discrepancy between a proportionally advanced stage of mineralization of the deciduous first molar and a relatively delayed maturational level of the incisors, which is found in Neanderthals (Bayle et al.: J Hum Evol 56 [2009] 66-75). By using a Bayesian approach, we calculated the probability that its maturational sequence is found within the extant human variation as represented by a tomographic (CT) reference sample of 45 children scored according to the same protocol (Liversidge and Molleson: Am J Phys Anthropol 123 [2004] 172-180). Results show that the specific sequence of this Magdalenian individual is found three times in the comparative sample included in this study. LM4 absolute tooth size and relative dental tissue proportions are close to the modern human figures (characterized by proportionally reduced dentine volumes) and lie systematically below the values shown by the Neanderthal child from Roc de Marsal, France (OIS 5a).

Stable Isotope Evidence for Early Modern Human Diet in Southeastern Europe: Peştera cu Oase, Peştera Muierii and Peştera Cioclovina Uscată

During the process of direct radiocarbon dating of four Early Upper Paleolithic modern humans from the Romanian sites of Peştera cu Oase, Peştera Muierii and Peştera Cioclovina Uscată, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) were measured from their bone collagen. These individuals have δ13C values similar to other Late Pleistocene humans. Their δ15N values are well within the carnivore trophic level range, among the higher of the Middle Upper Paleolithic values, and significantly greater than those of preceding Middle Paleolithic and Initial Upper Paleolithic Neanderthals. These data suggest a shift towards a broader faunal dietary spectrum among these early modern humans, despite western and eastern European archeological evidence and human functional morphology indicating little change in faunal exploitation from the Middle Paleolithic to the Early Upper Paleolithic.

Evidence of fire use of late Pleistocene humans from the Huanglong Cave, Hubei Province, China

Since 2004, three excavations have been carried out at a late Pleistocene human fossil site of Huanglong Cave in Yunxi County, Hubei Province of China, which unearthed seven human teeth, dozens of stone tools, mammal fossils and other evidence indicating human activities. During the third excavation in 2006, in the same layer as the human teeth, we found some patches of black materials embedded in the deposit. We doubted that this black deposit layer is the remains of burning or even human use of fire at the cave. To further explore the possibility of human fire use at the Huanglong Cave, we examined samples directly taken from the black deposit layer and compared them with samples taken from several places in the cave using three methods: micromorphology, element content determination and deposit temperature analysis. Our results indicate that the contents of carbon element in the black deposit reach 64.59%–73-29%. In contrast, contents of carbon element of the comparative samples from other parts in the cave are only 5.82%–9.49%. The micromorphology analysis of the black deposit samples reveals a plant structure like axial parenchyma, fibrocyte, uniseriate ray and vessel. High-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements suggest that the stratum possibly underwent a high temperature in the nature. Based on these lab analyses, we are sure that the black layer in the Huanglong Cave is the remains of fire and combustion did occur in the cave 100000 years ago. Taking other evidence of human activities found in the Huanglong Cave into consideration, we believe that the evidence of fire from the Huanglong Cave was caused by the human activities of controlled use of fire.

The Human Cranium from the Peştera Cioclovina Uscată, Romania

Reanalysis and direct dating of an early modern human neurocranium from the Peştera Cioclovina Uscată (Cioclovina 1), in combination with excavation and reanalysis of the remaining deposits in the cave, establish Cioclovina 1 as one of a small number of European early modern humans securely dated prior to ca. 28,000 14C BP (ca. 32,500 cal BP). The original stratigraphic context and archeological association of Cioclovina 1 are unknown (and probably unknowable), but sedimentological analysis and dating of cave bear remains suggests substantial Late Pleistocene geological reworking of deposits within the cave, which probably altered its context prior to the mining operations which unearthed the neurocranium. The otherwise excellent (if incomplete) preservation of Cioclovina 1 raises questions as to what, if any, human behaviors resulted in its burial within the Peştera Cioclovina Uscată. Lesions are limited to the minor exocranial traumatic changes common among Late Pleistocene humans. Morphologically, Cioclovina 1 presents a suite of distinctive, derived modern human neurocranial features, associated with aspects of the superior nuchal morphology best known for European Neandertals, a mosaic pattern increasingly in evidence among early modern humans in Europe.

Late Pleistocene Human Skull from Hofmeyr, South Africa, and Modern Human Origins

The lack of Late Pleistocene human fossils from sub-Saharan Africa has limited paleontological testing of competing models of recent human evolution. We have dated a skull from Hofmeyr, South Africa, to 36.2 +/- 3.3 thousand years ago through a combination of optically stimulated luminescence and uranium-series dating methods. The skull is morphologically modern overall but displays some archaic features. Its strongest morphometric affinities are with Upper Paleolithic (UP) Eurasians rather than recent, geographically proximate people. The Hofmeyr cranium is consistent with the hypothesis that UP Eurasians descended from a population that emigrated from sub-Saharan Africa in the Late Pleistocene.

Body size, body proportions, and encephalization in a Middle Pleistocene archaic human from northern China.

The unusual discovery of associated cranial and postcranial elements from a single Middle Pleistocene fossil human allows us to calculate body proportions and relative cranial capacity (encephalization quotient) for that individual rather than rely on estimates based on sample means from unassociated specimens. The individual analyzed here (Jinniushan) from northeastern China at 260,000 years ago is the largest female specimen yet known in the human fossil record and has body proportions (body height relative to body breadth and relative limb length) typical of cold-adapted populations elsewhere in the world. Her encephalization quotient of 4.15 is similar to estimates for late Middle Pleistocene humans that are based on mean body size and mean brain size from unassociated specimens.

A morphometric analysis of the Late Pleistocene Human Skeleton from the Moh Khiew Cave in Thailand

Few Late Pleistocene human remains have been found in Southeast Asia and the morphological features of the people of that age are still largely unknown due to the virtual lack of human remains in the area. Recent excavations at the Moh Khiew Cave in Thailand resulted in the discovery of a Late Pleistocene human skeleton in a relatively good state of preservation. An AMS radiocarbon date on the charcoal sample gathered from the burial gave a result of 25,800±600 BP, implying that the inhabitants of Moh Khiew Cave resided in a part of Sundaland during the last glacial age. In debates on the population history of Southeast Asia, it has been repeatedly advocated that Southeast Asia was occupied by indigenous people akin to present-day Australo-Melanesians prior to an expansion of migrants from Northeast Asia into this area. Morphometric analyses were undertaken to test the validity of this hypothesis. In the present study, cranial and dental measurements recorded from the Moh Khiew remains are compared with those of early and modern samples from Southeast Asia and Australia. These comparisons demonstrate that the Moh Khiew specimen resembles the Late Pleistocene series from Coobool Creek, Australia in both cranial and dental measurements. These results suggest that the Moh Khiew skeleton, as well as other fossil remains from the Tabon, Niah and Gua Gunung sites, represents a member of the Sundaland population during the Late Pleistocene, who may share common ancestry with the present-day Australian Aborigines and Melanesians.

Reciprocal evolution of the cerebellum and neocortex in fossil humans.

Human brain evolution involved both neurological reorganization and an increase in overall brain volume relative to body mass. It is generally difficult to draw functional inferences about the timing and nature of brain reorganization, given that superficial brain morphology recorded on fossil endocasts is functionally ambiguous. However, the cerebellum, housed in the clearly delineated posterior cranial fossa, is functionally and ontologically discrete. The cerebellum is reciprocally connected to each of 14 neocortical regions important to human cognitive evolution. Cerebellar volume varies significantly relative to overall brain volume among mammalian orders, as well as within the primate order. There is also significant diachronic variation among fossil human taxa. In the australopithecines and early members of the genus Homo, the cerebral hemispheres were large in proportion to the cerebellum, compared with other hominoids. This trend continued in Middle and Late Pleistocene humans, including Neandertals and Cro-Magnon 1, who have the largest cerebral hemispheres relative to cerebellum volume of any primates, including earlier and Holocene humans. In recent humans, however, the pattern is reversed; the cerebellum is larger with respect to the rest of the brain (and, conversely, the cerebral hemispheres are smaller with respect to the cerebellum) than in Late Pleistocene humans. The cerebellum and cerebral hemispheres appear to have evolved reciprocally. Cerebellar development in Holocene humans may have provided greater computational efficiency for coping with an increasingly complex cultural and conceptual environment.

An early modern human from the Peştera cu Oase, Romania.

The 2002 discovery of a robust modern human mandible in the Peştera 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 perspectives on the emergence and evolution of early modern humans in the northwestern Old World. The moderately long Oase 1 mandible exhibits a prominent tuber symphyseos and overall proportions that place it close to earlier Upper Paleolithic European specimens. Its symmetrical mandibular incisure, medially placed condyle, small superior medial pterygoid tubercle, mesial mental foramen, and narrow corpus place it closer to early modern humans among Late Pleistocene humans. However, its cross-sectional symphyseal orientation is intermediate between late archaic and early modern humans, the ramus is exceptionally wide, and the molars become progressively larger distally with exceptionally large third molars. The molar crowns lack derived Neandertal features but are otherwise morphologically undiagnostic. However, it has unilateral mandibular foramen lingular bridging, an apparently derived Neandertal feature. It therefore presents a mosaic of archaic, early modern human and possibly Neandertal morphological features, emphasizing both the complex population dynamics of modern human dispersal into Europe and the subsequent morphological evolution of European early modern humans.

Pleistocene Homo sapiens from Middle Awash, Ethiopia.

The origin of anatomically modern Homo sapiens and the fate of Neanderthals have been fundamental questions in human evolutionary studies for over a century. A key barrier to the resolution of these questions has been the lack of substantial and accurately dated African hominid fossils from between 100,000 and 300,000 years ago. Here we describe fossilized hominid crania from Herto, Middle Awash, Ethiopia, that fill this gap and provide crucial evidence on the location, timing and contextual circumstances of the emergence of Homo sapiens. Radioisotopically dated to between 160,000 and 154,000 years ago, these new fossils predate classic Neanderthals and lack their derived features. The Herto hominids are morphologically and chronologically intermediate between archaic African fossils and later anatomically modern Late Pleistocene humans. They therefore represent the probable immediate ancestors of anatomically modern humans. Their anatomy and antiquity constitute strong evidence of modern-human emergence in Africa.

Ancient DNA evidence for Old World origin of New World dogs.

Mitochondrial DNA sequences isolated from ancient dog remains from Latin America and Alaska showed that native American dogs originated from multiple Old World lineages of dogs that accompanied late Pleistocene humans across the Bering Strait. One clade of dog sequences was unique to the New World, which is consistent with a period of geographic isolation. This unique clade was absent from a large sample of modern dogs, which implies that European colonists systematically discouraged the breeding of native American dogs.

Late pleistocene human femoral diaphyseal curvature.

Anterior femoral curvature is a consistent characteristic of Pleistocene and recent humans, although variation exists in the degree of curvature among individuals and across populations. In particular, one group, the Neandertals, has been characterized for a century as having marked femoral curvature. To evaluate the degree of anterior femoral curvature in both Neandertals and other Late Pleistocene humans, their curvature subtenses and proximodistal positions were evaluated in the context of recent human variation. Recent human comparisons show little relationship between subtense (absolute curvature) and femoral length, suggesting that an index that incorporates subtense relative to the length of the femur is inappropriate for between-group assessments. Neandertals were statistically indistinguishable from Middle or earlier Upper Paleolithic modern humans in the degree of absolute curvature, all of whom had greater curvature on average than all later humans. Additionally, Neandertals and Qafzeh-Skhul early modern humans had a more distal point of maximum curvature than any other group. Curvature was not strongly correlated with functional considerations including body mass estimates, surrogate variables for body size, proximal femoral articular orientation, or knee anteroposterior dimensions. The functional role of femoral anterior curvature is unknown; however, the general decrease in curvature subtense closely parallels the between-group changes in inferred levels of mobility from femoral diaphyseal robusticity and shape, suggesting that femoral curvature may reflect mobility levels and patterns among Late Pleistocene and recent humans.