Pleistocene Hominids Research Articles

Contribution of coupled ESR/U-series fossil dating to a Paleolithic-Neolithic transition site - Naminan, Southwest China

The coupled ESR and U-series (ESR/U-series) method has been increasingly utilized for dating fossil teeth from Early to Middle Pleistocene hominid sites. One significant advantage of this method is its ability to directly analyze fossil animal or human teeth. However, compared with other radiometric methods such as 14C charcoal dating, U-series carbonate dating, and OSL sediment dating, this dating method is rarely employed for Late Pleistocene or younger sites. In this study, we present an ESR/U-series dating investigation conducted at the Naminan site, a Paleolithic-Neolithic transition (P–N transition) site situated on the Sino-Myanmar border. The ESR/U-series analysis of eleven dental samples yields an age range of 18.1–13.2 ka for the fossils. These obtained ages are generally consistent with the 14C chronology of the site. When dealing with young fossil samples, it was observed that due to relatively low uranium concentration in dental tissues, internal dose rate plays a less significant role compared to external beta and gamma dose rates in the total dose rate of the fossil samples. Consequently, evaluating the dose rate of surrounding sediment becomes a primary source of uncertainty. Additionally, in this study we attempted to employ the standardized growth curve (SGC) and representative dose response curve method for determining Equivalent Dose (DE), which was then compared with values obtained using additive dose method (ADM). Although the precision of DE estimated by two methods are comparatively lower than that of ADM, it demonstrates the potential to efficiently determine a more rational Dmax for irradiation, identify samples with stratigraphic disturbances, and analyze small or valuable fossil specimens.

Spatial analysis and site formation processes associated with the Middle Pleistocene hominid teeth from Q1/B waterhole, Boxgrove (West Sussex, UK)

Boxgrove is a key locale for our understanding of Middle Pleistocene human behaviour in Northwestern Europe. It provides high-resolution evidence for behaviour at scale in fine-grained sediments, dating from the end of the MIS13 interglacial at around 480,000 years ago. Excavations at this site in the last quarter of the twentieth century have provided a large body of interdisciplinary data, comprising stone artefact assemblages, well-preserved faunal remains and paleoenvironmental archives, from over 100 test pits and larger excavation areas. The excavation area designated Q1/B was excavated between 1995 and 1996 and provided a particularly deep and complex record of early human activity centred upon a pond or waterhole within the wider landscape. In this work, we present a new analysis of spatial data from a single sedimentary unit (Unit 4u) at the Boxgrove Q1/B site. We consider the spatial disposition of lithic and faunal materials, fabric analysis and the role of the palaeotopography in their distribution. The results indicate that, although the dynamic fluvial depositional environment had an undeniable role in the distribution of materials, the scale and nature of post-depositional movement are consistent with the artefacts being preserved within an autochthonous depositional context, not reworked from an earlier sedimentary unit or subject to long-distance transportation. These results are consistent with previous analysis which suggests that the overall lithic assemblage can be directly compared with others from the wider landscape in compositional terms to interpret the behavioural controls over site formation behind the Q1/B archaeology.

Frontiers of the Lower Palaeolithic expansion in Europe: Tunel Wielki Cave (Poland)

Peopling of Central Europe by Middle Pleistocene hominids is highly debatable, mainly due to the relatively harsh climatic and environmental conditions that require cultural and anatomical adjustments. At least several archaeological sites certify human occupation in the region dated back to MIS 13-11, but they represent open-air settlements. Based on the new fieldwork conducted in Tunel Wielki Cave, we can date the human occupation traces in the cave to MIS 14-12. Bipolar-on-anvil knapping technique prevails in the lithic assemblage, made exclusively in flint. The obtained results have given ground for studying the frontiers of human oikumene and the required cultural adaptive abilities.

Middle Pleistocene mortality pattern and fertility: the case of the Atapuerca hominids (Sima de los Huesos site, Burgos, Spain).

The Sima de los Huesos cave site in the Sierra de Atapuerca, northern Spain, has yielded up to the 1994 season a large sample of more than one thousand human fossil remains belonging to at least 32 individuals, which represent a same European Middle Pleistocene biological population. The elaboration of the survivorship curve of this hominid group has emphasized a high mortality among adolescents and young adults, a low older adult mortality and a longevity probably non greater than 40 years. This pattern of mortality resembles to that of other European Middle and early Upper Pleistocene hominids, and is quite different from that observed in recent foraging human groups. Consideration of the main determinants of human fertility suggests that the average interval between successful births in Atapuerca, and probably in ali European Middle Pleistocene populations, was shorter than that of living hunting and gathering peoples, and that the age at menarche and nubility was earlier than those of living girls. lmplications of these findings for the yet unresolved question of body sexual dimorphism in the Middle Pleistocene populations are discussed as well.

Changes in Raw Material Selection and Use at 400,000 Years bp: A Novel, Symbolic Relationship between Humans and Their World. Discussing Technological, Social and Cognitive Arguments

Approximately 400,000 years bp, novel technological behaviours appeared in the archaeological record, attested by evidence of the exploitation of previously unused resources and the production of new tools. I have reviewed such innovations, and I discuss them in the frame of the anthropological, palaeoneurological, genetic and behavioural changes that appeared in the Middle Pleistocene. I propose that at this chronology humans started to see the resources as ‘other-than-human’ sentient co-dwellers. The technological innovations expressed this novel cognitive complexity and the possible new things–things, human–things and environment–things relationships. Artefacts and technologies acquired multiple semiotic meanings that were strongly interconnected with the functional value. Ethnoarchaeological evidence suggested the possible symbolic acting beyond these innovations in material culture. This perspective has relevant implications in the archaeology of the ancient Palaeolithic. It suggests the need for a new view of material culture, one that goes beyond the classical list approach in the definition of modern symbolic mediated behaviour. Further, it allows one to overcome the traditional juxtaposition between ancient cultures and Homo sapiens in terms of complexity. The evidence discussed in this paper suggests that the ontological hypothesis could change our view of Middle Pleistocene hominids and the origin and definition of modern behaviour, and test the archaeological visibility of cognition in prehistory.

Piltdown case: Further questions

About 60 years ago, a South African anatomist, Joseph Weiner, published a book entitled The Piltdown Forgery, exposing a hoax that had been perpetrated about 100 years ago at the site of Piltdown in Sussex, England. The announcement of 'Piltdown Man' - classified as Eoanthropus dawsoni and believed to be a hominid apparently associated with Pleistocene fauna - had been made by Smith Woodward of the British Museum (Natural History) at Burlington House in London on 18 December 1912. However, it turned out that the 'hominid' was a fabrication in which a subfossil human cranium and a modern orangutan jaw (both stained brown) were placed together in a gravel pit, thereby confusing palaeontologists. In the process, Raymond Dart's announcement of the 'Taung Child' (Australopithecus africanus) from South Africa was disregarded by many (including the anatomist Sir Arthur Keith) who questioned Dart's claim that this small-brained fossil represented a genuine Pleistocene hominid.

Refining upon the climatic background of the Early Pleistocene hominid settlement in western Europe: Barranco León and Fuente Nueva-3 (Guadix-Baza Basin, SE Spain)

The Early Pleistocene sites of Barranco León and Fuente Nueva-3 (Guadix-Baza Basin, SE Spain) have yielded thousands of Mode 1 or Oldowan lithic artifacts (both sites) and one tooth (in layer D, formerly 5 of Barranco León), today considered to be some of the earliest evidence of humans in western Europe at ca. 1.2–1.5 Ma. Previous quantitative paleoclimatic reconstructions based on herpetile assemblages indicated that, during the formation of these two sites, the mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation were higher than they are now in the southeastern Iberian Peninsula, with lower continentality. Here, we propose new climatic reconstructions where the mean monthly temperature and precipitation and the difference between the four driest months and the four rainiest months are estimated. Climatograms are built in order to specify the distribution and variation of temperature and precipitation during the year, and the Aridity Indices of Gaussen, Lautensach-Mayer, Dantin-Revenga and De Martonne are used to characterize ombroclimatic differences. According to these new climatic parameters, rainfall distribution through the year shows considerably higher precipitation in every season except summer and early autumn, which remain drier and thus consistent with a Mediterranean climate pattern. No change is observed in the duration of the aridity period, which remains four months long. However, the value of the Aridity Index of De Martonne is higher than 20 (subhumid climate) in Barranco León and Fuente Nueva-3, whereas today it is lower than 20 (semi-arid climate), suggesting major changes in the ombroclimatic type. These results yield a more precise scenario for the paleoclimatic conditions that prevailed during the late Early Pleistocene in the Guadix-Baza Basin and permit us to contrast the ages obtained from numerical dating and biochronology. The very warm and humid climate reconstructed for both Barranco León and Fuente Nueva-3 suggests that, in accordance with the numerical dating, these two sites are contemporaneous with the particularly warm interglacial peaks of Marine Isotope Stages 43–49 (i.e. between 1.35 and 1.47 Ma). The similarity between reconstructed climates, the high overlap between their estimated precipitation and between the difference of the driest from the rainiest season suggest that these sites may correspond to the same part of a climatic glacial/interglacial cycle, but because the evolutionary degree of the rodent Mimomys savini shows a slightly more derived state for Fuente Nueva-3 than for Barranco León (i.e a short chronological difference between the two sites), they may correspond to two consecutive warm interglacial peaks.

Australopithecus robustus societies – one-male or multimale?

Determining the sex of individual specimens is important in estimating the degree of sexual dimorphism. Sexual dimorphism, in turn, provides clues for reconstructing the social organisation and mating systems of extinct species. In an article published in Science, Lockwood et al. (Lockwood CA, Menter CG, Moggi-Cecchi J, Keyser AW. Extended male growth in a fossil hominin species. Science. 2007;318:1443–1446.) suggested an uneven sex ratio (in favour of males) for the known individuals of the South African Pleistocene hominid, Australopithecus robustus, and claimed evidence of an extended period of growth (delayed maturity) for the males of this species. They concluded that this finding, combined with estimates of sexual size dimorphism, suggests a polygynous reproductive strategy, and a social system similar to that of silverback gorillas (i.e. one-male harems). On re-examination of these claims, and based on further analysis, I agree with Lockwood et al. that morphologically A. robustus exhibits an increased (almost gorilla-like) level of facial dimorphism, but propose using an alternate (clustering) technique for grouping the specimens of highly dimorphic species into sexes, and argue that their pronouncements regarding a polygynous social structure of these early hominids are inconclusive. I contend instead that the habitat occupied by this species suggests rather that a one-male harem social structure would have been counterproductive.

Palaeogeographical reconstruction of the Sierra de Atapuerca Pleistocene sites (Burgos, Spain)

Abstract The Sierra de Atapuerca is an anticlinal ridge of Mesozoic carbonate rocks on the NW edge of the Iberian Chain (Northern Spain, Burgos), surrounded by subhorizontal continental sediments of the NE Duero Cenozoic Basin under endorheic conditions. The shift to exorheic conditions in the Duero Basin lead to the onset of an episodic downcutting phase and the development of the Atapuerca multilevel cave system, containing several sites from the Early and Middle Pleistocene. In this work, we have reconstructed the Pleistocene palaeogeographical evolution of the SW flank of the Sierra de Atapuerca, where these archaeological sites are located. The study is based on a detailed geomorphological and geological analysis, combined with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and 3D LiDAR data, and GIS modeling. These techniques have been applied to analyse the small valleys and the interfluve on the SW flank of the SW Sierra de Atapuerca. The results were combined with the regional base levels recorded by fluvial terraces and the chronostratigraphic sequences of the Sierra de Atapuerca sites. These reconstructions have allowed us to model the palaeogeographical evolution in the nearby area of the cave sites during the Early–Middle Pleistocene, coupling the main formation phases of the sites with the local physical landscape changes that occurred outside the caves. Surface processes are defined by incision phases entailing mitigate knickpoint recession and slope retreatment, and local aggradational phases associated with caves opened and captured by fluvial incision. This reconstruction provides the local physical palaeogeographical habitats developed during the Pleistocene hominid occupation of the Sierra de Atapuerca.

Zhoukoudian in transition: Research history, lithic technologies, and transformation of Chinese Palaeolithic archaeology

Zhoukoudian, near Beijing, is where the Homo erectus Sinathropus pekinensis (Peking Man) fossils were found in the 1920s, and has always been a focus for studies of Palaeolithic archaeology in China. This paper discusses two aspects of Zhoukoudian in transition: research histories and lithic technologies. From a historical perspective, the study considers the change in research paradigms and perspectives to examine how research at Zhoukoudian has transformed Chinese Palaeolithic archaeology in the last two decades. This paper will give an overview on lithic assemblages at Zhoukoudian to illustrate the complexity of lithic industries in North China, which are not yet fully understood. In conclusion, the study suggests more research problems rather than prestige collections that were inherited by the current generation of scholars, who call for careful reviews of valuable historic data, including lithic, faunal, sediment, and human remains, before any further interpretations are produced. This study suggests that lithic industries in transition at Zhoukoudian can provide another line of evidence to support the continuous development of Pleistocene hominid evolutions, especially leading to the origins of modern humans in China.

Discovery of the Fuyan teeth: challenging or complementing the out-of-Africa scenario?

Discovery of the Fuyan teeth: challenging or complementing the out-of-Africa scenario?

3D Morphometric Study of the Mandibular Fossa and Its Implication for Species Recognition in <i>Homo erectus</i>

The problem of species recognition in paleoanthropology has been the subject of numerous studies. In the current study, we have used the complex topography of the mandibular fossa to assess its potential as a species-specific indicator. Six landmarks were registered using a microscribe 3Dx digitizer on four extant species: Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, and two ethnical groups of modern humans. Using principal component analysis (PC), the results statistically separated between the species and within the two Homo groups. The same method was applied to a sample of 13 casts of Pleistocene hominids from Asia, Europe and Africa. The first PC separated Asian Homo erectus from African Homo erectus and Homo heidelbergensis. The second PC separated African Homo erectus from Homo heidelbergensis. Interestingly Homo floresiensis groups with Homo heidelbergensis. Adding recent human sample to the analysis showed them to fall within the African Homo erectus group. Cluster analysis on the superimposed fossil data had turned the same results. These results favor the view that Homo erectus is actually made from at least two distinct species. Homo floresiensis is not a form of pathologic sapiens, and Homo sapiens has descendent solely from early African-like species.

A 3-dimensional assessment of molar enamel thickness and distribution pattern in Gigantopithecus blacki

In order to investigate molar enamel thickness and distribution in Gigantopithecus blacki, two maxillary and three mandibular molars were micro-CT scanned, and the 3-dimensional (3D) shape of the enamel crown cap was digitally reconstructed. Results show that G. blacki molars have very thick enamel, over 6 mm in places. 3D average thickness of the entire crown relative to crown size was shown to be comparable to that of modern Homo sapiens, and thinner than in the very thick enameled robust Australopithecus condition. Durability of the tooth, calculated as the enamel volume relative to maximum horizontal area of the crown, was shown to be comparable to that of fossil hominids, including Australopithecus robustus. The thick occlusal enamel of G. blacki molars was found to be accompanied by a buccolingual gradient in which thicker enamel occurs on the cusps of the “functional” side. This is associated with higher crown height on the “functional” side of the crown, and implies an adaptation to differential buccolingual wear. These results indicate that G. blacki molars were adapted to heavy wear, but probably in a manner that was different from Pliocene and Pleistocene hominids.

Direct Radiocarbon Dating of Late Pleistocene Hominids in Eurasia: Current Status, Problems, and Perspectives

The corpus of radiocarbon dates run directly on Pleistocene-age human remains in Eurasia (∼120 values, with ∼80 of them found to be reliable) is analyzed and interpreted. The latest Neanderthals are dated to ∼34,000–30,500 BP (∼38,800–35,400 cal BP). They probably coexisted with the first modern humans at ∼36,200–30,200 BP (∼42,500–32,800 cal BP) in the western and central parts of Europe. The earliest direct14C dates on modern humans in Eurasia are ∼34,950–33,300 BP (∼40,400–37,800 cal BP). A paucity of14C dates corresponding to the LGM is evident for Europe, but Asia perhaps had larger populations during this timespan. The main criteria for the selection of bone/tooth material for direct14C dating as now widely accepted are (1) the collagen yield (generally, 1% or more) and (2) the C:N ratio (within the 2.9–3.4 range).

Direct Radiocarbon Dating of Late Pleistocene Hominids in Eurasia: Current Status, Problems, and Perspectives

The corpus of radiocarbon dates run directly on Pleistocene-age human remains in Eurasia (∼120 values, with ∼80 of them found to be reliable) is analyzed and interpreted. The latest Neanderthals are dated to ∼34,000–30,500 BP (∼38,800–35,400 cal BP). They probably coexisted with the first modern humans at ∼36,200–30,200 BP (∼42,500–32,800 cal BP) in the western and central parts of Europe. The earliest direct14C dates on modern humans in Eurasia are ∼34,950–33,300 BP (∼40,400–37,800 cal BP). A paucity of14C dates corresponding to the LGM is evident for Europe, but Asia perhaps had larger populations during this timespan. The main criteria for the selection of bone/tooth material for direct14C dating as now widely accepted are (1) the collagen yield (generally, 1% or more) and (2) the C:N ratio (within the 2.9–3.4 range).

New hominid fossils from Member 1 of the Swartkrans formation, South Africa

Member 1 of the Swartkrans Formation is comprised of two sedimentary infills, the Lower Bank (LB) and the Hanging Remnant (HR). Together, the LB and HR preserve fossils of early Homo and Paranthropus robustus, Earlier Stone Age lithic artifacts, purported bone digging tools and butchered animal bones. Collectively, this evidence was the first to establish the co-existence of two early Pleistocene hominid species and also led to inferences of plant root harvesting and meat-eating by one or both of those species. P. robustus is the more abundant of the two hominids at Swartrkrans, represented in Member 1 by hundreds of fossils that derive from at least 99 individuals. Thus, Swartkrans Member 1 stands as the world's single largest repository of that extinct species. Here we add to the Member 1 sample of hominid fossils with descriptions of 14 newly discovered specimens.

A uniquely broad spectrum diet during the Middle Pleistocene at Bolomor Cave (Valencia, Spain)

The exploitation strategies of faunal resources have figured prominently in discussions of the timing and nature of the beginning of modern human behaviour. These strategies have focused on ability to make intensive use of seasonal resources, ability to hunt large or dangerous animals and capacity to exploit small prey, specifically fast-running and flying animals. On this basis, the systematic use of small animals for food at the pre-Upper Palaeolithic moments has been an important debate topic in recent decades. Occasional anthropogenic evidences concerning these animals dates back to the Plio-Pleistocene chronologies in Africa. Nevertheless, several authors state that the small animals began to be important in the human diet from at least the early Middle Palaeolithic in the Mediterranean Basin. From this perspective, this paper discusses the human use of small prey (rabbits, birds and tortoises) in the stratigraphical sequence of Bolomor Cave (Valencia, Spain). This site contains a sedimentary deposit composed of seventeen stratigraphical levels ranging from MIS 9 to MIS 5e (c. 350–100 ka). The evidence of anthropogenic processing of small prey is documented from the earliest moments of the site occupation (level XVII) in form of cutmarks, intentional breakage, human toothmarks, and burning patterns, depending on the archaeological level. The use of small animals, attached to the large game identified in the site, indicate generalist human behaviour based on a broad spectrum diet. In general, the aim of this study is to provide data on the subsistence strategies of the Middle Pleistocene hominids from Bolomor Cave and to contribute to the discussion topic related to the human consumption of small prey in early moments.

Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic proxies to the Early Pleistocene hominids of Barranco León D and Fuente Nueva 3 (Granada, Spain) by means of their amphibian and reptile assemblages

Because most amphibians are water dependent and most reptiles are temperature dependent, the climatic and/or environmental parameters in their immediate environment mark their distribution. Accordingly, they can contribute to an understanding of microhabitats and microclimates within a larger landscape, such as the Guadix-Baza Basin in south-eastern Spain. The Early Pleistocene archaeological and paleontological sites of Barranco León D and Fuente Nueva 3, which are localized in both space and time in the Guadix-Baza Basin, have together yielded a diversified accumulation of herpetofauna that comprises at least 20 taxa of amphibians, chelonians, lizards and snakes. With the exception of the bufonid Bufo sp. ( viridis group) and the anguid lizard Dopasia, these two assemblages do not specifically differ from the extant herpetofauna of the Iberian Peninsula, making them suitable for use in paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions without the ecological uncertainties of extinct taxa. In this paper, mutual climatic range and habitat weighting methods are applied to amphibian and reptile assemblages in order to estimate quantitative data. The results indicate that during the late Early Pleistocene mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation were higher than they are now on the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. The contrast between summer and winter temperatures (i.e. continentality) was less pronounced, mainly due to warmer conditions during winter. Rainfall distribution indicates a considerable increase in precipitation in every season but summer, which was drier and consistent with the Mediterranean climate pattern. The terrestrial landscape was composed of open environments (mainly dry meadows, rocky-stony areas and Mediterranean scrubland), although there were some wet wooded areas. Water-linked amphibians and reptiles suggest the existence of a sunny permanent aquatic environment with banks made up of a movable ground. These results are compared with those for large mammals, small mammals and pollen analyses, yielding a scenario for the paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental conditions that were in place during the Early Pleistocene in the Guadix-Baza Basin.

Early Hominid Remains from Hayonim Cave (Israel) in the Context of the Late Middle and Upper Pleistocene record from the Near East

Beginning with the early Pleistocene site of Ubeidiya, the Near East is an intercontinental crossroads, and a region of Pleistocene migration routes spanning Africa, Asia and Europe. A large number of Late Pleistocene hominids were discovered in Syria, Iraq and Israel. This anthropological documentation, circumscribed chronologically, raises several questions concerning the biological diversity of the hominids associated with Mousterian lithic artefacts, and strengthens the existence of regional population variation. The Near Eastern fossil sample is, indeed, not homogenous and includes, among others, early anatomically modern humans recovered from the sites of Skhul and Qafzeh Caves, dated between 130 and 92 ka BP. Excavations in the Hayonim Cave (Israel) have provided human remains that are pertinent to our understanding of Near East biological diversity. Indeed, biostratigraphic analysis and chronometric dating (Thermoluminescence and ESR/ U series analyses) of the stratifi ed deposits imply that the Mousterian sequence ranges from at least 220 ka to about 115 ka BP, and encompassed MIS7-6 and 5. Thus, the Hayonim human remains present the best evidence of early Mousterian inhabitants in Western Galilee, and their analysis represents a source of information on the biology and behaviour of hunter-gatherers prior to the Skhul and Qafzeh toolmakers.

Evidence for the earliest Pleistocene hominid activity in the Nihewan Basin of northern China

The Nihewan Basin in North China contains the densest concentration of early Pleistocene Paleolithic sites outside Africa. This paper introduces a new archaeological site complex at Madigou (MDG) that was systematically excavated from 2011 to 2014 in the northeastern part of the Nihewan Basin. The site contains fossils and well-preserved stone artefacts in fluvio-lacustrine sediments. Our magnetostratigraphic results situate the MDG sedimentary sequence in the early Brunhes normal chron and the late Matuyama reverse chron, including the Jaramillo normal subchron. The MDG artifact layers are positioned within the pre-Jaramillo Matuyama chron, with an estimated age of ca. 1.2 Ma, close to the onset of Mid-Pleistocene climate transition. The MDG core and flake technology includes bipolar flaking of siliceous dolomite cobbles, and freehand flaking of chert and brecciated chert block fragments. Mammalian fauna and pollen compositions indicate that the MDG hominins lived in an open habitat varying from lightly-wooded grassland to an ecosystem dominated by sparse steppe near the shore of the Nihewan paleolake. Our combined results in the fields of archaeology, paleontology, palynology and magnetochronology suggest that innovations in technological behavior may correlate with adaptations to high environmental variability during the start of Mid-Pleistocene climate transition.