Homo Erectus Research Articles

Anthropological Approach of the Proximal Tooth Area: A Systematic Review

An analysis of dental anthropological literature dealing with the dental wear of prehistoric men, reveals that little information about interproximal dental attrition and its evolution with the modern man is available. This observation marked anthropologists and dentists for a long. The objective of this review is to determine the origin of the interproximal contact region of the tooth. In other words, which interproximal contact was first to appear in human dentitions? Is it the interproximal contact point or the contact surface?An electronic search was performed in four databases: PUBMED, SCOPUS, Cochrane Database, and EBSCO. Our search was limited to articles in English. We included in our research dental and anthropological studies concerning Homo sapiens and excluded all the other species such as Homo Habilis, Homo Erectus, Homo Rhudolfensis, and Homo Neandertalensis. Attritional occlusion and flattened proximal facets are considered some of the main characteristics of the masticatory system of nonindustrialized men. Theories and dental researches tried to explain the proliferation of malocclusion and severe tooth crowding in modern society.The study of dental wear is a path of research that highlights the evolution of the manducatory system and thus, it influences the choice of treatment in our practices.

A suggested intentional extraction of a wisdom tooth: Implies capacity for prosocial behaviour in Homo erectus

A suggested intentional extraction of a wisdom tooth: Implies capacity for prosocial behaviour in Homo erectus

Black Male Feminism and the Evolution of Du Boisian Thought, 1903–1920

Black Male Feminism and the Evolution of Du Boisian Thought, 1903–1920 Nneka D. Dennie (bio) W. E. B. Du Bois begins and ends his 1903 essay "The Talented Tenth" with a single statement: "The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men."1 He continues, "The college-bred Negro … is, as he ought to be, the group leader, the man who sets the ideals of the community where he lives, directs its thoughts and heads its social movements."2 These were not simply rhetorical claims, but gendered declarations of Du Bois's conceptualization of race leadership and racial progress. Similar statements abound throughout his early work, particularly in The Souls of Black Folk (1903). As Du Bois discusses the possibility of black people and white people living together in a peaceful and just society, he contends that "it will demand broadminded, upright men, both white and black, and in its final accomplishment American civilization will triumph."3 In addition to portraying black men as responsible for determining the fate of the race, Du Bois normalizes "the Negro" as a masculine figure. He does not do so in a purely symbolic sense, but rather in order to present a model of African American education, self-consciousness, and leadership that revolves around black men. Because Du Bois universalizes African Americans as predominantly male, he is unable to analyze the nuanced lived experiences of black women, and he cannot fully theorize how their oppression is distinct from that of black men. It is evident from the rhetoric and content of Du Bois's works that earlier in his career, he constructed a masculinist framework for overcoming racism.4 Du Bois's later writings, however, offer black male feminist interpretations of racism and sexism. [End Page 1] In "The Damnation of Women," a chapter from Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil, Du Bois exemplifies his ability to use intersectional approaches to critique an oppression that is not his own. He establishes that "despite the noisier and more spectacular advance of [his] brothers, [he] instinctively feel[s] and know[s] that it is the five million women of [his] race who really count."5 Du Bois provides a detailed analysis of the inequalities between black women, white women, and black men. He envisions a world where we will pay women what they earn and insist on their working and earning it; we will allow those persons to vote who know enough to vote, whether they be black or female, white or male; and we will ward race suicide, not by further burdening the over-burdened, but by honoring motherhood, even when the sneaking father shirks his duty.6 In "The Damnation of Women," Du Bois readily discusses black women and the connections between racial and gendered oppressions. By 1920, Du Bois's positions on gender had greatly shifted. Therefore, this article describes how and why Du Bois's theorizing of black women's oppression transformed between 1903 and 1920. Although Du Bois authored a significant body of work, few studies consider how Du Bois's feminism evolved over time. David Levering Lewis's biographies examine the trajectory of Du Bois's political thought throughout his career, but they do not devote significant attention to the changing manifestations of Du Bois's gender-progressive thought.7 While scholars including Joy James and Farah Jasmine Griffin have debated the merits of Du Bois's feminism, many base their arguments on either The Souls of Black Folk or "The Damnation of Women."8 An overemphasis on these two texts obscures the ways in which Du Bois's analyses of race and gender changed over time. Susan Gillman and Alys Weinbaum's edited volume, Next to the Color Line: Gender, Sexuality, and W. E. B. Du Bois, offers a variety of perspectives on Du Bois's discussions of race and gender at different points in time.9 However, literature on Du Bois has yet to explore how his understanding of the injustices faced by black women gradually progressed. Therefore, I suggest that it is necessary to consider the trajectory of Du Bois's political thought rather than strictly focusing on...

Mortality profiles of Castor and Trogontherium (Mammalia: Rodentia, Castoridae), with notes on the site formation of the Mid-Pleistocene hominin locality Bilzingsleben II (Thuringia, Central Germany)

The Middle Pleistocene site Bilzingsleben II is well-known for its wealth of vertebrate and archaeological remains. Of particular importance is the record of Homo erectus bilzingslebenensis. Most palaeontologists consider the find horizon as a primary vertebrate deposit formed during human occupation, while some archaeologists attribute its formation to turbulent gravitational mass flows, inundation or a combination of both. Here we present mortality profiles of the beavers Castor and Trogontherium to provide further arguments to this controversial discussion. The mortality profiles of Castor from Bilzingsleben II, Weimar-Ehringsdorf and Weimar-Taubach are largely identical indicating similar taphonomic filters that were effective in the formation of the find layers. Individuals, which were tentatively classified as suspected ±2–2½ year old beavers dominate by far in all three sites. The structure of these mortality profiles shows similarities to Stiner’s (1990) “prime dominated mortality pattern”, which is indicative of human hunting. This consideration is supported by the difference of the mortality profile of Trogontherium from Bilzingsleben II (dominance of older individuals) in relation to the profiles of non-hominin generated assemblages of Tegelen and Mosbach 2 (dominance of younger individuals). Thus, our data support the interpretation of the Palaeolithic find horizon of Bilzingsleben II as a primary vertebrate deposit, but not the gravitational mass flow and inundation hypotheses.

Apidima 1 and Apidima 2: Two anteneandertal skulls in the Peloponnese, Greece

Work in Apidima A Cave began in 1976 after the discovery of a portion of a human skull by Andreas Andreikos in a cave breccia, identified in 1978 by Théodoros Pitsios, and named Apidima 1. The cave is located below the plateau of Aeropolis, in the Mani Peninsula (Maina or Maïna), in the Peloponnese, in the south of Greece. The first work in the cave brought to light a second skull, Apidima 2. These two skulls were lying vertically against the cave wall, on the same sedimentary layer, 15cm away from each other, side by side and facing in opposite directions. The Apidima 1 occipital seems to belong to a male individual whereas the Apidima 2 face appears to be female. They were carefully extracted from the breccia at the initiative of Théodoros Pitsios and were painstakingly disengaged in the laboratory between 1979 and 2012. The Apidima 1 skull is a portion of the back of the skull and the better preserved Apidima 2 consists of the face and the frontoparietal zones. These remains are in a similar state of fossilisation and were dated by the U/Th method between 220 and 130 ka, with an average age of about 170 ka. The anatomical study shows that they can be attributed to the same group of evolved European Homo erectus hominins, with some early Neanderthal traits, similar to the skulls of la Sima de los Huesos, Swanscombe, Biache St Vaast and Lazaret, and that they can be differentiated from classic Neanderthals. The frontoparietal curve and low biparietal breadth of the crania can be compared to early forms, such as Arago 21-47, Ceprano, Petralona, but several traits announce a Neanderthal morphology, such as, for example, a suprainiac fossa observable on Apidima 1. The deposition of these two skulls in Apidima Cave A, laid out side by side, with no other human remains, lithic artefacts or faunal remains, evokes a death-related anthropogenic ritual. Beside these skulls, three pebbles gathered on the beach below the cave can be considered as an intentional deposit related to the symbolic preoccupations of these Anteneandertals. During the major regression of isotopic stage 6, the beach was at a much lower level than the present-day beach.

Генезис религии: возникновение зоолатрии по материалам мобильного искусства Восточной Европы и Сибири

. Eastern Europe and Siberia are the territories of early settlement of different groups of mankind. On the Russian Plain, the first sites of Modern Humans are dated to about 40 ka BP. In Siberia, the Homo erectus groups appear in the Lower Paleolithic. Later, Denisovans, Neanderthals and Modern Humans (CroMagnons) settled here. Modern Humans penetrate Siberia about 45 ka BP. Local groups of Homo populations have created developed cultures that include a wide range of features of behavioral modernity. For local groups of Modern Humans, the appearance of zoomorphic sculptures in the period of about 34 ka BP, in the initial period of the Upper Paleolithic. During the period of the final of Aurignac and the beginning of Gravette, zoomorphic examples of mobile art became a typical phenomenon. The archaeological context of the location of artefacts and the peculiarities of their appearance in a number of cases indicate that zoomorphic objects were attributes of zoolatry. The discovery of the «lion» sculpture in Denisova Cave suggests that zoolatry existed in the culture of the Denisovans. With an age of at least 45 ka BP, the lion figure from Denisova cave is the oldest zoomorphic sculpture. The presence of zoolatry in geographically and anthropologically different cultures indicates that it is naturally formed at the stage of reaching a certain level of development of human populations and is a regular result of anthropo- and cultural genesis. Zoolatry is a universal phenomenon. Along with the general features, local features are inherent in it. In different local groups, zoolatry has specific features due to natural factors, different adaptation strategies and mental differences (different models of imagination). In different cultures, zoolatry was combined in specific combinations with funeral rituals, hunting magic, gender cults and other forms of religion. In different local cultures, there were specific configurations of forms of religion, in which zoolatry, hunting magic, funeral practices and other forms of religion were combined in a peculiar way. Thus, in different local cultures, the morphology of religion had a different configuration. The study of zoolatry of local groups of the «basal Eurasian» lineage demonstrates the variability of the morphology (internal structure) of religion, even in culturally related and chronologically close communities.

The Whereabouts of the Kingdom of God: Countervisualizing the Irish Citizen in Sinn Féin’s Editorial Cartoons

Abstract: This article explores the journalistic efforts of the Sinn Fein activists in Arthur Griffith’s circle in the period 1909-11 to define Irish citizenship as an active, nation-building duty rather than the relatively passive electoral and financial support demanded by the Irish Parliamentary Party. We will focus on the heroic vision of upright men and women in the propaganda of Robert Lynd and the editorial cartoons of Austin Molloy and tease out the different strands of advice to readers embedded in this rich but overlooked archive.

Last appearance of Homo erectus at Ngandong, Java, 117,000-108,000years ago.

Homo erectus is the founding early hominin species of Island Southeast Asia, and reached Java (Indonesia) more than 1.5million years ago1,2. Twelve H.erectus calvaria (skull caps) and two tibiae (lower leg bones) were discovered from a bone bed located about 20m above the Solo River at Ngandong (Central Java) between 1931 and 19333,4, and are of the youngest, most-advanced form of H.erectus5-8. Despite the importance of the Ngandong fossils, the relationship between the fossils, terrace fill and ages have been heavily debated9-14. Here, to resolve the age of the Ngandong evidence, we use Bayesian modelling of 52radiometric age estimates to establish-to our knowledge-the firstrobust chronology at regional, valley and local scales. We used uranium-series dating of speleothems to constrain regional landscape evolution; luminescence, 40argon/39argon (40Ar/39Ar) and uranium-series dating to constrain the sequence of terrace evolution; and applied uranium-series and uranium series-electron-spin resonance (US-ESR) dating to non-human fossils to directly date our re-excavation of Ngandong5,15. We show that at least by 500thousand years ago (ka) the Solo River was diverted into the Kendeng Hills, and that it formed the Solo terrace sequence between 316 and 31ka and the Ngandong terrace between about 140 and 92ka. Non-human fossils recovered during the re-excavation of Ngandong date to between 109 and 106ka (uranium-series minimum)16 and 134 and 118 ka (US-ESR), with modelled ages of 117 to 108thousand years (kyr) for the H.erectus bone bed, which accumulated during flood conditions3,17. These results negate the extreme ages that have been proposed for the site and solidify Ngandong as the last known occurrence of this long-lived species.

Evolutionary basis for the human diet: consequences for human health.

The relationship of evolution with diet and environment can provide insights into modern disease. Fossil evidence shows apes, and early human ancestors were fruit eaters living in environments with strongly seasonal climates. Rapid cooling at the end of the Middle Miocene (15-12Ma: millions of years ago) increased seasonality in Africa and Europe, and ape survival may be linked with a mutation in uric acid metabolism. Climate stabilized in the later Miocene and Pliocene (12-5Ma), and fossil apes and early hominins were both adapted for life on ground and in trees. Around 2.5Ma, early species of Homo introduced more animal products into their diet, and this coincided with developing bipedalism, stone tool technology and increase in brain size. Early species of Homo such as Homo habilis still lived in woodland habitats, and the major habitat shift in human evolution occurred at 1.8Ma with the origin of Homo erectus. Homo erectus had increased body size, greater hunting skills, a diet rich in meat, control of fire and understanding about cooking food, and moved from woodland to savannah. Group size may also have increased at the same time, facilitating the transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next. The earliest fossils of Homo sapiens appeared about 300kyr, but they had separated from Neanderthals by 480kyr or earlier. Their diet shifted towards grain-based foods about 100kyr ago, and settled agriculture developed about 10kyr ago. This pattern remains for many populations to this day and provides important insights into current burden of lifestyle diseases.

The position of Neandertal and Homo erectus within the hominid clade based on craniodental morphology and whole mtDNA genomes.

To evaluate the taxonomic position of the Neandertal and Homo erectus within the hominid clade, the variation among and within the hominid taxa was assessed based on the craniodental morphology and integrated with molecular analyses of the whole mtDNA genomes. Ordination and clustering of the Procrustes craniodental landmarks have showed a notable shape transformation from the earliest hominid species to the modern humans. Although levels of distinction between the analyzed taxa (Homo, Pan, Gorilla, and Pongo) are generally corresponding to probable expectations based on their taxonomic rank, few exceptions were found. Notably, the craniodental morphology of Homo erectus showed a greater dissimilarity to other Homo species, where it consistently overlapped or grouped with Pan species on all ordination plots and clustering. In addition, the direct link between European humans and Neandertals, which is well-characterized on all of the phylogenetic trees based on maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood methods, was not outlined in the morphologic-based clustering. Both morphological and molecular distances between Neandertal and modern humans were consistently greater than the distances among modern humans, however, the distances are still smaller than those between any two distinct species (so they are subspecies). The topology of the phylogenetic trees based on the whole mtDNA has shown a minor discrepancy with the results obtained from the craniodental morphologies.

An integrated reconstruction of the early Pleistocene palaeoenvironment of Homo erectus in the Denizli Basin (SW Turkey)

The early Pleistocene travertines from Kocabaş in the Denizli Basin (SW Turkey), from which the only known Homo erectus from Anatolia derives, are covered by a succession of lake deposits. So far, the taphonomic history of the site has precluded a detailed palaeoecological analysis. This paper details the sedimentary succession and palaeoenvironmental conditions by analysing the micro- and macropalaeontological species compositions. These data provide direct evidence of the opportunities and limiting factors of the environment inhabited by hominins during the early Pleistocene. Four distinctive lithostratigraphic units are recognized in the Quaternary succession, consisting of: Lower Travertine, Lower Conglomerates, Upper Travertine, and Upper Conglomerates. These units correspond to an alternation of lacustrine limestone, fluvial-lacustrine siliciclastic deposits and subaerially precipitated travertine accumulations. The age of the succession is constrained by cosmogenic nuclide concentration, palaeomagnetic measurements and large mammal biostratigraphy which suggest deposition occurred between ∼1.6 and 1.2 Ma. The travertine succession contains a moderately diverse macromammal fauna, including Homo erectus, decapod crustaceans and leaf imprints. The herbivore association likely dwelled in a mixed landscape during temperate and humid climatic conditions, supported by negative δ18O values from analysed gastropod and bivalve shells. The presence of an anomalohaline lake is indicated by an abundant and well-preserved ostracod community, consisting of alkaline tolerant taxa and freshwater genera further supported by the presence of cardiid bivalves.

Dehydration and persistence hunting in Homo erectus

Persistence hunting has been suggested to be a key strategy for meat acquisition in Homo erectus. However, prolonged locomotion in hot conditions is associated with considerable water losses due to sweating. Consequently, dehydration has been proposed to be a critical limiting factor, effectively curtailing the usefulness of persistence hunting prior to the invention of water containers. In this study, we aimed to determine the extent to which dehydration limited persistence hunting in H. erectus.We simulated ambient conditions and spatiotemporal characteristics of nine previously reported persistence hunts in the Kalahari. We used a newly developed and validated heat exchange model to estimate the water loss in H. erectus and a recent Kalahari hunter. Water loss equivalent to 10% of the hunter's body mass was considered the physiological limit of a hunt with no drinking. Our criterion for ruling dehydration out of being a limit for persistence hunting was the ability to hunt without drinking for at least 5 h, as this was the longest duration reported for a successful persistence hunt of large prey.Our results showed that H. erectus would reach the dehydration limit in 5.5–5.7 h of persistence hunting at the reported Kalahari conditions, which we argue represent a conservative model also for Early Pleistocene East Africa. Maximum hunt duration without drinking was negatively related to the relative body surface area of the hunter. Moreover, H. erectus would be able to persistence hunt over 5 h without drinking despite possible deviations from modern-like heat dissipation capacity, aerobic capacity, and locomotor economy. We conclude that H. erectus could persistence hunt large prey without the need to carry water.

Why did the Acheulean happen? Experimental studies into the manufacture and function of Acheulean artifacts

This chapter will consider the origins, evolution and adaptive significance of the Acheulean Industrial Complex, based upon experimental replicative and functional studies. It is argued here that the Acheulean emerged as a response to large-mammal carcass acquisition and butchery, where larger, heavier and more ergonomic butchery tools with long, sharp, durable edges were desirable. The production of hand axes and cleavers (as well as picks and knives), made either on large flake blanks struck from mega-cores or made on large cobbles, nodules, or tabular pieces, heralded a new technological sophistication and presumably greater cognitive skills. The Acheulean, beginning between approximately 1.76 million years ago (mya) and lasting in some places until around 154,000 years ago, also documented one of the most profound periods of encephalization in hominin evolution and the transition from Homo ergaster/erectus (hereafter referred to as Homo erectus) to Homo heidelbergensis (formerly called “archaic Homo sapiens”), and even very early Homo sapiens idaltu. Cranial capacity increased from approximately 800 cubic centimeters in H. erectus to about 1250 cubic centimeters in H. heidelbergensis (and presumably a proportional increase in anthropocentric encephalization quotient, or EQ, from approximately 0.5 to 0.85, with modern humans and Homo sapiens idaltu with a cranial capacity of 1450 cc representing an EQ of roughly 1.00). This neural increase is correlated with more refined and standardized biface technologies over time and the rise of prepared core technologies. This increase in absolute and relative brain size is almost certainly also correlated through time with larger mean hominin group sizes, higher quality diets (i.e. more protein and fat food resources, primarily from animal tissue and obtained with an increasing reliance upon more complex technologies) and greater cognitive, social and communicative complexity.

An alternative scenario for the first human dispersal out of Africa

Recent paleoanthropological evidence from the early Pleistocene site of Dmanisi in Georgia has revealed that the first hominins out of Africa were more archaic than the coeval African Homo erectus. Therefore, anatomical or cultural innovations associated with the later species cannot be invoked as a cause for the first out of Africa. More evidence suggests that these archaic hominins were forest dwellers rather than savannah inhabitants. This is in agreement with their trophic role as passive scavengers. In contrast with open-dry savannah, passive scavenging is much easier and safer in forest, were carcasses can remain untouched for up two days. Moreover, forest-adapted sabertooths could have supply hominids with more carrion than modern savannah felids. Between 1.8 and 1.6 Ma a climate crisis caused a new spread of savannah and arid zones across large parts of Africa. As a consequence, early Homo populations splitted, with some populations becoming adapted to the new ecological conditions and others following woodland areas in their regression. For these last populations Southern Caucasus could have acted as a refugium area, with dominant forest conditions, still inhabited by sabertooths and with easy access to carcasses.

A distinguishing feature of Pongo upper molars and its implications for the taxonomic identification of isolated hominid teeth from the Pleistocene of Asia.

The taxonomic status of isolated hominoid teeth from the Asian Pleistocene has long been controversial due to difficulties distinguishing between pongine and hominin molars given their high degree of morphometrical variation and overlap. Here, we combine nonmetric and geometric morphometric data to document a dental pattern that appears to be taxonomically diagnostic among Pongo. We focus on the protoconule, a cuspule of well-documented evolutionary history, as well as on shape differences of the mesial fovea of the upper molars. We examined 469 upper molars of eight hominid genera (Australopithecus, Paranthropus, Homo, Meganthropus, Sivapithecus, Pan, Gorilla, and Pongo), including representatives of Homo erectus and extinct and recent Pongo. Analyses were conducted at the enamel-dentine junction to overcome the limitations introduced by dental wear. We found that a moderate or large protoconule is present in ~80% of Pleistocene and extant Pongo. Conversely, a moderate to pronounced protoconule in hominins, Meganthropus, and African great apes occurs in low frequencies (~0-20%). Canonical variate analyses for the mesial fovea show that Pleistocene and extant Pongo cluster together and are clearly differentiated from all other groups, except for Sivapithecus. This study suggests that the protoconule and the shape of the mesial fovea in upper molars are useful features for the taxonomic identification of isolated hominid teeth. By identifying these new features, our results can contribute to the better understanding of hominoid evolutionary history and biogeography during the Asian Pleistocene. However, we emphasize that the reported features should be used in combination with other diagnostic variables for the most accurate taxonomic assessments.

Social evolution in Plio-Pleistocene hominins: Insights from hamadryas baboons and paleoecology

Reconstructions of hominin evolution have long benefited from comparisons with nonhuman primates, especially baboons and chimpanzees. The hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) is arguably one of the best such models, as it exhibits both the male kin bonding and the cross-sex pair bonding thought to have been important in hominin evolution. Here we link processes of behavioral evolution in hamadryas baboons with those in a Plio-Pleistocene hominin, provisionally identified as Homo erectus (sensu lato) – a pivotal species in that its larger body and brain size and wider ranging patterns increased female costs of reproduction, increasing the importance of sociality. The combination of these higher costs of reproduction and shifts in diet and food acquisition have previously been argued to have been alleviated either via strengthening of male-female bonds (involving male provisioning and the evolution of monogamy) or via the assistance of older, post-reproductive females (leading to post-reproductive longevity in females, i.e., the grandmother hypothesis). We suggest that both arrangements could have been present in Plio-Pleistocene hominins if they lived in multilevel societies. Here we expand on our earlier scenario with two sets of recent data in support of it, (1) archaeological data from the 2 million year old Oldowan site of Kanjera South, Kenya and other sites that are suggestive of tool dependent foraging on nutrient dense resources (animal carcasses and plant underground storage organs), cooperation, and food sharing; and (2) a pattern of genetic variation in hamadryas baboons that suggests the operation of kin selection among both males and females at multiple levels of society. Taken together, these two sets of data strengthen our model and support the idea of a complex society linked by male-male, male-female, and female-female bonds at multiple levels of social organization in Plio-Pleistocene hominins.

Structural analysis of premolar roots in Middle Pleistocene hominins from China

This study investigates permanent maxillary and mandibular premolar root structural organization in East Asian Middle Pleistocene hominins. In addition to reporting and analyzing the linear and volumetric properties of the roots, we used a landmark-free approach to both qualify and quantify in 3D premolar root shape variation of Middle Pleistocene hominins in East Asia. Moreover, we focus on some mid-to late East Asian Middle Pleistocene hominin specimens whose taxonomic attribution is unclear. We find considerable cementum in this sample of hominins, similar to other fossil groups, but clearly different from modern humans which have a very small amount of cementum. Additionally, a smaller root pulp cavity is found in later Homo (Neanderthals and modern humans). Our analyses on the crown-root surface area ratio show that East Asian Middle Pleistocene Homo erectus as well as one late Middle Pleistocene Homo sp. specimen (PA 81 P4 from Changyang site) are distinguished from other fossil and extant groups by a relatively larger root surface, stout root branches and thick cementum deposits. This may represent a distinct East Asian H. erectus dental pattern. Geometric morphometric analyses on the external root surface reveal a general trend of shape simplification along the Homo lineage examined here, and distinguish Early Pleistocene Homo, Middle Pleistocene H. erectus, Neanderthals and modern human morphologies. The late Middle Pleistocene teeth from Changyang site (PA 76 P3 and PA 81 P4) are close to East Asian H. erectus and Neanderthals, while the mid-Middle Pleistocene P3 from Panxian Dadong falls within the modern human distribution. Combined with dental crown morphology and root number/form reported in previous studies, our results show that the external root shape can be considered a taxonomically relevant indicator. In general, an evolutionary tendency towards modern human morphology is observed in part of the East Asian Middle Pleistocene specimens, while a retention of primitive, H. erectus-like features is expressed in some late Middle Pleistocene specimens, supporting a multi-lineage and discontinuous scenario of human settlements in East Asia.

Endostructural assessment of a hominin maxillary molar (StW 669) from Milner Hall, Sterkfontein, South Africa

The site of the Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa, is one of the richest early hominin fossil-bearing sites in Africa. Recent excavations in the Milner Hall locality have contributed to the discovery of new hominin specimens, including StW 669, a right permanent maxillary first molar (M1). StW 669 was excavated from the T1 deposits, which consist of a mixture of sediments from Members 2 and 5 of the Sterkfontein Formation. Accordingly, the deposits have the potential to contain remains of Australopithecus, Paranthropus and Homo. In this study, we employed micro-focus X-ray tomography in order to assess dental tissue proportions, enamel thickness distribution and enamel-dentine junction morphology as approaches to investigate the taxonomy of StW 669. We compare our results to those generated on the teeth of Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus, Homo erectus, Homo antecessor, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. Our results suggest that StW 669 shares quantitative and qualitative affinities with M1s of Homo in terms of tissue proportions (i.e. two- and three-dimensional average and relative enamel thickness of 1.2–1.3 mm and 18.4, respectively) and enamel thickness distribution (i.e. thickest enamel on the lingual aspect of the protocone). However, data on the enamel-dentine junction morphology of StW 669 are inconclusive as to the tooth’s taxonomic affinities. Pending additional morphometric analyses, our studies of inner morphology of the crown of StW 669 support its attribution to Homo.
 Significance:
 
 The Sterkfontein Caves have contributed significantly to our understanding of early human evolution and continue to do so. This study highlights the specific value of the Milner Hall locality as a valuable store of hominin fossils. Moreover, we tentatively clarify the enigmatic taxonomic status of StW 669, a right permanent maxillary first molar, excavated from the T1 deposit of Milner Hall. Pending additional morphometric evidence, our preliminary data on tissue proportions, enamel thickness distribution and enamel-dentine junction morphology, suggest an attribution of StW 669 to early Homo. This result is significant given the historical contention concerning the presence of early Homo at Sterkfontein.

The deciduous dentition of Homo naledi: A comparative study

In 2013, 2014 new hominin remains were uncovered in the Dinaledi chamber of the Rising Star cave system in South Africa. In 2015 Berger and colleagues identified these remains as belonging to a new species Homo naledi (Berger et al., 2015). Subsequent comparative studies of the skull, postcrania and permanent dentition have supported this taxonomic affiliation (Harcourt-Smith et al., 2015; Kivell et al., 2015; Irish et al., 2018). The deciduous teeth can offer unique insights into hominin evolution. Due to their early onset and rapid development their morphology is thought to be under stronger genetic control and less influenced by environment than are the permanent teeth. In this study we compared the H. naledi deciduous teeth from the 2013–2014 excavations to samples representing much of the hominin clade including Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus boisei, Paranthropus robustus, early Homo, Homo antecessor, Homo erectus s.l., Homo floresiensis, Middle Pleistocene Homo, Homo neanderthalensis, early Homo sapiens and recent H. sapiens from Sub-Saharan Africa. By making such a broad morphological comparison, we aimed to contextualize the Dinaledi hominins and to further assess the validity of their taxonomic assignment. Our analysis of the deciduous teeth revealed a unique combination of features that mirror (but also expand) that found in the permanent teeth. This mosaic includes an asymmetrical lower canine with a distal tubercle, an upper first molar with a large hypocone and epicrista associated with a mesial cuspule, a molarized lower first molar resembling Paranthropus, and upper and lower second molars that resemble later Homo in their lack of accessory cusps. The unique combination of deciduous dental characters supports previous studies assigning H. naledi to a new species, although its phylogenetic position vis-à-vis other Homo species remains ambiguous.

The Lost World of the Flood: Mythology, Theology and the Deluge Debate

The Lost World of the Flood: Mythology, Theology and the Deluge Debate