The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users ar... more The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check https://kar.kent.ac.uk for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record.
Anatomically modern humans originated in Africa around 200 thousand years ago (ka) 1-4. Although ... more Anatomically modern humans originated in Africa around 200 thousand years ago (ka) 1-4. Although some of the oldest skeletal remains suggest an eastern African origin 2 , southern Africa is home to contemporary populations that represent the earliest branch of human genetic phylogeny 5,6. Here we generate, to our knowledge, the largest resource for the poorly represented and deepest-rooting maternal L0 mitochondrial DNA branch (198 new mitogenomes for a total of 1,217 mitogenomes) from contemporary southern Africans and show the geographical isolation of L0d1'2, L0k and L0g KhoeSan descendants south of the Zambezi river in Africa. By establishing mitogenomic timelines, frequencies and dispersals, we show that the L0 lineage emerged within the residual Makgadikgadi-Okavango palaeo-wetland of southern Africa 7 , approximately 200 ka (95% confidence interval, 240-165 ka). Genetic divergence points to a sustained 70,000-year-long existence of the L0 lineage before an out-of-homeland northeast-southwest dispersal between 130 and 110 ka. Palaeoclimate proxy and model data suggest that increased humidity opened green corridors, first to the northeast then to the southwest. Subsequent drying of the homeland corresponds to a sustained effective population size (L0k), whereas wet-dry cycles and probable adaptation to marine foraging allowed the southwestern migrants to achieve population growth (L0d1'2), as supported by extensive south-coastal archaeological evidence 8-10. Taken together, we propose a southern African origin of anatomically modern humans with sustained homeland occupation before the first migrations of people that appear to have been driven by regional climate changes. Southern Africa has long been considered to be one of the regions in which anatomically modern humans (AMHs) originated. Home to contemporary populations who represent the earliest human lineages, evolutionary time estimates have largely been based on mitochondrial DNA (mitogenomes) 1,6. The maternal human phylogenetic tree consists of two major branches, the extensive L1'6-which includes the out-of-Africa ancestral L3 sub-branch (or haplogroup)-and the rare deep-rooting L0. The L0 lineage is predominated by southern African haplogroups: L0d, L0k and the recently described L0g 6. By contrast, the rare L0f and common L0a lineages are dispersed throughout sub-Saharan Africa 1,3,6. Through L0 pre-screening, we identified 198 southern Africans with poorly represented haplogroups for whom the mitogenome was sequenced (Supplementary Table 1), allowing for a combined analysis of 1,217 mitogenomes (Fig. 1a and Extended Data Table 1). We ethno-linguistically classified study participants as KhoeSansouthern African populations who traditionally practiced foraging and spoke languages containing 'click' consonants-or non-KhoeSan individuals. Non-KhoeSan who have KhoeSan-derived L0 mitogenomes are referred to in this study as KhoeSan ancestral, with further geographical classification (Fig. 1b and Extended Data Table 2; terminology pertaining to southern African KhoeSan populations is complex and contentious, see Methods for further discussion). Contemporary KhoeSan include Kalahari KhoeSan (Kx'a, Tuu and central Khoe-Kwadi speakers) and west-coastal KhoeSan (Khoe-Kwadi Nama speakers) 11. Peoples who speak Southern Bantu languages, who migrated down the east coast of Africa around 1,500 years ago, may have acquired an east-coastal KhoeSan heritage 12. The arrival of European colonists to the Cape in mid-1600s gave rise to the South African Coloured and Namibian Baster populations (of Eurasian and indigenous descent), who acquired a Cape KhoeSan heritage 13. Excluding the east African Sandawe and Hadza (whose languages also contain click consonants), indigenous KhoeSan populations appear to be absent northeast of the Zambezi river, supported by the lack of skeletal remains representing the KhoeSan-like hunter-forager morphology 14. We classified the 198 new
The face is the most distinctive feature used to identify others. Modern humans have a short, ret... more The face is the most distinctive feature used to identify others. Modern humans have a short, retracted face beneath a large globular brain case that is distinctively different from that of our closest living relatives. The face is a skeletal complex formed by 14 individual bones housing parts of the digestive, respiratory, visual, and olfactory systems. A key to understanding the origin and evolution of the human face is to analyze the faces of extinct taxa in the hominin clade over the last 6 million years. Yet as new fossils are recovered, and the number of hominin species grows, the question of how and when the modern human face originated remains unclear. By examining key features of the facial skeleton, here we evaluate the evolutionary history of the modern human face in the context of its development, morphology, and function, and suggest that its appearance is the result of a combination of biomechanical, physiological and social influences. .
Reconstruction of extinct hominin diets is currently a topic of much interest and debate, facilit... more Reconstruction of extinct hominin diets is currently a topic of much interest and debate, facilitated by new methods such as the analysis of dental calculus. It has been proposed, based on chemical analyses of calculus, that Neanderthals self-medicated, yet this conclusion has been questioned. Gastrophagy has been suggested as an alternative explanation for the Neanderthal data, based on ethnographic analogies, which show this practice to have been widespread in traditional extant Homo sapiens diets, and nutritional evidence for its benefits at high latitudes. Here we expand the discussion of the potential importance of gastrophagy in human evolution by considering its role for an extant group of tropical foragers, the Hadza of Tanzania, and questioning its role in the diets of extinct tropical hominin species. Gastrophagy is frequently practiced among the Hadza and adult men in particular consume substantial, seasonally variable, amounts of prey guts. In addition to the important fact that gastrophagy is not a rare event, this demographic information may be useful in interpreting evidence from archaeological samples. The consumption of semi-digested chyme would have allowed extinct hominins to gain calories from plant sources without the cost of digesting them, possibly contributing to the encephalisation and shrinking of the gut in genus Homo. As an easy to process food-source, chyme could have likewise been an important food source for the old and the young, potentially playing a part in reducing inter-birth intervals and increasing reproductive success in our lineage. Thus gastrophagy may have played a key part in human evolution and its potentially confounding signal should be considered in future dietary reconstructions.
ESR and U-series analyses of teeth from the palaeoanthropological site of Hexian which contained ... more ESR and U-series analyses of teeth from the palaeoanthropological site of Hexian which contained Homo erectus remains, illustrate the limited effectiveness of stand-alone ESR and U-series age estimates on faunal materials. The problem lies in the unknown U-uptake history causing very large uncertainties in the age results of both techniques. This study demonstrates the particular strength that lies in the integration of ESR and U-series dating analyses allowing the estimation of the U-uptake history. We obtained a combined ESR/ U-series age estimate of 412 25 ka (average of six analyses on two teeth). This pinpoints the deposition of the faunal remains to the time of the transition between oxygen isotope stages 12 and 11. This is in agreement with the faunal composition which show a mixture of cold adapted northern mammals and more subtropical-tropical southern elements. The age also implies that the advanced Hexian Homo erectus occurred at a similar time as the less advanced Homo erectus specimens at Locality 1 at Zhoukoudian (LI-LIII).
Archaeologists often find lithic assemblages with missing flakes. New high resolution micro-compu... more Archaeologists often find lithic assemblages with missing flakes. New high resolution micro-computed tomographic (CT) scanners might provide a solution to this problem. Scanners produce 3D computerised ('virtual') models of objects based on density distribution and could be a cost effective method for studying and sharing lithic artefacts. Importantly, it is possible to visualise the key features of percussion that distinguish intentionally made flakes from natural breakage. Since the data are 3D it is possible to recreate missing flakes (or parts thereof) from refitted groups by visualising void spaces. Hence it is possible to obtain a better understanding of the knapping process and obtain a glimpse of the flakes that were actually used as tools.
In 2006, six isolated hominin teeth were excavated from Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits at the Ma... more In 2006, six isolated hominin teeth were excavated from Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits at the Magubike rockshelter in southern Tanzania. They comprise two central incisors, one lateral incisor, one canine, one third premolar, and one fourth premolar. All are fully developed and come from the maxilla. None of the teeth are duplicated, so they may represent a single individual. While there is some evidence of post-depositional alteration, the morphology of these teeth clearly shares features with anatomically modern Homo sapiens. Both metric and non-metric traits are compared to those from other African and non-African dental remains. The degree of biological relatedness between eastern and southern African Stone Age hunter-gatherers has long been a subject of interest, and several characteristics of the Magubike teeth resemble those of the San of southern Africa. Another notable feature is that the three incisors are marked on the labial crown by scratches that are much coarser than microwear striations. These non-masticatory scratches on the Magubike teeth suggest that the use of the front teeth as tools included regularly repeated activities undertaken throughout the life of the individual. The exact age of these teeth is not clear as ESR and radiocarbon dates on associated snail shells give varying results, but a conservative estimate of their minimum age is 45,000 years.
The frontal sinuses are cavities inside the frontal bone located at the junction between the face... more The frontal sinuses are cavities inside the frontal bone located at the junction between the face and the cranial vault and close to the brain. Despite a long history of study, understanding of their origin and variation through evolution is limited. This work compares most hominin species’ holotypes and other key individuals with extant hominids. It provides a unique and valuable perspective of the variation in sinuses position, shape, and dimensions based on a simple and reproducible methodology. We also observed a covariation between the size and shape of the sinuses and the underlying frontal lobes in hominin species from at least the appearance of Homo erectus . Our results additionally undermine hypotheses stating that hominin frontal sinuses were directly affected by biomechanical constraints resulting from either chewing or adaptation to climate. Last, we demonstrate their substantial potential for discussions of the evolutionary relationships between hominin species.
The roles of migration, admixture and acculturation in the European transition to farming have be... more The roles of migration, admixture and acculturation in the European transition to farming have been debated for over 100 years. Genome-wide ancient DNA studies indicate predominantly Aegean ancestry for continental Neolithic farmers, but also variable admixture with local Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Neolithic cultures first appear in Britain ca. 4000 BCE, a millennium after they appear in adjacent areas of continental Europe. The pattern and process of this delayed British Neolithic transition remains unclear. We assembled genome-wide data from six Mesolithic and 67 Neolithic individuals found in Britain, dating from 8500-2500 BCE. Our analyses reveal persistent genetic affinities between Mesolithic British and Western European hunter-gatherers. We find overwhelming support for agriculture being introduced to Britain by incoming continental farmers, with small, geographically-structured levels of hunter-gatherer ancestry. Unlike other European Neolithic populations, we detect no resurgence of hunter-gatherer ancestry at any time during the Neolithic in Britain. Genetic affinities with Iberian Neolithic individuals indicate that British Neolithic people were mostly descended from Aegean farmers who followed the Mediterranean route of dispersal. We also infer considerable variation in pigmentation levels in Europe by ca. 6000 BCE.
ABSTRACT Here we report the recovery of a human tooth, radiocarbon dated to the Neolithic period,... more ABSTRACT Here we report the recovery of a human tooth, radiocarbon dated to the Neolithic period, from Ash Tree Shelter, near Whitwell in Derbyshire, United Kingdom. The tooth bears scratches on the labial surface of the crown. The morphology and position of these scratches suggest they were produced ante mortem (during the life of the individual) by a stone tool used to process food or other materials held between the jaws. The dating of the Ash Tree Shelter tooth to the Neolithic period adds to the corpus of later prehistoric human remains from caves in the Cadeby Formation. Its Early Neolithic age reveals it to be older than at least some of the prehistoric human remains from the adjacent site of Ash Tree Cave.
Diagnosing Homo sapiens is a critical question in the study of human evolution. Although what con... more Diagnosing Homo sapiens is a critical question in the study of human evolution. Although what constitutes living members of our own species is straightforward, in the fossil record this is still a matter of much debate. The issue is complicated by questions of species diagnoses and ideas about the mode by which a new species is born, by the arguments surrounding the behavioural and cognitive separateness of the species, by the increasing appreciation of variation in the early African H. sapiens record and by new DNA evidence of hybridization with extinct species. This study synthesizes thinking on the fossils, archaeology and underlying evolutionary models of the last several decades with recent DNA results from both H. sapiens and fossil species. It is concluded that, although it may not be possible or even desirable to cleanly partition out a homogenous morphological description of recent H. sapiens in the fossil record, there are key, distinguishing morphological traits in the cranium, dentition and pelvis that can be usefully employed to diagnose the H. sapiens lineage. Increasing advances in retrieving and understanding relevant genetic data provide a complementary and perhaps potentially even more fruitful means of characterizing the differences between H. sapiens and its close relatives.
Perforated marine gastropod shells at the western Asian site of Skhul and the North African site ... more Perforated marine gastropod shells at the western Asian site of Skhul and the North African site of Oued Djebbana indicate the early use of beads by modern humans in these regions. The remoteness of these sites from the seashore and a comparison of the shells to natural shell assemblages indicate deliberate selection and transport by humans for symbolic use. Elemental and chemical analyses of sediment matrix adhered to one Nassarius gibbosulus from Skhul indicate that the shell bead comes from a layer containing 10 human fossils and dating to 100,000 to 135,000 years ago, about 25,000 years earlier than previous evidence for personal decoration by modern humans in South Africa.
In order to resolve long-standing issues surrounding the age of the Skhul early modern humans, ne... more In order to resolve long-standing issues surrounding the age of the Skhul early modern humans, new analyses have been conducted, including the dating of four well-provenanced fossils by ESR and U-series. If the Skhul burials took place within a relatively short time span, then the best age estimate lies between 100 and 135 ka. This result agrees very well with TL ages obtained from burnt flint of 119G18 ka (Mercier et al., 1993). However, we cannot exclude the possibility that the material associated with the Skhul IX burial is older than those of Skhul II and Skhul V. These and other recent age estimates suggest that the three burial sites, Skhul, Qafzeh and Tabun are broadly contemporaneous, falling within the time range of 100 to 130 ka. The presence of early representatives of both early modern humans and Neanderthals in the Levant during Marine Isotope Stage 5 inevitably complicates attempts at segregating these populations by date or archaeological association. Nevertheless, it does appear that the oldest known symbolic burials are those of early modern humans at Skhul and Qafzeh. This supports the view that, despite the associated Middle Palaeolithic technology, elements of modern human behaviour were represented at Skhul and Qafzeh prior to 100 ka.
The Singa (Sudan) calvaria has been interpreted previously as a terminal Pleistocene modern human... more The Singa (Sudan) calvaria has been interpreted previously as a terminal Pleistocene modern human fossil, perhaps related to the Bushman of Southern Africa. Here we report new mass-spectrometric U-Th dates for the calcrete deposit enclosing the fossil teeth and the calvaria itself and new electron spin resonance (ESR) dates for associated dental materials. The new data constrain the age of the hominid to at least 133 2 ka. Together with the preferred linear uptake (LU) ESR dates, the U-Th data confirm that the intriguing mixture of modern and archaic characteristics in the Singa specimen date from isotope stage 6. Far from being a modern human fossil, it represents a rare example of an archaic African population which may have been ancestral to all modern Homo sapiens.
Recent humans and their fossil relatives are classified as having thick molar enamel, one of very... more Recent humans and their fossil relatives are classified as having thick molar enamel, one of very few dental traits that distinguish hominins from living African apes. However, little is known about enamel thickness in the earliest members of the genus Homo, and recent studies of later Homo report considerable intra- and inter-specific variation. In order to assess taxonomic, geographic, and temporal trends in enamel thickness, we applied micro-computed tomographic imaging to 150 fossil Homo teeth spanning two million years. Early Homo postcanine teeth from Africa and Asia show highly variable average and relative enamel thickness (AET and RET) values. Three molars from South Africa exceed Homo AET and RET ranges, resembling the hyper thick Paranthropus condition. Most later Homo groups (archaic European and north African Homo, and fossil and recent Homo sapiens) possess absolutely and relatively thick enamel across the entire dentition. In contrast, Neanderthals show relatively thi...
The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users ar... more The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check https://kar.kent.ac.uk for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record.
Anatomically modern humans originated in Africa around 200 thousand years ago (ka) 1-4. Although ... more Anatomically modern humans originated in Africa around 200 thousand years ago (ka) 1-4. Although some of the oldest skeletal remains suggest an eastern African origin 2 , southern Africa is home to contemporary populations that represent the earliest branch of human genetic phylogeny 5,6. Here we generate, to our knowledge, the largest resource for the poorly represented and deepest-rooting maternal L0 mitochondrial DNA branch (198 new mitogenomes for a total of 1,217 mitogenomes) from contemporary southern Africans and show the geographical isolation of L0d1'2, L0k and L0g KhoeSan descendants south of the Zambezi river in Africa. By establishing mitogenomic timelines, frequencies and dispersals, we show that the L0 lineage emerged within the residual Makgadikgadi-Okavango palaeo-wetland of southern Africa 7 , approximately 200 ka (95% confidence interval, 240-165 ka). Genetic divergence points to a sustained 70,000-year-long existence of the L0 lineage before an out-of-homeland northeast-southwest dispersal between 130 and 110 ka. Palaeoclimate proxy and model data suggest that increased humidity opened green corridors, first to the northeast then to the southwest. Subsequent drying of the homeland corresponds to a sustained effective population size (L0k), whereas wet-dry cycles and probable adaptation to marine foraging allowed the southwestern migrants to achieve population growth (L0d1'2), as supported by extensive south-coastal archaeological evidence 8-10. Taken together, we propose a southern African origin of anatomically modern humans with sustained homeland occupation before the first migrations of people that appear to have been driven by regional climate changes. Southern Africa has long been considered to be one of the regions in which anatomically modern humans (AMHs) originated. Home to contemporary populations who represent the earliest human lineages, evolutionary time estimates have largely been based on mitochondrial DNA (mitogenomes) 1,6. The maternal human phylogenetic tree consists of two major branches, the extensive L1'6-which includes the out-of-Africa ancestral L3 sub-branch (or haplogroup)-and the rare deep-rooting L0. The L0 lineage is predominated by southern African haplogroups: L0d, L0k and the recently described L0g 6. By contrast, the rare L0f and common L0a lineages are dispersed throughout sub-Saharan Africa 1,3,6. Through L0 pre-screening, we identified 198 southern Africans with poorly represented haplogroups for whom the mitogenome was sequenced (Supplementary Table 1), allowing for a combined analysis of 1,217 mitogenomes (Fig. 1a and Extended Data Table 1). We ethno-linguistically classified study participants as KhoeSansouthern African populations who traditionally practiced foraging and spoke languages containing 'click' consonants-or non-KhoeSan individuals. Non-KhoeSan who have KhoeSan-derived L0 mitogenomes are referred to in this study as KhoeSan ancestral, with further geographical classification (Fig. 1b and Extended Data Table 2; terminology pertaining to southern African KhoeSan populations is complex and contentious, see Methods for further discussion). Contemporary KhoeSan include Kalahari KhoeSan (Kx'a, Tuu and central Khoe-Kwadi speakers) and west-coastal KhoeSan (Khoe-Kwadi Nama speakers) 11. Peoples who speak Southern Bantu languages, who migrated down the east coast of Africa around 1,500 years ago, may have acquired an east-coastal KhoeSan heritage 12. The arrival of European colonists to the Cape in mid-1600s gave rise to the South African Coloured and Namibian Baster populations (of Eurasian and indigenous descent), who acquired a Cape KhoeSan heritage 13. Excluding the east African Sandawe and Hadza (whose languages also contain click consonants), indigenous KhoeSan populations appear to be absent northeast of the Zambezi river, supported by the lack of skeletal remains representing the KhoeSan-like hunter-forager morphology 14. We classified the 198 new
The face is the most distinctive feature used to identify others. Modern humans have a short, ret... more The face is the most distinctive feature used to identify others. Modern humans have a short, retracted face beneath a large globular brain case that is distinctively different from that of our closest living relatives. The face is a skeletal complex formed by 14 individual bones housing parts of the digestive, respiratory, visual, and olfactory systems. A key to understanding the origin and evolution of the human face is to analyze the faces of extinct taxa in the hominin clade over the last 6 million years. Yet as new fossils are recovered, and the number of hominin species grows, the question of how and when the modern human face originated remains unclear. By examining key features of the facial skeleton, here we evaluate the evolutionary history of the modern human face in the context of its development, morphology, and function, and suggest that its appearance is the result of a combination of biomechanical, physiological and social influences. .
Reconstruction of extinct hominin diets is currently a topic of much interest and debate, facilit... more Reconstruction of extinct hominin diets is currently a topic of much interest and debate, facilitated by new methods such as the analysis of dental calculus. It has been proposed, based on chemical analyses of calculus, that Neanderthals self-medicated, yet this conclusion has been questioned. Gastrophagy has been suggested as an alternative explanation for the Neanderthal data, based on ethnographic analogies, which show this practice to have been widespread in traditional extant Homo sapiens diets, and nutritional evidence for its benefits at high latitudes. Here we expand the discussion of the potential importance of gastrophagy in human evolution by considering its role for an extant group of tropical foragers, the Hadza of Tanzania, and questioning its role in the diets of extinct tropical hominin species. Gastrophagy is frequently practiced among the Hadza and adult men in particular consume substantial, seasonally variable, amounts of prey guts. In addition to the important fact that gastrophagy is not a rare event, this demographic information may be useful in interpreting evidence from archaeological samples. The consumption of semi-digested chyme would have allowed extinct hominins to gain calories from plant sources without the cost of digesting them, possibly contributing to the encephalisation and shrinking of the gut in genus Homo. As an easy to process food-source, chyme could have likewise been an important food source for the old and the young, potentially playing a part in reducing inter-birth intervals and increasing reproductive success in our lineage. Thus gastrophagy may have played a key part in human evolution and its potentially confounding signal should be considered in future dietary reconstructions.
ESR and U-series analyses of teeth from the palaeoanthropological site of Hexian which contained ... more ESR and U-series analyses of teeth from the palaeoanthropological site of Hexian which contained Homo erectus remains, illustrate the limited effectiveness of stand-alone ESR and U-series age estimates on faunal materials. The problem lies in the unknown U-uptake history causing very large uncertainties in the age results of both techniques. This study demonstrates the particular strength that lies in the integration of ESR and U-series dating analyses allowing the estimation of the U-uptake history. We obtained a combined ESR/ U-series age estimate of 412 25 ka (average of six analyses on two teeth). This pinpoints the deposition of the faunal remains to the time of the transition between oxygen isotope stages 12 and 11. This is in agreement with the faunal composition which show a mixture of cold adapted northern mammals and more subtropical-tropical southern elements. The age also implies that the advanced Hexian Homo erectus occurred at a similar time as the less advanced Homo erectus specimens at Locality 1 at Zhoukoudian (LI-LIII).
Archaeologists often find lithic assemblages with missing flakes. New high resolution micro-compu... more Archaeologists often find lithic assemblages with missing flakes. New high resolution micro-computed tomographic (CT) scanners might provide a solution to this problem. Scanners produce 3D computerised ('virtual') models of objects based on density distribution and could be a cost effective method for studying and sharing lithic artefacts. Importantly, it is possible to visualise the key features of percussion that distinguish intentionally made flakes from natural breakage. Since the data are 3D it is possible to recreate missing flakes (or parts thereof) from refitted groups by visualising void spaces. Hence it is possible to obtain a better understanding of the knapping process and obtain a glimpse of the flakes that were actually used as tools.
In 2006, six isolated hominin teeth were excavated from Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits at the Ma... more In 2006, six isolated hominin teeth were excavated from Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits at the Magubike rockshelter in southern Tanzania. They comprise two central incisors, one lateral incisor, one canine, one third premolar, and one fourth premolar. All are fully developed and come from the maxilla. None of the teeth are duplicated, so they may represent a single individual. While there is some evidence of post-depositional alteration, the morphology of these teeth clearly shares features with anatomically modern Homo sapiens. Both metric and non-metric traits are compared to those from other African and non-African dental remains. The degree of biological relatedness between eastern and southern African Stone Age hunter-gatherers has long been a subject of interest, and several characteristics of the Magubike teeth resemble those of the San of southern Africa. Another notable feature is that the three incisors are marked on the labial crown by scratches that are much coarser than microwear striations. These non-masticatory scratches on the Magubike teeth suggest that the use of the front teeth as tools included regularly repeated activities undertaken throughout the life of the individual. The exact age of these teeth is not clear as ESR and radiocarbon dates on associated snail shells give varying results, but a conservative estimate of their minimum age is 45,000 years.
The frontal sinuses are cavities inside the frontal bone located at the junction between the face... more The frontal sinuses are cavities inside the frontal bone located at the junction between the face and the cranial vault and close to the brain. Despite a long history of study, understanding of their origin and variation through evolution is limited. This work compares most hominin species’ holotypes and other key individuals with extant hominids. It provides a unique and valuable perspective of the variation in sinuses position, shape, and dimensions based on a simple and reproducible methodology. We also observed a covariation between the size and shape of the sinuses and the underlying frontal lobes in hominin species from at least the appearance of Homo erectus . Our results additionally undermine hypotheses stating that hominin frontal sinuses were directly affected by biomechanical constraints resulting from either chewing or adaptation to climate. Last, we demonstrate their substantial potential for discussions of the evolutionary relationships between hominin species.
The roles of migration, admixture and acculturation in the European transition to farming have be... more The roles of migration, admixture and acculturation in the European transition to farming have been debated for over 100 years. Genome-wide ancient DNA studies indicate predominantly Aegean ancestry for continental Neolithic farmers, but also variable admixture with local Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Neolithic cultures first appear in Britain ca. 4000 BCE, a millennium after they appear in adjacent areas of continental Europe. The pattern and process of this delayed British Neolithic transition remains unclear. We assembled genome-wide data from six Mesolithic and 67 Neolithic individuals found in Britain, dating from 8500-2500 BCE. Our analyses reveal persistent genetic affinities between Mesolithic British and Western European hunter-gatherers. We find overwhelming support for agriculture being introduced to Britain by incoming continental farmers, with small, geographically-structured levels of hunter-gatherer ancestry. Unlike other European Neolithic populations, we detect no resurgence of hunter-gatherer ancestry at any time during the Neolithic in Britain. Genetic affinities with Iberian Neolithic individuals indicate that British Neolithic people were mostly descended from Aegean farmers who followed the Mediterranean route of dispersal. We also infer considerable variation in pigmentation levels in Europe by ca. 6000 BCE.
ABSTRACT Here we report the recovery of a human tooth, radiocarbon dated to the Neolithic period,... more ABSTRACT Here we report the recovery of a human tooth, radiocarbon dated to the Neolithic period, from Ash Tree Shelter, near Whitwell in Derbyshire, United Kingdom. The tooth bears scratches on the labial surface of the crown. The morphology and position of these scratches suggest they were produced ante mortem (during the life of the individual) by a stone tool used to process food or other materials held between the jaws. The dating of the Ash Tree Shelter tooth to the Neolithic period adds to the corpus of later prehistoric human remains from caves in the Cadeby Formation. Its Early Neolithic age reveals it to be older than at least some of the prehistoric human remains from the adjacent site of Ash Tree Cave.
Diagnosing Homo sapiens is a critical question in the study of human evolution. Although what con... more Diagnosing Homo sapiens is a critical question in the study of human evolution. Although what constitutes living members of our own species is straightforward, in the fossil record this is still a matter of much debate. The issue is complicated by questions of species diagnoses and ideas about the mode by which a new species is born, by the arguments surrounding the behavioural and cognitive separateness of the species, by the increasing appreciation of variation in the early African H. sapiens record and by new DNA evidence of hybridization with extinct species. This study synthesizes thinking on the fossils, archaeology and underlying evolutionary models of the last several decades with recent DNA results from both H. sapiens and fossil species. It is concluded that, although it may not be possible or even desirable to cleanly partition out a homogenous morphological description of recent H. sapiens in the fossil record, there are key, distinguishing morphological traits in the cranium, dentition and pelvis that can be usefully employed to diagnose the H. sapiens lineage. Increasing advances in retrieving and understanding relevant genetic data provide a complementary and perhaps potentially even more fruitful means of characterizing the differences between H. sapiens and its close relatives.
Perforated marine gastropod shells at the western Asian site of Skhul and the North African site ... more Perforated marine gastropod shells at the western Asian site of Skhul and the North African site of Oued Djebbana indicate the early use of beads by modern humans in these regions. The remoteness of these sites from the seashore and a comparison of the shells to natural shell assemblages indicate deliberate selection and transport by humans for symbolic use. Elemental and chemical analyses of sediment matrix adhered to one Nassarius gibbosulus from Skhul indicate that the shell bead comes from a layer containing 10 human fossils and dating to 100,000 to 135,000 years ago, about 25,000 years earlier than previous evidence for personal decoration by modern humans in South Africa.
In order to resolve long-standing issues surrounding the age of the Skhul early modern humans, ne... more In order to resolve long-standing issues surrounding the age of the Skhul early modern humans, new analyses have been conducted, including the dating of four well-provenanced fossils by ESR and U-series. If the Skhul burials took place within a relatively short time span, then the best age estimate lies between 100 and 135 ka. This result agrees very well with TL ages obtained from burnt flint of 119G18 ka (Mercier et al., 1993). However, we cannot exclude the possibility that the material associated with the Skhul IX burial is older than those of Skhul II and Skhul V. These and other recent age estimates suggest that the three burial sites, Skhul, Qafzeh and Tabun are broadly contemporaneous, falling within the time range of 100 to 130 ka. The presence of early representatives of both early modern humans and Neanderthals in the Levant during Marine Isotope Stage 5 inevitably complicates attempts at segregating these populations by date or archaeological association. Nevertheless, it does appear that the oldest known symbolic burials are those of early modern humans at Skhul and Qafzeh. This supports the view that, despite the associated Middle Palaeolithic technology, elements of modern human behaviour were represented at Skhul and Qafzeh prior to 100 ka.
The Singa (Sudan) calvaria has been interpreted previously as a terminal Pleistocene modern human... more The Singa (Sudan) calvaria has been interpreted previously as a terminal Pleistocene modern human fossil, perhaps related to the Bushman of Southern Africa. Here we report new mass-spectrometric U-Th dates for the calcrete deposit enclosing the fossil teeth and the calvaria itself and new electron spin resonance (ESR) dates for associated dental materials. The new data constrain the age of the hominid to at least 133 2 ka. Together with the preferred linear uptake (LU) ESR dates, the U-Th data confirm that the intriguing mixture of modern and archaic characteristics in the Singa specimen date from isotope stage 6. Far from being a modern human fossil, it represents a rare example of an archaic African population which may have been ancestral to all modern Homo sapiens.
Recent humans and their fossil relatives are classified as having thick molar enamel, one of very... more Recent humans and their fossil relatives are classified as having thick molar enamel, one of very few dental traits that distinguish hominins from living African apes. However, little is known about enamel thickness in the earliest members of the genus Homo, and recent studies of later Homo report considerable intra- and inter-specific variation. In order to assess taxonomic, geographic, and temporal trends in enamel thickness, we applied micro-computed tomographic imaging to 150 fossil Homo teeth spanning two million years. Early Homo postcanine teeth from Africa and Asia show highly variable average and relative enamel thickness (AET and RET) values. Three molars from South Africa exceed Homo AET and RET ranges, resembling the hyper thick Paranthropus condition. Most later Homo groups (archaic European and north African Homo, and fossil and recent Homo sapiens) possess absolutely and relatively thick enamel across the entire dentition. In contrast, Neanderthals show relatively thi...
Five sediment samples were analysed for mineralogy and chemical composition. Sample L15134 is a f... more Five sediment samples were analysed for mineralogy and chemical composition. Sample L15134 is a fragment of dark breccia from Skhul upper layer A, L15135 a light brown breccia from underlying layer B1, L15136 a grey breccia from lower layer B2, L15137 a breccia adherent to a Levantina spiriplana caesareana land snail labelled as coming from the "Mousterian breccia" (layer B) and L15138 corresponds to the sediment matrix adherent to one of the two perforated N. gibbosulus ). Samples were analysed by three methods i) morphology and composition examined using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) coupled with an Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) detector (Jeol 5900LVProbe), ii) mineralogy determined by X-Ray Diffraction and iii) bulk chemistry determined by Inductively-Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer (ICP-AES) and Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). For chemical analysis the sediment were crushed to a fine powder in an agate swing mill grinder, after first being broken into small pieces with a fly-press. A small piece of sediment from the pierced shell was split off and crushed in an agate pestle mortar. Two dissolution methods were used to produce the sample solutions i) hydrofluoric acid dissolution (HF) and ii) lithium metaborate fusion. Where sample size permitted, repeats were prepared for each of the samples, to give an estimate of sample heterogeneity. For the former dissolution method 100mg of sample was weighed into a platinum crucible and digested on a sand-bath with 4ml HF, 2ml HClO 4 and 2ml HNO 3 and taken to dryness. The digested material was then redissolved with 1ml HN03 and then made up to 10ml with deionised water. Along with the samples, a blank and five certified reference materials were prepared. For the latter dissolution method, 40mg of sample was weighed into a platinum/gold crucible and mixed with 120mg of lithium metaborate. The mixture was then fused on a meker burner for 20-30 minutes, then allowed to cool with the resultant glass bead being dissolved in 5% HNO 3 and made up to 100ml. Along with the samples, a blank and the reference materials were prepared. The solutions were analysed by a combination of ICP-AES and ICP-MS. The fusion samples were analysed solely by Varian Vista Pro ICP-AES for the major elements. The HF dissolutions were analysed for trace elements by both ICP-AES and by Varian ICP-MS. ANOVA was undertaken for a number of major and trace elements, and two Null Hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 significance level. The first hypothesis was that layer A and layer B were not significantly different. For every element tested, this hypothesis was rejected because the F ratio (variation between group/variation within group) was higher
Various diagnoses of the genus Homo have been proposed, including behavioral traits such as tool-... more Various diagnoses of the genus Homo have been proposed, including behavioral traits such as tool-making, carnivory, and hunting. However, tool-making and carnivory almost certainly began more than 2.6 million years ago, in prehuman phases of our evolution, while reliably distinguishing hunting from scavenging in the early archeological record is problematic. Here we concentrate on diagnosable morphological traits such as endocranial/brain size (relative and absolute), body shape, and cranial and dental features, allowing the recognition of a minimum of nine species of the genus Homo: H. habilis, H. rudolfensis, H. erectus, H. naledi, H. floresiensis, H. antecessor, H. heidelbergensis, H. neanderthalensis, and H. sapiens.
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Papers by Chris Stringer