A multivariate study of the Petralona skull

The Petralona skull from Greece has been generally accepted as an Upper Pleistocene variant of Neanderthal Man. It was included in a series of multivariate analyses performed by the author on cranial measurements of Pleistocene hominids. The results of the Mahalanobis D² analyses suggest that Petralona is cranially similar to the Neanderthals, but facially is distinct. Overall it resembles the Broken Hill and Djebel Ighoud skulls most closely but there are features of resemblance to Homo erectus material. The results of these analyses support recent suggestions that the Petralona material is of greater antiquity than the Upper Pleistocence.     

Three newHomo erectus mandibles from Java

There are now eleven manidublar pieces from the Lower and Middle Pleistocene of Java, all but one being from the Sangiran site. All of these have been assigned toHomo erectus by most workers, while others have suggested as many as four different hominoid taxa. Sangiran 21 (Mandible E), Sangiran 22 (Mandible F), and Sangiran 37 (Mandible G) are described here fully for the first time. Sangiran 21, 22, and 27 all come from the Upper Pucangan Formation and date approximately 1.2 Myr. The new mandibles are morphologically compatible with theH. erectus, crania from Java.     

Existe-t-il un Paléolithique inférieur au Japon ?

All Lower Paleolithic sites discovered by Mr. Shinïchi FUJIMURA from 1981 to 2000 were falsified by himself. We wonder if Lower Paleolithic sites really exist (corresponding to a period of 30,000 years ago in Japan) in the archipelago of Japan. We examined cultures of sites likely dating to the Early Upper Paleolithic and Lower Paleolithic discovered in the archipelago of Japan. While Japan was continuous with the continent in the Mindel glaciation (400,000 years ago) or in the Riss glaciation (200,000 years ago), Homo erectus or Homo heidelbergensis with the lithic industry of the Acheulean arrived in the archipelago of Japan. Thereafter, they survived on the islands of Japan cut the continent to the Upper Paleolithic while keeping the industry.     

Homo erectus—who,when and where: A survey

The state of information bearing on Homo erectus as developed since about 1960 is surveyed, with the resulting effects on problems. Definitions of H. erectus still rest on the Far Eastern samples (Chou-k'ou-tien/Java), and thus relate to late Lower to middle Middle Pleistocene material. Numerous important individual finds, however, have expanded the total: extension of the early and very early Sangiran material; very early to later in Africa, and relatively late in Europe. Datings remain uncertain or controversial within broad limits, but with some important successes and revisions. Discussion by authors of problems concerns degree of divergence among H. erectus populations and rate of evolutionary change; both appear relatively slight, but the data are inadequate for much present judgment. The apparent zone of transition to more advanced morphology (H. sapiens, sensu lato) by the late Middle Pleistocene better reflects signs of regional divergence. Some writers—not all—believe that even the earliest European fossils known (e.g., Petralona) had already advanced to a H. sapiens basic level, with later change in the direction of Neanderthals. A separate African phylum, from OH 9, is also suggested; recent Chinese finds may provide a third different post-erectus population before the Upper Pleistocene. Taxonomic expression of all this gives some problems.     

Reconstruction of Late Pleistocene palaeoecology of the Upper Narmada valley (Central India) using fossil communities

Pleistocene deposits of Narmada valley are exposed in the Jabalpur and Narshingpur districts of Central India and have yielded microvertebrates (rodents, lizards and fish) as well as invertebrates (gastropods and pelecypods). The Late Pleistocene fossil-bearing horizons are from two fossil localities, Bhedaghat and Devakachar. Earlier report of Homo erectus from the valley strengthens palaeoecological interpretations. Here, we combine our study of microfossils with the earlier work on large mammals in our tentative reconstruction of palaeoecology of the area. The most common microfossil communities belong to stream, pond–pond bank, wooded grassland and arid to semi-arid habitats.     

Conclusion. Bilan des recherches interdisciplinaires effectuées sur le site de l’Homo erectus de Denizli,Kocabaş, Bassin de Denizli,Anatolie, Turquie. L’Homo erectus aux portes de l’Europe

The study of the site of Kocaba?, which yielded an archaic Homo erectus skullcap, was undertaken in 2011 and 2012, at the request of Professor Mehmet Cihat Alçiçek. This interdisciplinary French–Turkish research programme comprised the geochronological, magnetostratigraphic, biochronological and paleoenvironmental study of the site and the paleoanthropological study of the skullcap itself. The association of large mammals enabled us to attribute the travertine formations bearing the skullcap to the second part of the Upper Pleistocene, and more specifically to between 1.5 and 1.2 million years, because of the disappearance or appearance of certain species. This biochronological age is confirmed by the paleomagnetism study, which places the travertines bearing the skullcap in a period of reversed polarity, underlying a normal polarity formation, which could be attributed to the Cobb Mountain paleomagnetic excursion, dated to 1,194,000 years. The dating of these fauna by the ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be cosmogenic nuclide method by Anne-Elisabeth Lebatard yielded an age older than 1.22 Ma and more recent than 1.5 Ma. The Hominid skullcap from this formation can be attributed to a Homo erectus, slightly more evolved than those of Homo ergaster KNM-ER 3733 (1.78 Ma) and KNM-ER 15,000 (1.5 Ma), similar to that of Daka (Bouri), which is about a million years old and older than the Bodo fossil (estimated at 600,000 years) and Kabwe (between 300,000 and120,000 years). The archaic Homo erectus skullcap from Kocaba?, referred to as Denizli Man, proves that Homo erectus was already present in Anatolia, at the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe, a little more than 1.2 million years ago.     

Les restes humains du Pliocène final et du début du Pléistocène inférieur de Dmanissi, Géorgie (1991-2000). I - Les crânes, D 2280, D 2282, D 2700

Since 1991, several human remains: 5 skulls, 4 mandibles and numerous postcranial fragments have been discovered on the Dmanissi prehistoric open site. It is an exceptional discovery due to the stratigraphical, paleontological and cultural context, which is well known and accurately well dated (Upper Pliocene-Early Pleistocene). Most of the hominids discovered in the level V and VI are dated between 1.81 My (level V) and 1.77 My (level VI) corresponding to a 40,000 years period. The assemblage of fossil human remains is peculiar due to (1) the quality of bone representation (distinct parts of the skeleton are preserved: skull, thorax, upper and lower limbs, belt), (2) the high degree of bone preservation (skulls and long bones are entire, rarely broken or crushed), (3) the diversity age at death estimated for each of the 5 individuals (3 adults, 1 young adult, 1 adolescent of both sexes). The study dealing with the first discovered mandibles and skulls has begun with Leo Gabounia since 1991 and represents several interests: 1) a paleoanthropological interest: the Dmanissi skulls are characterized by their small size; they are short, narrow and low. The skullcaps are less elevated than those of the Homo erectus group and even those of Homo ergaster. They are more elevated than those of Homo habilis and very close to Homo rudolfensis. The elevation and the transversal development of the middle part of the skull in the parietotemporal region are more significant: the Dmanissi specimens are intermediate between Homo habilis and Homo ergaster. In term of cranial capacity, a similar trend is observed. Generally speaking, the skull is slender. The vault is more flat than in Homo erectus, the frontal bone is less developed, divergent and the postorbital constriction is strong. The temporal bone is long, flat and the mastoid part is short. The upper part of the occipital bone is low and narrow. Crests are thin, less developed than in the Homo erectus group. The superior temporal crests are in a high position and a torus angularis is present on the adult-male specimen. The glenoid cavity is large with strong edges. The petrotympanic region is slender with a tympanic circle individualized and it shows a horizontal rotation in a posterior position, which is distinct from Homo erectus. The orthognathic trend of the face distinguishes the Dmanissi specimens from the early Pleistocene hominids (Homo habilis, Homo ergaster) and from the first Eurasian Homo erectus. Nevertheless, the subnasal region of the face is projected. The morphology of the mid-face, showing a developed pillar of the canine, an inframalar incurvation and an anterior position of the root of the zygomaticomaxillary crest, suggests strong masticatory stress. Considering the overall morphology, cranial and metrical features, the Dmanissi fossil skulls are intermediate to the Homo habilis-rudolfensis group and Homo ergaster while they are closer to the former and peculiarly to Homo rudolfensis (ER 1470). However, the Dmanissi fossil skulls are distinct from Homo rudolfensis by numerous features and among them: by their large maximum cranial width (Euryon-Euryon), the posterior rotation of their petrotympanic structure and the strong development of the pillar of their canine. Due to the gracility of their face, the narrowness of their occipital bone, and their cranial base pattern (mastoid region and petrotympanic structure), the Dmanissi fossil skulls are different from the Homo erectus group: 2) the abundance of the human fossils discovered in Dmanissi site provides information about the biodiversity of these hominids with the establishment of the morphological features related to either growth or sexual patterns: 3) compared to modern humans, the Dmanissi fossil skulls seem to follow a different growth pattern. The present study of the fossil skulls discovered is a pioneer step. Indeed, the Dmanissi site has yielded the oldest evidences of the first settlements in Eurasia, which were, until now, attributed to Homo erectus. The Dmanissi fossil skulls are close to the Homo habilis-rudolfensis African group. We attribute these hominids to Homo georgicus.     

Cranial remains of Homo erectus from Beds II and IV,Olduvai Gorge,Tanzania

Cranial remains of hominids 9 and 12 from Olduvai Gorge are described in detail. O.H. 9 consists of a heavily built braincase, partly damaged and lacking the face, while O.H. 12 is less complete. The Bed II specimen is about 1.2 million years in age and shows anatomical similarities to the cranium designated ER-3733 from Koobi Fora, east of Lake Turkana. Together these African fossils provide valuable information about Homo erectus in the later Lower Pleistocene. Comparisons of O.H. 9 with several of the Choukoutien crania are also carried out. These Chinese and other Asian remains of Homo erectus cannot be placed in a secure chronological framework, but all of the material should be studied systematically in order to assess relatedness among what must be several different populations.     

Two new“Meganthropus” mandibles from Java

There are now eleven known mandibular pieces from the Lower and Middle Pleistocene of Java, all but one being from the Sangiran site. All of these have been assigned toHomo erectus by most authorities, while others have suggested as many as four different hominoid taxa. Two of the mandibles, Sangiran 33 (Mandible H) and“Meganthropus”D (no Sangiran number yet assigned), are described here for the first time. The two new mandibles come from the Upper Pucangan Formation and date approximately 1.2–1.4 Myr. They are morphologically compatible with other“Meganthropus” mandibles described from Java. Despite attempts by numerous authorities to place all the Sangiran hominid mandibles in the species,H. erectus, the range of variation in metric and nonmetric features of the“Meganthropus” hominids is clearly beyond the know variation found inH. erectus. “Meganthropus” could represent a speciation from the well-knownH. erectus.     

The Atapuerca sites and their contribution to the knowledge of human evolution in Europe

Over the last two decades, the Pleistocene sites of the Sierra de Atapuerca (Spain) have provided two extraordinary assemblages of hominin fossils that have helped refine the evolutionary story of the genus Homo in Europe. The TD6 level of the Gran Dolina site has yielded about one hundred remains belonging to a minimum of six individuals of the species Homo antecessor. These fossils, dated to the end of the Lower Pleistocene (800 kyr), provide the earliest evidence of hominin presence in Western Europe. The origin of these hominins is unknown, but they may represent a speciation event from Homo ergaster/Homo erectus. The TD6 fossils are characterized by a significant increase in cranial capacity as well as the appearance of a “sapiens” pattern of craniofacial architecture. At the Sima de los Huesos site, more than 4,000 human fossils belonging to a minimum of 28 individuals of a Middle Pleistocene population (ca. 500–400 kyr) have been recovered. These hominins document some of the oldest evidence of the European roots of Neanderthals deep in the Middle Pleistocene. Their origin would be the dispersal out of Africa of a hominin group carrying Mode 2 technologies to Europe. Comparative study of the TD6 and Sima de la Huesos hominins suggests a replacement model for the European Lower Pleistocene population of Europe or interbreeding between this population and the new African emigrants.     

New 1.5 million-year-old Homo erectus maxilla from Sangiran (Central Java, Indonesia)

Sangiran (Solo Basin, Central Java, Indonesia) is the singular Homo erectus fossil locale for Early Pleistocene Southeast Asia. Sangiran is the source for more than 80 specimens in deposits with ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of 1.51-0.9 Ma. In April 2001, we recovered a H. erectus left maxilla fragment (preserving P³- M²) from the Sangiran site of Bapang. The find spot lies at the base of the Bapang Formation type section in cemented gravelly sands traditionally called the Grenzbank Zone. Two meters above the find spot, pumice hornblende has produced an ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 1.51 ± 0.08 Ma. With the addition of Bpg 2001.04, Sangiran now has five H. erectus maxillae. We compare the new maxilla with homologs representing Sangiran H. erectus, Zhoukoudian H. erectus, Western H. erectus (pooled African and Georgian specimens), and Homo habilis. Greatest contrast is with the Zhoukoudian maxillae, which appear to exhibit a derived pattern of premolar-molar relationships compared to Western and Sangiran H. erectus. The dental patterns suggest distinct demic origins for the earlier H. erectus populations represented at Sangiran and the later population represented at Zhoukoudian. These two east Asian populations, separated by 5000 km and nearly 800 k.yr., may have had separate origins from different African/west Eurasian populations.     

Krapina, “Classic” Neanderthals,and the evolution of the European face

Except for the front end of the dental arch, tooth size remained at approximately the same level throughout the Middle Pleistocene. The Krapina Neanderthals at the end of the last interglacial differed from Homo erectus only in having larger front teeth. From that time on, tooth size in populations at the northern edge of the area of human occupation in the Old World has reduced approximately in proportion to the time elapsed. The “Classic” Neanderthals of western Europe, in fact, have teeth that are 15% smaller than those of the earlier Krapina Neanderthals and only 5% larger than the early Upper Palaeolithic. Reduction since the early Upper Palaeolithic has proceeded another full 20%. It is suggested that the development of heated stone cooking in the Mousterian, originally for the purpose of thawing frozen food, reduced the forces of selection that had previously maintained tooth size during the Middle Pleistocene. The operation of the Probable Mutation Effect, then produced the observed reductions.     

Unique Dental Morphology of Homo floresiensis and Its Evolutionary Implications

Homo floresiensis is an extinct, diminutive hominin species discovered in the Late Pleistocene deposits of Liang Bua cave, Flores, eastern Indonesia. The nature and evolutionary origins of H. floresiensis’ unique physical characters have been intensively debated. Based on extensive comparisons using linear metric analyses, crown contour analyses, and other trait-by-trait morphological comparisons, we report here that the dental remains from multiple individuals indicate that H. floresiensis had primitive canine-premolar and advanced molar morphologies, a combination of dental traits unknown in any other hominin species. The primitive aspects are comparable to H. erectus from the Early Pleistocene, whereas some of the molar morphologies are more progressive even compared to those of modern humans. This evidence contradicts the earlier claim of an entirely modern human-like dental morphology of H. floresiensis, while at the same time does not support the hypothesis that H. floresiensis originated from a much older H. habilis or Australopithecus-like small-brained hominin species currently unknown in the Asian fossil record. These results are however consistent with the alternative hypothesis that H. floresiensis derived from an earlier Asian Homo erectus population and experienced substantial body and brain size dwarfism in an isolated insular setting. The dentition of H. floresiensis is not a simple, scaled-down version of earlier hominins.     

Pléistocène moyen et inférieur dans le Latium (Italie centrale)

Explorations and diggings of the Italian Institute of Human Palaeontology in Latium from 1950 to 2005, have brought out the following composite sequence: (1) for upper-middle Pleistocene of northern Latium: Travertine, gravels Acheulian-Mousterian transition, Riss. Homo (femur), Elephas antiquus, Hippopotamus, Bubalus murrensis, with upper Acheulian artefacts. (2) In middle Latium, middle Pleistocene: Volcanoclastic K-Ar 360 Ky. Below: Lower Acheulian complex and bone artefacts. Homo, Inuus, Elephas antiquus, Ursus deningeri, Dama clactoniana. Volcanic ash with Zelkowa, Buxus: caucasian flora. Hot pyroclastic flow about 15 m (50 feet) thick between 520 and 530 Ky. Limno-tuffite with Taxodiacea flora Lower-middle Pleistocene choppers artefacts below volcanic limit of 700 Ky. Southern Latium, lower Pleistocene: travertine reed Phragmites fragments. Ceprano hominid calvarium 800-900 Ky old. Gravel with chopper artefacts. Red sand with Unio shells. Lower palaeolithic gravelly sand, with very rough choppers artefacts, at Arce, Colle Marino, Colle Pece localities; at Castro dei Volsci chopper, assemblage is more evolved. Unconformity. Yellow sand layer with middle Villafranchian Anancus arvernensis and Mammuthus meridionalis fauna.     

Reconstructing cranial evolution in an extinct hominin

Homo erectus is the first hominin species with a truly cosmopolitan distribution and resembles recent humans in its broad spatial distribution. The microevolutionary events associated with dispersal and local adaptation may have produced similar population structure in both species. Understanding the evolutionary population dynamics of H. erectus has larger implications for the emergence of later Homo lineages in the Middle Pleistocene. Quantitative genetics models provide a means of interrogating aspects of long-standing H. erectus population history narratives. For the current study, cranial fossils were sorted into six major palaeodemes from sites across Africa and Asia spanning 1.8–0.1 Ma. Three-dimensional shape data from the occipital and frontal bones were used to compare intraspecific variation and test evolutionary hypotheses. Results indicate that H. erectus had higher individual and group variation than Homo sapiens, probably reflecting different levels of genetic diversity and population history in these spatially disperse species. This study also revealed distinct evolutionary histories for frontal and occipital bone shape in H. erectus, with a larger role for natural selection in the former. One scenario consistent with these findings is climate-driven facial adaptation in H. erectus, which is reflected in the frontal bone through integration with the orbits.     

Homo erectus from the Yunxian and Nankin Chinese sites: Anthropological insights using 3D virtual imaging techniques

Recent applications of 3D virtual imaging techniques in human palaeontology have increased the possibilities and the accuracy of anthropological analysis. Two examples are given for the reconsideration of fossils discovered more than 20 years ago, thanks to this new technology. The Lower and Middle Pleistocene skulls from Yunxian and Nankin in China, which were damaged in the process of fossilization, have been virtually reconstructed. A detailed reinvestigation has been conducted by considering those reconstructed skulls and their unpublished characters (i.e., inner anatomical features inaccessible until now). The results of this analysis provide new information about the early hominids of China and contribute to the discussion of variability in Homo erectus.     

Nacurrie 1: Mark of ancient Java, or a caring mother’s hands, in terminal Pleistocene Australia?

There has been a protracted debate over the evidence for intentional cranial modification in the terminal Pleistocene Australian crania from Kow Swamp and Coobool Creek. Resolution of this debate is crucial to interpretations of the significance of morphological variation within terminal Pleistocene-early Holocene Australian skeletal materials and claims of a regional evolutionary sequence linking Javan Homo erectus and Australian Homo sapiens. However, morphological comparisons of terminal Pleistocene and recent Australian crania are complicated by the significantly greater average body mass in the former. Raw and size-adjusted metric comparisons of the terminal Pleistocene skeleton from Nacurrie, south-eastern Australia, with modified and unmodified H. sapiens and H. erectus, identified a suite of traits in the frontal, parietal, and occipital bones associated with intentional modification of a neonate’s skull. These traits are also present in some of the crania from Kow Swamp and Coobool Creek, which are in close geographic proximity to Nacurrie, but not in unmodified H. sapiens or Javan H. erectus. Frontal bone morphology in H. erectus was distinct from all of the Australian H. sapiens samples. During the first six months of life, Nacurrie’s vault may have been shaped by his mother’s hands, rather than though the application of fixed bandages. Whether this behaviour persisted only for several generations, or hundreds of years, remains unknown. The reasons behind the shaping of Nacurrie’s head, aesthetics or otherwise, and why this cultural practice was adopted and subsequently discontinued, will always remain a matter of speculation.     

Way out of Africa: Early Pleistocene paleoenvironments inhabited by Homo erectus in Sangiran, Java

A sequence of paleosols in the Solo Basin, Central Java, Indonesia, documents the local and regional environments present when Homo erectus spread through Southeast Asia during the early Pleistocene. The earliest human immigrants encountered a low-relief lake-margin landscape dominated by moist grasslands with open woodlands in the driest landscape positions. By 1.5 Ma, large streams filled the lake and the landscape became more riverine in nature, with riparian forests, savanna, and open woodland. Paleosol morphology and carbon isotope values of soil organic matter and pedogenic carbonates indicate a long-term shift toward regional drying or increased duration of the annual dry season through the early Pleistocene. This suggests that an annual dry season associated with monsoon conditions was an important aspect of the paleoclimate in which early humans spread from Africa to Southeast Asia.