Relevance of aquatic environments for hominins: a case study from Trinil (Java, Indonesia) |
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Authors: | JCA Joordens FP Wesselingh J de Vos HB Vonhof D Kroon |
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Institution: | aInstitute of Earth Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1056, 1051 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands;bNaturalis National Museum of Natural History , P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands;cSchool of Geosciences, The University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK |
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Abstract: | Knowledge about dietary niche is key to understanding hominin evolution, since diet influences body proportions, brain size, cognition, and habitat preference. In this study we provide ecological context for the current debate on modernity (or not) of aquatic resource exploitation by hominins. We use the Homo erectus site of Trinil as a case study to investigate how research questions on possible dietary relevance of aquatic environments can be addressed. Faunal and geochemical analysis of aquatic fossils from Trinil Hauptknochenschicht (HK) fauna demonstrate that Trinil at ∼1.5 Ma contained near-coastal rivers, lakes, swamp forests, lagoons, and marshes with minor marine influence, laterally grading into grasslands. Trinil HK environments yielded at least eleven edible mollusc species and four edible fish species that could be procured with no or minimal technology. We demonstrate that, from an ecological point of view, the default assumption should be that omnivorous hominins in coastal habitats with catchable aquatic fauna could have consumed aquatic resources. The hypothesis of aquatic exploitation can be tested with taphonomic analysis of aquatic fossils associated with hominin fossils. We show that midden-like characteristics of large bivalve shell assemblages containing Pseudodon and Elongaria from Trinil HK indicate deliberate collection by a selective agent, possibly hominin. |
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Keywords: | Hominin evolution Strontium isotopes Freshwater wetland Marine influence Stingray Fish Molluscs Homo erectus Resources |
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