Endocranial capacity of the bodo cranium determined from three-dimensional computed tomography

The 600,000-year-old cranium from Bodo, Ethiopia, is the oldest and most complete early Middle Pleistocene hominid skull from Africa. "Virtual endocast" models created by three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) techniques indicate an endocranial capacity of about 1,250 cc for this cranium (with a reasonable range between approximately 1,200-1,325 cc, depending on how missing portions of the basicranial region are reconstructed). From these determinations, several important implications emerge concerning current interpretations of "tempo and mode" in early hominid brain evolution: 1) already by the early Middle Pleistocene, at least one African hominid species, Homo heidelbergensis, had reached an endocranial capacity within the normal range of modern humans; 2) in spite of its large endocranial capacity, estimates of Bodo's encephalization quotient fall below those found in a large sample of Homo sapiens (both fossil and recent) and Neandertals; and 3) the greatest burst of brain expansion in the Homo lineage may not have been in the last several hundred thousand years, but rather much earlier in the Lower to early Middle Pleistocene.     

Middle Pleistocene human cranium from Tangshan (Nanjing), Southeast China: a new reconstruction and comparisons with Homo erectus from Eurasia and Africa

The morphology and affinities of early and middle Pleistocene Homo erectus in East Asia have been explored since the late nineteenth century. A fragmentary hominid cranium (Nanjing no.1) recovered in Tangshan near Nanjing, China bears directly on these issues. In the present study, the morphological features of Nanjing no.1 are described and compared with Homo erectus from both Eurasia and Africa. Our results indicate that this middle Pleistocene hominid fossil should be referred to as Homo erectus. The sharing of typical Homo erectus features with African and European counterparts demonstrates that Homo erectus is a widely distributed lineage that evolved during the million years after its Pliocene origins. The differences between Nanjing no.1 and Zhoukoudian suggest certain level of regional variation in East Asian Homo erectus.     

Neanderthal Skeletal Structure and the Place of Homo neanderthalensis in European Hominid Phylogeny

Although the debate rages on over whether the Neanderthals merit their own species status or should be viewed as an odd variant of Homo sapiens, recent evidence has accumulated that overwhelmingly supports the former interpretation. Among this evidence is a recent full-body skeletal reconstruction that not only highlights the extreme differences between the highly apomorphic H. sapiens and H. neanderthalensis in the construction of the thorax and pelvic girdle, but strongly suggests significant gait differences between the two species that add to the probability that the two kinds of hominid would not have recognized each other as breeding partners. This is hardly surprising since the two species possessed a relatively remote common ancestry, and it is indeed suggested here that Homo neanderthalensis was merely one species embedded within a diverse and endemic middle Pleistocene European hominid radiation. Clearly more than one lineage of hominids simultaneously occupied Europe during the middle Pleistocene.     

Androgens in human evolution. A new explanation of human evolution.

Human evolution consists of chronological changes in gene regulation of a continuous and relatively stable genome, activated by hormones, the production of which is intermittently affected by endogenous and exogenous forces. Periodic variations in the gonadal androgen, testosterone, and the adrenal androgen, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), significantly participated in all hominid transformations. The hominid characteristics of early Australopithecines are primarily a result of increased testosterone. The first significant cold of the early Pleistocene resulted in an increase in DHEA that simultaneously produced Homo and the robust Australopithecines. Subsequent Pleistocene climatic changes and differential reproduction produced changes in DHEA and testosterone ratios that caused extinction of the robust Australopithecines and further changes and continuation of Homo. Changes in testosterone and DHEA produce allometric and behavioral changes that are identifiable and vigorous in modern populations.     

Recent human evolution in East Asia and Australasia.

In both East Asia and Australasia arguments for evolutionary continuity between middle-late Pleistocene hominid populations and modern Homo sapiens are of long standing. In both regions, however, problems of chronological distribution, dating and preservation of hominid skeletal materials provide an effective barrier to extending regional sequences back to 'archaic' Homo sapiens or Homo erectus. The earliest securely dated modern Homo sapiens in East Asia are currently represented by Zhoukoudian Upper Cave at a minimum of 29 ka BP. In Australia skeletal remains of modern Homo sapiens have been dated to 26 ka BP, with archaeological materials at 38 to 50 ka BP. Late Pleistocene human skeletons from sites like Coobool Creek are morphologically and metrically outside the range of recent Australian Aboriginal populations. Similarly Liujiang and the Upper Cave crania can be distinguished from recent East Asian 'Mongoloids'. Evolutionary change within the Holocene needs to be taken into consideration when the evidence for regional evolutionary continuity is considered.     

江苏镇江莲花洞动物化石铀系年代

莲花洞位于镇江市南约 6ｋｍ的白龙岗山北坡 (原在丹徒县境内 ) ,地理座标 119°2 4′Ｅ ,32°10′Ｎ。白龙山为宁镇山脉东支 ,走向近东西 ,顶峰海拔 118ｍ。溶洞发育于三迭纪青龙组灰岩 ,洞口标高约 35ｍ。 1981年 ,南京博物院等单位[1 ] 对该地点进行发掘 ,获哺乳动物化石16种 ,其中人牙化石 1枚。洞内堆积自下而上被分为 4层 ,其中第 2层为棕红色亚粘土 ,含石灰岩碎块、铁锰质结核和大量动物化石。发掘者根据动物化石中有 3个绝灭种 ,将该地点定在“晚更新世或晚更新世早期” ,人牙化石被认为属于智人。韩德芬等[2 ] 认为莲花洞在我国晚…     

Hominid cranial remains from upper Pleistocene deposits at Aduma, Middle Awash, Ethiopia

The Upper Pleistocene localities of Aduma and Bouri have yielded hominid fossils and extensive Middle Stone Age (MSA) archaeological assemblages. The vertebrate fossils recovered include parts of four hominid crania from Aduma and a complete right parietal from Bouri. Archaeological associations and radiometric techniques suggest an Upper Pleistocene age for these hominids. The more complete cranium from Aduma (ADU-VP-1/3) comprises most of the parietals, the occipital, and part of the frontal. This cranium is compared to late Middle and Upper Pleistocene hominid crania from Africa and the Middle East. The Aduma cranium shows a mosaic of cranial features shared with "premodern" and anatomically modern Homo sapiens. However, the posterior and lateral cranial dimensions, and most of its anatomy, are centered among modern humans and resemble specimens from Omo, Skhul, and Qafzeh. As a result, the Aduma and Bouri Upper Pleistocene hominids are assigned to anatomically modern Homo sapiens.     

L'hominidé du Pléistocène supérieur en Corée

Since the middle of 1970s, one rock-shelter, six caves and one open archaeological site have yielded several hominid fossils. Among them, fossils from Yonggok, Mandal, Sangsi and Hungsu cave sites are useful to reconstruct the general shape of the Upper Pleistocene Hominids in Korea. The main study of this paper is to focus on the reconstruction of the general shape of the upper Pleistocene hominids, and to examine the cause of cranial changes from the late upper Paleolithic to Mesolithic period in Korea. Biomechanical principles are also applied to reconstruct the social activity of the upper Paleolithic man in Korea. In addition, it is assumed that main proponent of Paleolithic cultures in Korea might be Homo sapiens rather than any other species. Based on the anatomical characteristics of skull, the axillary border of the scapular and the midshaft of the femur, general appearance of Homo sapiens during the Pleistocene in Korea could be reconstructed.     

Middle pleistocene humans from africa

Patterns of human evolution in the Middle Pleistocene remain poorly understood. There is general consensus that by the onset of this time period, populations ofHomo erectus were dispersed from Africa into Eurasia, including the Far East. In the western part of this range (perhaps in Africa),Homo erectus then produced a daughter lineage exhibiting more advanced characters of the face, braincase and cranial base. How this new species should be defined is currently debated. In my view, fossils from sites such as Bodo and Broken Hill in Africa may be lumped with material from earlier Middle Pleistocene localities in Europe. Such a taxon is appropriately namedHomo heidelbergensis. Whether the hypodigm should be extended to include fossils from China is another question. In any case, this group of hominids is plausibly ancestral to both the specialized Neanderthals of Europe and more modern humans of the later Middle Pleistocene.     

Acheulean Industries of the Early and Middle Pleistocene,Middle Awash,Ethiopia

The Middle Awash region of Ethiopia contains a rich record of Acheulean occupation spanning from Early Pleistocene times through much of the Middle Pleistocene. Here we will present an overview of some of the major reported features of the Acheulean archaeological record of the Middle Awash (Clark et al., 1994; de Heinzelin et al., 2000) and compare and contrast earlier and later biface technological patterns in this important study area. As an overall pattern, later Acheulean bifaces, here tend to differ from earlier ones in the following characteristics: later biface forms tend to be smaller, more ovate, wider relative to length, thinner (both relative to length and width and in absolute terms), more symmetrical, more heavily flaked, show greater use of soft hammer flaking and Kombewa technique, be straighter-edged or less sinuous, and often exhibit a remarkably high degree of standardization at a given site. These technological changes over perhaps half a million years (between approximately 1.0 and 0.5 million years ago) accompany the transition from Homo erectus to Homo heidelbergensis in this region. The later technological patterns thus correlate with the emergence of larger-brained, more intelligent hominids that exhibit greater technological finesse and also appear to develop and maintain stronger rules and traditions pertaining to their technological behaviors. It is likely that, relative to earlier hominids, these later hominid forms (which would evolve into early anatomically modern humans or Homo sapiens) had richer communicative abilities and cultural complexity, which we believe to be manifested in the technological finesse and standardization of their material culture.     

Brain size and encephalization in early to Mid-Pleistocene Homo

Important changes in the brain have occurred during the course of human evolution. Both absolute and relative size increases can be documented for species of Homo, culminating in the appearance of modern humans. One species that is particularly well-represented by fossil crania is Homo erectus. The mean capacity for 30 individuals is 973 cm(3). Within this group there is substantial variation, but brain size increases slightly in specimens from later time periods. Other Middle Pleistocene crania differ from those of Homo erectus. Characters of the facial skeleton, vault, and cranial base suggest that fossils from sites such as Arago Cave in France, the Sima de los Huesos in Spain, Bodo in Ethiopia, Broken Hill in Zambia, and perhaps Dali in China belong to the taxon Homo heidelbergensis. Ten of these mid-Quaternary hominins have brains averaging 1,206 cm(3) in volume, and many fall beyond the limits of size predicted for Homo erectus of equivalent age. When orbit height is used to construct an index of relative brain size, it is apparent that the (significant) increase in volume documented for the Middle Pleistocene individuals is not simply a consequence of larger body mass. Encephalization quotient values confirm this finding. These changes in absolute and relative brain size can be taken as further corroborative evidence for a speciation event, in which Homo erectus produced a daughter lineage. It is probable that Homo heidelbergensis originated in Africa or western Eurasia and then ranged widely across the Old World. Archaeological traces indicate that these populations differed in their technology and behavior from earlier hominins.     

Histomorphometric age assessment of the Boxgrove 1 tibial diaphysis

Histomorphometric analysis of a medial midshaft chip from the Middle Pleistocene (ca. 500 ka BP) hominid tibia from Boxgrove, U.K. provides a modal age-at-death estimate at the end of the fourth decade of life. This makes Boxgrove 1 one of the older known and systematically aged Middle Pleistocene hominid specimens, and it reinforces the pattern of an underrepresentation of older adults observed in Middle and Late Pleistocene archaic Homo samples.     

中更新世非洲Bodo人类头骨化石与周口店直立人的比较--中国与非洲人类头骨特征对比之三

发现于埃塞俄比亚MiddleAwash地区Bodo地点距今60万年的人类头骨化石是迄今发现的最为古老和完整的非洲中更新世人类化石。由于Bodo头骨化石在形态特征上兼有直立人与智人的特点,多年来学术界对其分类地位一直存在争议。Rightmire认为Bodo头骨化石与BrokenHill及Petralona等在分类上属于古老型智人的中更新世人类更为接近,是非洲直立人向古老型智人过渡的代表。至少在距今60万年的中更新世早期直立人向古老型智人转变的成种事件在非洲就已经发生。以Bodo头骨为代表的一批更新世中期非洲和欧洲人类化石构成了可能是后期人类祖先的人属海德堡种。这些观点导致了近年学术界对古老型智人在非洲及欧亚出现时间以及更新世中期非洲和欧亚地区古人类相互之间演化关系的关注。基于这样的背景,本文对年代与Bodo化石接近的周口店直立人头骨特征与Bodo头骨的相似及差异表现情况进行了对比研究。结果发现Bodo头骨在一系列特征上与周口店直立人相似,同时在包括颅容量在内的其它一些特征上呈现出后期智人的特点,但总体形态上似乎与直立人更为相似。作者认为尽管这种进化上的镶嵌现象在中国古人类化石记录上也广泛存在,但由于中国人类化石标本在年代上的不确定性,目前还没有可靠的证据说明这种集直立人与智人化石特征为一体的镶嵌性在中国古人类化石出现的时间接近或早于非洲。考虑到中国与非洲直立人生存年代的巨大差异及人类演化的不同步或地区间差异,具有较多后期人类特征表现的人类首先出现在非洲是完全可能的。根据这些研究对比,作者就人类演化的镶嵌现象、更新世中期非洲与亚洲地区人类演化上的差异等问题进行了讨论。     

An archaic character in the Broken Hill innominate E. 719

The additional hominid material from Broken Hill, Kabwe, Zambia, is only dubiously associated with the hominid cranium from the site and is often considered to be anatomically modern in morphology. This study identifies an archaic feature, previously recognised in Pliocene and earlier Pleistocene innominates, in the Broken Hill innominate E. 719. An acetabulo-cristal buttress of cortical bone 10 mm thick is present, and this can be clearly distinguished from the morphology present in a comparative sample of large recent Homo sapiens innominates. This observation increases the likelihood that some of the additional specimens from Broken Hill are indeed of comparable antiquity to the hominid cranium and extends the range of hominids in which the feature has been recognised.     

Human taxonomic diversity in the pleistocene: Does Homo erectus represent multiple hominid species?

Recently, nomina such as “Homo heidelbergensis” and “H. ergaster” have been resurrected to refer to fossil hominids that are perceived to be specifically distinct from Homo sapiens and Homo erectus. This results in a later human fossil record that is nearly as speciose as that documenting the earlier history of the family Hominidae. However, it is agreed that there remains only one extant hominid species: H. sapiens. Has human taxonomic diversity been significantly pruned over the last few hundred millennia, or have the number of taxa been seriously overestimated? To answer this question, the following null hypothesis is tested: polytypism was established relatively early and the species H. erectus can accommodate all spatio-temporal variation from ca. 1.7 to 0.5 Ma. A disproof of this hypothesis would suggest that modern human polytypism is a very recent phenomenon and that speciation throughout the course of human evolution was the norm and not the exception. Cranial variation in a taxonomically mixed sample of fossil hominids, and in a modern human sample, is analyzed with regard to the variation present in the fossils attributed to H. erectus. The data are examined using both univariate (coefficient of variation) and multivariate (determinant) analyses. Employing randomization methodology to offset the small size and non-normal distribution of the fossil samples, the CV and determinant results reveal a pattern and degree of variation in H. erectus that most closely approximates that of the single species H. sapiens. It is therefore concluded that the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

New evidence for hominid presence in the Lower Pleistocene of the Southern Levant

The site of 'Ubeidiya is located in the Jordan Valley, Israel and has been biochronologically dated to 1.5 m.y.a. It exhibits large lithic and faunal assemblages. Previous published hominid material includes a molar (UB 1701) and I(2) (UB 1700). A recent review of the faunal material from previous excavations has revealed a highly worn hominid right lateral lower incisor (UB 335). The tooth was found in situ in the Lower Pleistocene deposits of stratum I-26a, which is comprised of sand and conglomerates of flint, limestone and basalt indicative of a pebbled lakeshore environment. Taphonomic analysis of the macromammal assemblage indicates high-energy fluvial transport. Paleoecological reconstruction suggests a large woodland fauna with a small percent of open steppe species.UB 335 did not differ significantly from the Lower Pleistocene hominid and modern populations but did differ significantly from all other fossil populations. Two-tailed Student t -test and single classification Model II ANOVA of the buccolingual diameter did not distinguish between Lower Pleistocene species: Homo habilis, H. ergaster and H. cf. erectus. Thus, UB 335 can be identified as a Lower Pleistocene hominid although it cannot be securely assigned to any particular species within that time frame. The current date of the 'Ubeidiya deposits and the location of the site within the Levantine corridor suggests a tenative identification as H. ergaster.     

In the Footprints of Our Ancestors: An Overview of the Hominid Track Record

Hominid footprints are particularly appealing and evocative of the living activity of our ancestors. The most famous and oldest (Late Pliocene, ca. 3.7 Ma) hominid footprints, from Laetoli in East Africa, have been attributed, with some uncertainly, to genus Homo or Australopithecus. The African track record also yields Early Pleistocene (～1.5 Ma) tracks attributable to Homo erectus. The only well-documented Middle Pleistocene tracks (age ～325,000-385,000 yrs) are reported from Italy and presumably represent a pre-Homo sapiens species.

The oldest Late Pleistocene tracks (～117,000 yrs), from southern Africa, may represent modern humans. However, the majority of Late Pleistocene sites are European, associated with caves in Romania, Greece, France and elsewhere, where hominid track preservation is often of high quality. Dates range from ～10,000 to ～62,000 BP Cavesite mammal tracks are almost exclusively those of carnivores, thus representing a distinctive underground ecology. Late Pleistocene open air sites are reported from widely scattered locations in Africa, Turkey, Tibet, Korea, Australia and even in the New World (Chile, Argentina and Mexico).

Early to Middle Holocene sites (> ～4,000 yrs BP) mainly occupy riparian, lacustrine, estuarine and littoral settings where the ichnofaunas are dominated by ungulates and shorebirds. Among these sites from England, Nicaragua, Argentina and Mexico and the United States, a few have been described in some detail. Younger Holocene sites are frequently associated with specified cultural periods (e.g., Neolithic, Bronze Age) or specific indigenous cultures, where supplemental archeological evidence may be directly associated with the footprint evidence.

At most surficial and some subterranean hominid tracksites, mammal and/or bird tracks are quite common and of use in creating a paleoecological picture of local faunas. The global distribution of human and hominid tracks is consistent with body fossil evidence and the record of archeological, cultural artifacts. However, in a few cases tracks suggest colonization of certain regions (Tibetan Plateau and the New World) earlier than previously thought. Tracks also give clues to behavior, age and health status of the trackmakers.     

Postcrania and the specific mate recognition system

The Recognition Concept of Species is examined for its potential usefulness in discriminating speciation events in the hominid fossil record. Controversies over species-specific characteristics amongHomo erectus and archaicHomo sapiens have centred on traits of the skull, largely because this element is most commonly preserved. Modern humans have an intuitive knowledge of their own Specific Mate Recognition System (SMRS), and therefore have the opportunity to compare their own SMRS to that of fossil hominids and the extent pongids. Such comparison suggests that our own skeletal SMRS may depend less on features of the skull than on the morphology of the postcranial anatomy. We propose that these components be further examined in this regard. We tentatively conclude that examination of the Recognition Concept of Species indicates that from lateHomo erectus onwards, the same SMRS has been shared in common by all hominids, including modernHomo sapiens. This suggests that, following the SMRS criterion, none of these forms can be categorized as separate species.     

The revolution that wasn't: a new interpretation of the origin of modern human behavior

Proponents of the model known as the "human revolution" claim that modern human behaviors arose suddenly, and nearly simultaneously, throughout the Old World ca. 40-50 ka. This fundamental behavioral shift is purported to signal a cognitive advance, a possible reorganization of the brain, and the origin of language. Because the earliest modern human fossils, Homo sapiens sensu stricto, are found in Africa and the adjacent region of the Levant at >100 ka, the "human revolution" model creates a time lag between the appearance of anatomical modernity and perceived behavioral modernity, and creates the impression that the earliest modern Africans were behaviorally primitive. This view of events stems from a profound Eurocentric bias and a failure to appreciate the depth and breadth of the African archaeological record. In fact, many of the components of the "human revolution" claimed to appear at 40-50 ka are found in the African Middle Stone Age tens of thousands of years earlier. These features include blade and microlithic technology, bone tools, increased geographic range, specialized hunting, the use of aquatic resources, long distance trade, systematic processing and use of pigment, and art and decoration. These items do not occur suddenly together as predicted by the "human revolution" model, but at sites that are widely separated in space and time. This suggests a gradual assembling of the package of modern human behaviors in Africa, and its later export to other regions of the Old World. The African Middle and early Late Pleistocene hominid fossil record is fairly continuous and in it can be recognized a number of probably distinct species that provide plausible ancestors for H. sapiens. The appearance of Middle Stone Age technology and the first signs of modern behavior coincide with the appearance of fossils that have been attributed to H. helmei, suggesting the behavior of H. helmei is distinct from that of earlier hominid species and quite similar to that of modern people. If on anatomical and behavioral grounds H. helmei is sunk into H. sapiens, the origin of our species is linked with the appearance of Middle Stone Age technology at 250-300 ka.     

Paleomagnetic dates of hominid remains from Yuanmou,China, and other Asian sites

Two hominid upper central incisors found in the Yuanmou Basin in southwest China in 1965 have affinities with Homo erectus fossils from Zhoukoudian, but exhibit primitive features. The Yuanmou hominid remains are alleged to be coeval with or older than African specimens dated at about 1.8 m.y.a. Recent age refinements of geomagnetic short reversal events and excursions permit assigning the Yuanmou hominid-bearing bed to the early Brunhes chron (about 0.7 m.y.a.). Magnetochronological assessments confirm that the Lantian calotte which has been dated to about 1.2 m.y.a., is the oldest reliable evidence for the emergence of Homo in eastern Asia as well as China, and that hominid fossils from Sangiran and Mojokerto, Java, do not exceed 1.1 Ma in age. These results refute the view that the genus Homo migrated into eastern Asia in the late Pliocene or the earliest Pleistocene.