Pub Date : 2025-09-12DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103750
Arthur H. Dewolf , Francesco Lacquaniti
{"title":"Revealing neuromuscular similarities between baboons and humans: A commentary on Druelle et al. (2024)","authors":"Arthur H. Dewolf , Francesco Lacquaniti","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103750","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103750","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 103750"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145050754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-12DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103747
Pierre-Jean Dodat , Danaé Guiserix , Klervia Jaouen , Lourdes Montes , Pilar Utrilla , Vanessa Villalba-Mouco , Bruno Maureille , Vincent Balter
Neandertals are known to have occupied Eurasia for over 250,000 years and were well adapted to the environmental conditions of the last ice ages. However, the dietary habits of these ancient humans remain debated, with conflicting evidence suggesting that they may have been primarily carnivorous, omnivorous, or even herbivorous. Traditional isotope analyses have provided some insights into Neandertal diets, but their limitations (preservation and baseline effect) have sparked the need for new approaches. These limitations are well known on the Iberian Peninsula, and while recent results of carbon, oxygen, radiogenic strontium, and zinc isotopes and trace element ratios allow the reconstruction of the Gabasa (Spain) Neandertal diet, some questions still remain unanswered. Our study explores the potential of using calcium and stable strontium isotopes (δ44Ca and δ88Sr, respectively) to supplement previous analyses performed on the Gabasa Neandertal. Based on the low δ44Ca and δ88Sr values observed for the Neandertal specimen, our results suggest a hypercarnivorous diet that included low but non-negligible quantities of bone, although it is not possible to rule out the possible impact of milk consumption. Overall, our work argues that Ca, Sr, and Zn stable isotopes can supplement conventional isotope studies and offer a more comprehensive picture of human diets, including that of Neandertals.
{"title":"Enhancing the reconstruction of the Gabasa Neandertal's diet using Ca and Sr stable isotopes","authors":"Pierre-Jean Dodat , Danaé Guiserix , Klervia Jaouen , Lourdes Montes , Pilar Utrilla , Vanessa Villalba-Mouco , Bruno Maureille , Vincent Balter","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103747","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103747","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Neandertals are known to have occupied Eurasia for over 250,000 years and were well adapted to the environmental conditions of the last ice ages. However, the dietary habits of these ancient humans remain debated, with conflicting evidence suggesting that they may have been primarily carnivorous, omnivorous, or even herbivorous. Traditional isotope analyses have provided some insights into Neandertal diets, but their limitations (preservation and baseline effect) have sparked the need for new approaches. These limitations are well known on the Iberian Peninsula, and while recent results of carbon, oxygen, radiogenic strontium, and zinc isotopes and trace element ratios allow the reconstruction of the Gabasa (Spain) Neandertal diet, some questions still remain unanswered. Our study explores the potential of using calcium and stable strontium isotopes (δ<sup>44</sup>Ca and δ<sup>88</sup>Sr, respectively) to supplement previous analyses performed on the Gabasa Neandertal. Based on the low δ<sup>44</sup>Ca and δ<sup>88</sup>Sr values observed for the Neandertal specimen, our results suggest a hypercarnivorous diet that included low but non-negligible quantities of bone, although it is not possible to rule out the possible impact of milk consumption. Overall, our work argues that Ca, Sr, and Zn stable isotopes can supplement conventional isotope studies and offer a more comprehensive picture of human diets, including that of Neandertals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 103747"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145046189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-11DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103748
Gen Suwa , Shigehiro Katoh , Masayuki Hyodo , Giday WoldeGabriel , William K. Hart , Anne Delagnes , Berhane Asfaw , Yonas Beyene
The timing of Homo erectus and Acheulean emergence in the Early Pleistocene is important to the understanding of the evolution of the genus Homo but is currently insufficiently resolved. Relevant chronologies are often based on a combination of radioisotopic dates and other age indicators such as magnetostratigraphy and biochronology. Here, we report a newly recognized normal magnetozone at ∼1.6 Ma in the Konso Formation, southern Main Ethiopian Rift, Ethiopia. This magnetozone occurs at one of the Konso Fm localities, KGA19, that spans the >1.75- to <1.45-Ma time period otherwise ill-represented in the Formation. We describe the lithostratigraphy and tephrostratigraphy of the KGA19 sedimentary sequence and demonstrate that the Konso Fm Kayle Tuff-1 and the KGA19 Bench Tuff are correlative to the Turkana Basin Orange and Morutot tuffs, respectively. Paleomagnetic analyses of the western sector of KGA19 revealed a normal polarity interval at ∼1.6 Ma, with its age based on 40Ar/39Ar dates and tephrostratigraphic correlations. This suggests that the KGA19 normal magnetozone represents the Gilsá excursion otherwise documented in limited marine cores, Chinese Loess sequences, and few lava flows. A review of these records and sediment accumulation rates of fossil-bearing sequences of eastern Africa suggests that short events such as the Gilsá excursion would be detected if sampling resolution is sufficiently high relative to sedimentation rates. In light of these findings and considerations, evaluation of the Melka Kunture magnetostratigraphy suggests that the age of the Garba IV H. erectus and Acheulean is ∼1.6 Ma, not >1.95 to ∼2 Ma.
直立人和阿舍利人在更新世早期出现的时间对理解人属的进化很重要，但目前还没有充分解决。相关的年代学通常基于放射性同位素年代和其他年龄指标（如磁地层学和生物年代学）的结合。在这里，我们报告了埃塞俄比亚主裂谷南部Konso组在~ 1.6 Ma处新发现的正常磁带。这个磁带出现在Konso Fm的一个位置KGA19，它跨越了1.75- 1.45 ma的时间段，否则在该组中就没有表现出来。通过对KGA19沉积层序岩石地层学和地层地层学的描述，证明了Konso Fm Kayle Tuff-1和KGA19 Bench Tuff分别与图尔卡纳盆地Orange和Morutot凝灰岩具有相关性。古地磁分析表明，KGA19西段具有~ 1.6 Ma的正常极性区间，其年龄基于40Ar/39Ar年代学和地层对比。这表明，KGA19正磁带代表了在有限的海相岩心、中国黄土层序和少量熔岩流中记录的gils偏移。对这些记录和东非含化石序列沉积物积累速率的回顾表明，如果采样分辨率相对于沉积速率足够高，就可以检测到诸如吉尔斯偏移这样的短期事件。根据这些发现和考虑，对Melka Kunture磁地层的评价表明，Garba IV H. erectus和Acheulean的年龄为~ 1.6 Ma，而不是1.95 ~ ~ 2 Ma。
{"title":"A normal magnetostratigraphic polarity interval in the Main Ethiopian Rift at 1.6 Ma: Implications for Acheulean and Homo erectus chronology","authors":"Gen Suwa , Shigehiro Katoh , Masayuki Hyodo , Giday WoldeGabriel , William K. Hart , Anne Delagnes , Berhane Asfaw , Yonas Beyene","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103748","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103748","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The timing of <em>Homo erectus</em> and Acheulean emergence in the Early Pleistocene is important to the understanding of the evolution of the genus <em>Homo</em> but is currently insufficiently resolved. Relevant chronologies are often based on a combination of radioisotopic dates and other age indicators such as magnetostratigraphy and biochronology. Here, we report a newly recognized normal magnetozone at ∼1.6 Ma in the Konso Formation, southern Main Ethiopian Rift, Ethiopia. This magnetozone occurs at one of the Konso Fm localities, KGA19, that spans the >1.75- to <1.45-Ma time period otherwise ill-represented in the Formation. We describe the lithostratigraphy and tephrostratigraphy of the KGA19 sedimentary sequence and demonstrate that the Konso Fm Kayle Tuff-1 and the KGA19 Bench Tuff are correlative to the Turkana Basin Orange and Morutot tuffs, respectively. Paleomagnetic analyses of the western sector of KGA19 revealed a normal polarity interval at ∼1.6 Ma, with its age based on <sup>40</sup>Ar/<sup>39</sup>Ar dates and tephrostratigraphic correlations. This suggests that the KGA19 normal magnetozone represents the Gilsá excursion otherwise documented in limited marine cores, Chinese Loess sequences, and few lava flows. A review of these records and sediment accumulation rates of fossil-bearing sequences of eastern Africa suggests that short events such as the Gilsá excursion would be detected if sampling resolution is sufficiently high relative to sedimentation rates. In light of these findings and considerations, evaluation of the Melka Kunture magnetostratigraphy suggests that the age of the Garba IV <em>H. erectus</em> and Acheulean is ∼1.6 Ma, not >1.95 to ∼2 Ma.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 103748"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145046190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-08DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103746
Attila J. Trájer
Denisovans contributed notably to the genomes of present-day East and Southeast Asians. However, the relationship between the inhabited paleohabitats and the adaptive genetic traits related to infections in modern humans remains underexplored. This study uses geospatial techniques to analyze climatic factors associated with three Denisovan archaeological sites linked to nine specimens. Additionally, past and present climates and biomes, as well as the geographic distributions of eight infectious agents and disease vector groups, were modeled and compared with the modern genetic heritage of Denisovans. Findings reveal that the identified Denisovans inhabited subarctic and monsoon-influenced temperate climates, occupying boreal and seasonal forest biomes in the three studied archaeological sites. Sites such as Denisova Cave and Baishiya Karst Cave exhibited low climatic suitability for Ascaris lumbricoides, visceral leishmaniasis, and Nipah virus. Plasmodium vivax– and Aedes albopictus–like vectors plausibly were also not present. Conversely, Denisova Cave and Baishiya Karst Cave exhibit high climatic suitability for Ixodes persulcatus and Lyme borreliosis when Denisovans inhabited these sites. The paleoenvironment of the Laotian Cobra Cave site—with the exception of Nipah henipavirus—was suitable for all modeled pathogens and vectors. From the studied vectors and diseases, I. persulcatus and Lyme borreliosis are missing from Melanesia, where the region’s humans have the highest Denisovan legacy. This suggests that Denisovans from humid continental climates, such as those near Cobra Cave, may have contributed alleles providing adaptive advantages against ascariasis and mosquito-borne diseases in environments where modern human populations with high Denisovan genetic legacy reside.
{"title":"The role of Denisovan paleohabitats in shaping modern human genetic resistance to viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections","authors":"Attila J. Trájer","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103746","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103746","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Denisovans contributed notably to the genomes of present-day East and Southeast Asians. However, the relationship between the inhabited paleohabitats and the adaptive genetic traits related to infections in modern humans remains underexplored. This study uses geospatial techniques to analyze climatic factors associated with three Denisovan archaeological sites linked to nine specimens. Additionally, past and present climates and biomes, as well as the geographic distributions of eight infectious agents and disease vector groups, were modeled and compared with the modern genetic heritage of Denisovans. Findings reveal that the identified Denisovans inhabited subarctic and monsoon-influenced temperate climates, occupying boreal and seasonal forest biomes in the three studied archaeological sites. Sites such as Denisova Cave and Baishiya Karst Cave exhibited low climatic suitability for <em>Ascaris lumbricoides</em>, visceral leishmaniasis, and Nipah virus. <em>Plasmodium vivax–</em> and <em>Aedes albopictus–</em>like vectors plausibly were also not present. Conversely, Denisova Cave and Baishiya Karst Cave exhibit high climatic suitability for <em>Ixodes persulcatus</em> and Lyme borreliosis when Denisovans inhabited these sites. The paleoenvironment of the Laotian Cobra Cave site—with the exception of Nipah henipavirus—was suitable for all modeled pathogens and vectors. From the studied vectors and diseases, <em>I. persulcatus</em> and Lyme borreliosis are missing from Melanesia, where the region’s humans have the highest Denisovan legacy. This suggests that Denisovans from humid continental climates, such as those near Cobra Cave, may have contributed alleles providing adaptive advantages against ascariasis and mosquito-borne diseases in environments where modern human populations with high Denisovan genetic legacy reside.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 103746"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145010478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-25DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103734
Predrag Radović , Matthew M. Skinner , Sanja Alaburić , Zoran Marković , Joshua Lindal , Mirjana Roksandic , Serdar Mayda
Known for over a century, the Late Miocene mammalian faunas of Veles, North Macedonia, have long been recognized for their scientific importance. However, hominid remains had not been previously reported from this fossil-rich area. Here, we report the discovery of an isolated upper molar from the vicinity of Veles—most likely from the Belushka locality—which constitutes the first known record of a Late Miocene hominid from the Republic of North Macedonia, and provide a review of the associated mammalian assemblages. The molar—probably an M3—exhibits a relatively large crown, broad and low cusps, inferred thick enamel, low dentine horns, and short, thick roots that are not markedly divergent. These characteristics, along with its inferred middle Turolian (MN12) age and Balkan provenance, suggest that the Veles molar belongs to an indeterminate member of the hominid tribe Graecopithecini. Together with the Graecopithecus freybergi mandible from Pyrgos Vassilissis, Greece, and an isolated graecopithecin upper premolar from Azmaka, Bulgaria, the Veles specimen provides rare additional evidence for the survival of apes well into the Turolian of the Balkan Peninsula. Furthermore, the Veles fossil faunas now document the co-occurrence of apes (Graecopithecini indet.) and monkeys (Mesopithecus), a pattern rarely observed in the Eurasian Miocene fossil record.
{"title":"First record of a Late Miocene hominid from North Macedonia","authors":"Predrag Radović , Matthew M. Skinner , Sanja Alaburić , Zoran Marković , Joshua Lindal , Mirjana Roksandic , Serdar Mayda","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103734","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103734","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Known for over a century, the Late Miocene mammalian faunas of Veles, North Macedonia, have long been recognized for their scientific importance. However, hominid remains had not been previously reported from this fossil-rich area. Here, we report the discovery of an isolated upper molar from the vicinity of Veles—most likely from the Belushka locality—which constitutes the first known record of a Late Miocene hominid from the Republic of North Macedonia, and provide a review of the associated mammalian assemblages. The molar—probably an M<sup>3</sup>—exhibits a relatively large crown, broad and low cusps, inferred thick enamel, low dentine horns, and short, thick roots that are not markedly divergent. These characteristics, along with its inferred middle Turolian (MN12) age and Balkan provenance, suggest that the Veles molar belongs to an indeterminate member of the hominid tribe Graecopithecini. Together with the <em>Graecopithecus freybergi</em> mandible from Pyrgos Vassilissis, Greece, and an isolated graecopithecin upper premolar from Azmaka, Bulgaria, the Veles specimen provides rare additional evidence for the survival of apes well into the Turolian of the Balkan Peninsula. Furthermore, the Veles fossil faunas now document the co-occurrence of apes (Graecopithecini indet.) and monkeys (<em>Mesopithecus</em>), a pattern rarely observed in the Eurasian Miocene fossil record.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 103734"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144893694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-19DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103735
Shumon T. Hussain , Chris Baumann
{"title":"Did Intermediate Aurignacian foxes at Isturitz develop human-oriented dietary preferences?: A comment to Berlioz et al. (2025)","authors":"Shumon T. Hussain , Chris Baumann","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103735","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103735","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 103735"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144864492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-14DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103732
Christophe Falguères , Qingfeng Shao , Christian Perrenoud , Chris Stringer , Olivier Tombret , Lisa Garbé , Andreas Darlas
Assigning an age to the nearly complete cranium found in the Petralona Cave in Greece is of outstanding importance because this fossil has a key position in European human evolution. This topic has been debated since its discovery more than 60 years ago, highlighting the difficulties in applying physical dating methods to prehistoric samples. Previous results obtained on various types of samples yielded a large age range between about 170 and 700 ka, precluding any consensus on the age of the human fossil. On the other hand, the original stratigraphic position of the cranium also remains enigmatic, in spite of all the efforts provided by various researchers. Here, we present new U-series dates performed on the calcite that grew directly on the cranium, which is the only sample able to provide crucial information on the age of the fossil. The results yield a finite age suggesting that the Petralona cranium has a minimum age of 286 ± 9 ka. Other speleothems and calcitic coatings were sampled in three main locations in the cave; among them, samples came from the ‘Mausoleum’ where the cranium was supposedly found cemented to a wall. The data show that the calcite covering the cranium is not contemporaneous with that of the Mausoleum wall, despite what was previously thought. The different possibilities, depending on whether or not the cranium was attached to the wall, are discussed in the paper. From a morphological point of view, the Petralona hominin forms part of a distinct and more primitive group than Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, and the new age estimate provides further support for the coexistence of this population alongside the evolving Neanderthal lineage in the later Middle Pleistocene of Europe.
{"title":"New U-series dates on the Petralona cranium, a key fossil in European human evolution","authors":"Christophe Falguères , Qingfeng Shao , Christian Perrenoud , Chris Stringer , Olivier Tombret , Lisa Garbé , Andreas Darlas","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103732","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103732","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Assigning an age to the nearly complete cranium found in the Petralona Cave in Greece is of outstanding importance because this fossil has a key position in European human evolution. This topic has been debated since its discovery more than 60 years ago, highlighting the difficulties in applying physical dating methods to prehistoric samples. Previous results obtained on various types of samples yielded a large age range between about 170 and 700 ka, precluding any consensus on the age of the human fossil. On the other hand, the original stratigraphic position of the cranium also remains enigmatic, in spite of all the efforts provided by various researchers. Here, we present new U-series dates performed on the calcite that grew directly on the cranium, which is the only sample able to provide crucial information on the age of the fossil. The results yield a finite age suggesting that the Petralona cranium has a minimum age of 286 ± 9 ka. Other speleothems and calcitic coatings were sampled in three main locations in the cave; among them, samples came from the ‘Mausoleum’ where the cranium was supposedly found cemented to a wall. The data show that the calcite covering the cranium is not contemporaneous with that of the Mausoleum wall, despite what was previously thought. The different possibilities, depending on whether or not the cranium was attached to the wall, are discussed in the paper. From a morphological point of view, the Petralona hominin forms part of a distinct and more primitive group than <em>Homo sapiens</em> and Neanderthals, and the new age estimate provides further support for the coexistence of this population alongside the evolving Neanderthal lineage in the later Middle Pleistocene of Europe.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"206 ","pages":"Article 103732"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144841649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-11DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103733
Terry Harrison , Thomas R. Rein , Amandus Kwekason
New finds of fossil hominins from the Upper Laetolil Beds at Laetoli in northern Tanzania include associated right and left mandibular fragments and three isolated teeth. The specimens are described and compared with those previously collected from Laetoli, as well as with Australopithecus afarensis specimens from other localities in eastern Africa. The additional specimens contribute to a better understanding of the morphological and metrical variation among the hominins from Laetoli and provide the basis for critically reassessing the taxonomic status of A. afarensis. The Laetoli hominins are remarkably similar morphologically and metrically to those from Hadar, especially when considering their temporal and geographic separation, and together, they are justifiably included in a single species, A. afarensis. Consistent with their greater age, the Laetoli hominins retain several features that might be inferred to be more primitive than those from Hadar hominins, but there is insufficient justification to consider them chronomorphs within an anagenetically evolving lineage. The long-standing debate about whether Australopithecus anamensis and A. afarensis are conspecifics or time-successive members of a single anagenetically evolving lineage remains unresolved, but the current evidence is most consistent with a cladogenetic speciation event and the recognition of these two taxa as separate species.
{"title":"New fossil hominins from the Upper Laetolil Beds, Laetoli, Tanzania","authors":"Terry Harrison , Thomas R. Rein , Amandus Kwekason","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103733","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103733","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>New finds of fossil hominins from the Upper Laetolil Beds at Laetoli in northern Tanzania include associated right and left mandibular fragments and three isolated teeth. The specimens are described and compared with those previously collected from Laetoli, as well as with <em>Australopithecus afarensis</em> specimens from other localities in eastern Africa. The additional specimens contribute to a better understanding of the morphological and metrical variation among the hominins from Laetoli and provide the basis for critically reassessing the taxonomic status of <em>A. afarensis</em>. The Laetoli hominins are remarkably similar morphologically and metrically to those from Hadar, especially when considering their temporal and geographic separation, and together, they are justifiably included in a single species, <em>A. afarensis</em>. Consistent with their greater age, the Laetoli hominins retain several features that might be inferred to be more primitive than those from Hadar hominins, but there is insufficient justification to consider them chronomorphs within an anagenetically evolving lineage. The long-standing debate about whether <em>Australopithecus anamensis</em> and <em>A. afarensis</em> are conspecifics or time-successive members of a single anagenetically evolving lineage remains unresolved, but the current evidence is most consistent with a cladogenetic speciation event and the recognition of these two taxa as separate species.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"206 ","pages":"Article 103733"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144810525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-22DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103727
Xiujie Wu , María Martinón-Torres , Song Xing , Shuwen Pei , Yanjun Cai , Haowen Tong , José María Bermúdez de Castro , Wu Liu
Between 2014 and 2015, abundant human fossils dated to about 300 ka were found in the Hualongdong (HLD) site, Anhui province, South China. The HLD human sample consists of a nearly complete skull with 14 teeth in situ, one partial maxilla with one premolar in situ, six isolated teeth, three femoral diaphyseal sections, and a few cranial pieces. Former studies found that the HLD hominins show a mosaic of primitive and derived characteristics with regard to the Homo clade. While the cranium, limbs, and mandible display predominantly primitive features shared with early Homo specimens, the facial bones display closer affinities to modern humans. To assess the phylogenetic affinities of the HLD taxa and other Asian hominin record as well as African and European Pleistocene specimens, we present a comparative morphometric analysis of the 21 HLD teeth. Our dental study reveals a mosaic of primitive and derived dental features for the HLD hominins regarding the Homo clade. The results show that most of the HLD dental features resemble those of Late Pleistocene hominins expect for the robust roots of premolars and molars that approach Middle Pleistocene morphologies. A few features like the reduced M3 link the HLD 6 mandible with East Asian Pleistocene hominins and recent modern humans. The HLD also lacks typical Neanderthal traits. This population presents a remarkable number of derived dental features not present in most Middle Pleistocene hominin fossil assemblages in East Asia with perhaps the exception of Panxian Dadong or Jinniushan. The findings from HLD teeth provide further support to the diversity in late Middle Pleistocene hominin evolution. Several scenarios can potentially explain this variability and would need further exploration. Hualongdong-particular morphology could be the result of genetic drift or gene flow with a more archaic form, such as Homo erectus. Alternatively, the HLD sample could belong to a hominin population closely related to the Homo sapiens clade and be distinct from H. erectus, Neanderthals, and Denisovans.
{"title":"The hominin teeth from the late Middle Pleistocene Hualongdong site, China","authors":"Xiujie Wu , María Martinón-Torres , Song Xing , Shuwen Pei , Yanjun Cai , Haowen Tong , José María Bermúdez de Castro , Wu Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103727","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103727","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Between 2014 and 2015, abundant human fossils dated to about 300 ka were found in the Hualongdong (HLD) site, Anhui province, South China. The HLD human sample consists of a nearly complete skull with 14 teeth in situ, one partial maxilla with one premolar in situ, six isolated teeth, three femoral diaphyseal sections, and a few cranial pieces. Former studies found that the HLD hominins show a mosaic of primitive and derived characteristics with regard to the <em>Homo</em> clade. While the cranium, limbs, and mandible display predominantly primitive features shared with early <em>Homo</em> specimens, the facial bones display closer affinities to modern humans. To assess the phylogenetic affinities of the HLD taxa and other Asian hominin record as well as African and European Pleistocene specimens, we present a comparative morphometric analysis of the 21 HLD teeth. Our dental study reveals a mosaic of primitive and derived dental features for the HLD hominins regarding the <em>Homo</em> clade. The results show that most of the HLD dental features resemble those of Late Pleistocene hominins expect for the robust roots of premolars and molars that approach Middle Pleistocene morphologies. A few features like the reduced M<sub>3</sub> link the HLD 6 mandible with East Asian Pleistocene hominins and recent modern humans. The HLD also lacks typical Neanderthal traits. This population presents a remarkable number of derived dental features not present in most Middle Pleistocene hominin fossil assemblages in East Asia with perhaps the exception of Panxian Dadong or Jinniushan. The findings from HLD teeth provide further support to the diversity in late Middle Pleistocene hominin evolution. Several scenarios can potentially explain this variability and would need further exploration. Hualongdong-particular morphology could be the result of genetic drift or gene flow with a more archaic form, such as <em>Homo erectus</em>. Alternatively, the HLD sample could belong to a hominin population closely related to the <em>Homo sapiens</em> clade and be distinct from <em>H. erectus</em>, Neanderthals, and Denisovans.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"206 ","pages":"Article 103727"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144679900","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Gour Lazib Complex in Algeria and Djebel Chambi in Tunisia are the only African regions with abundant fossil records of diverse mammals dating from the late early to early middle Eocene. Among these mammals, primates, documented by few dental remains, have long attracted much attention for their possible role in the African origin of the group to which we belong, the anthropoids. Continuing fieldwork at these localities has uncovered new dental, cranial, and postcranial remains of these primates, shedding new light on their phylogenetic status. These primates, Azibiidae and Djebelemuridae, are now recognized as ‘advanced’ stem strepsirrhines, i.e., more closely related to crown Strepsirrhini (tooth-combed primates) than to any Adapiformes (other stem strepsirrhines, lacking a tooth-comb). Here, we illustrate and describe new fossil specimens (dental only) recently recovered from these two former sites. From the Gour Lazib Complex (including Glib Zegdou), in addition to the previously known azibiid taxa, Azibius trerki and Algeripithecus minutus, we describe a new, larger azibiid, Azibius magnus sp. nov., and a tiny new taxon, Lazibadapis anchomomyinopsis gen. et sp. nov., which could be a basal djebelemurid. New deciduous teeth and illustrations of earlier fossil taxa are also provided. From Chambi, in addition to Djebelemur martinezi, we identify a small azibiid, previously recognized among Djebelemur paratypes, and describe a new species, Algeripithecus minimissimus sp. nov., based on additional dental material. These new fossils extend our knowledge of the paleodiversity of these two extinct strepsirrhine families and reveal their wider paleogeographic distribution across North Africa at the onset of the Eocene. Azibiidae were highly specialized, likely feeding on a mixed diet of exudates and fruit. This specialization allowed for remarkable diversity but ultimately led to their extinction, possibly due to ecological constraints, although the factors remain unclear due to gaps in the fossil record. The less specialized Djebelemuridae, which had an insectivorous diet, lasted longer but also went extinct by the early Oligocene. These findings have significant implications for the macroevolutionary, paleobiological, and paleogeographical history of early primates in Africa during the Eocene.
阿尔及利亚的Gour Lazib Complex和突尼斯的Djebel Chambi是非洲仅有的拥有丰富的始新世早期晚期到中期早期各种哺乳动物化石记录的地区。在这些哺乳动物中，很少有牙齿遗迹记录的灵长类动物长期以来一直备受关注，因为它们在我们所属的类人猿群体的非洲起源中可能扮演的角色。在这些地区继续进行的田野调查发现了这些灵长类动物的牙齿、颅骨和颅骨后的新遗迹，为它们的系统发育状态提供了新的线索。这些灵长类动物，Azibiidae和Djebelemuridae，现在被认为是“高级”茎链犀牛，即与冠链犀牛（有牙齿的灵长类动物）的关系比与任何Adapiformes（其他没有梳子的茎链犀牛）的关系更密切。在这里，我们说明和描述新的化石标本（牙科仅）最近从这两个前遗址恢复。在Gour Lazib复合体（包括Glib Zegdou）中，除了已知的Azibius trerki和Algeripithecus minutus之外，我们还描述了一个新的较大的Azibius magnus sp. nov.和一个新的小型分类单元Lazibadapis anchomomyinopsis gen. et sp. nov.，这可能是一个基底djebelemurid。还提供了新的乳齿和早期化石分类群的插图。在Chambi，除了Djebelemur martinezi之外，我们还发现了一种小型的阿齐biids，以前在Djebelemur副类型中被识别出来，并根据额外的牙齿材料描述了一个新物种，Algeripithecus minimissimus sp. nov.。这些新化石扩展了我们对这两个已灭绝的链球菌科的古多样性的认识，并揭示了它们在始新世开始时在北非更广泛的古地理分布。叠蚊科是高度特化的，很可能以分泌物和水果为食。这种专门化带来了显著的多样性，但最终导致了它们的灭绝，可能是由于生态限制，尽管由于化石记录的空白，原因尚不清楚。不太专门化的Djebelemuridae以食虫为食，存活时间更长，但也在渐新世早期灭绝。这些发现对研究始新世非洲早期灵长类动物的宏观进化、古生物学和古地理史具有重要意义。
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