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For much of the Pliocene and Pleistocene, multiple hominin species coexisted in the same regions of eastern and southern Africa. Due to the limitations of the skeletal fossil record, questions regarding their interspecific interactions remain unanswered. We report the discovery of footprints (~1.5 million years old) from Koobi Fora, Kenya, that provide the first evidence of two different patterns of Pleistocene hominin bipedalism appearing on the same footprint surface. New analyses show that this is observed repeatedly across multiple contemporaneous sites in the eastern Turkana Basin. These data indicate a sympatric relationship between Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei, suggesting that lake margin habitats were important to both species and highlighting the possible influence of varying levels of coexistence, competition, and niche partitioning in human evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oldest known hominin remains in Europe [~1.5 to ~1.1 million years ago (Ma)] have been recovered from Iberia, where paleoenvironmental reconstructions have indicated warm and wet interglacials and mild glacials, supporting the view that once established, hominin populations persisted continuously. We report analyses of marine and terrestrial proxies from a deep-sea core on the Portugese margin that show the presence of pronounced millennial-scale climate variability during a glacial period ~1.154 to ~1.123 Ma, culminating in a terminal stadial cooling comparable to the most extreme events of the last 400,000 years. Climate envelope-model simulations reveal a drastic decrease in early hominin habitat suitability around the Mediterranean during the terminal stadial. We suggest that these extreme conditions led to the depopulation of Europe, perhaps lasting for several successive glacial-interglacial cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When, where, and how often hominin interbreeding happened is largely unknown. We study the potential for Neanderthal-Denisovan admixture using species distribution models that integrate extensive fossil, archaeological, and genetic data with transient coupled general circulation model simulations of global climate and biomes. Our Pleistocene hindcast of past homininsÕ habitat suitability reveals pronounced climate-driven zonal shifts in the main overlap region of Denisovans and Neanderthals in central Eurasia. These shifts, which influenced the timing and intensity of potential interbreeding events, can be attributed to the response of climate and vegetation to past variations in atmospheric carbon dioxide and Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet volume. Therefore, glacial-interglacial climate swings likely played an important role in favoring gene flow between archaic humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study by K. G. Hatala and colleagues, published in the issue, which described 1.5-Ma footprints from two hominin species at the site of Koobi Fora, Kenya, that suggest different types of bipedalism at the same time and place. Topics include significance of the discovery of Lucy skeleton in Ethiopia, analysis made by Hatala and colleagues on the shape and patterning of the new prints, and implication of the study on the behavioral ecology of contemporary hominin species.

The article discusses the controversy surrounding the claim that Homo naledi intentionally buried its dead, which was initially reported through preprints and media rather than peer-reviewed journals. Topics discussed include the criticism of the eLife publishing model, challenges in reproducing the study's findings, and the debate over the appropriate use of preprints in scientific communication.

Fossils of a Middle Pleistocene (MP) Homo within a well-defined archaeological context at the open-air site of Nesher Ramla, Israel, shed light on MP Homo culture and behavior. Radiometric ages, along with cultural and stratigraphic considerations, suggest that the fossils are 140,000 to 120,000 years old, chronologically overlapping with H. sapiens in western Asia. Lithic analysis reveals that MP Homo mastered stone-tool production technologies, previously known only among H. sapiens and Neanderthals. The Levallois knapping methods they used are indistinguishable from that of concurrent H. sapiens in western Asia. The most parsimonious explanation for such a close similarity is the cultural interactions between these two populations. These findings constitute evidence of contacts and interactions between H. sapiens and MP Homo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been believed that Neanderthals originated and flourished on the European continent. However, recent morphological and genetic studies have suggested that they may have received a genetic contribution from a yet unknown non-European group. Here we report on the recent discovery of archaic Homo fossils from the site of Nesher Ramla, Israel, which we dated to 140,000 to 120,000 years ago. Comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analyses of the parietal bones, mandible, and lower second molar revealed that this Homo group presents a distinctive combination of Neanderthal and archaic features. We suggest that these specimens represent the late survivors of a Levantine Middle Pleistocene paleodeme that was most likely involved in the evolution of the Middle Pleistocene Homo in Europe and East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on genetic analyses suggesting that an ancient human population suffered a severe bottleneck around 930,000 years ago. Topics discussed include the potential correlation between this bottleneck and the evolution of a new human species, the last common ancestor of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans, and the need for further research to test these hypotheses against fossil and archaeological evidence.

The chronology of the World Heritage Site of Sangiran in Indonesia is crucial for the understanding of human dispersals and settlement in Asia in the Early Pleistocene (before 780,000 years ago). It has been controversial, however, especially regarding the timing of the earliest hominin migration into the Sangiran region. We use a method of combining fission-track and uranium-lead dating and present key ages to calibrate the lower (older) Sangiran hominin-bearing horizons. We conclude that the first appearance datum for the Sangiran hominins is most likely ~1.3 million years ago and less than 1.5 million years ago, which is markedly later than the dates that have been widely accepted for the past two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, the earliest modern human fossils found outside of Africa are dated to around 90,000 to 120,000 years ago at the Levantine sites of Skhul and Qafzeh. A maxilla and associated dentition recently discovered at Misliya Cave, Israel, was dated to 177,000 to 194,000 years ago, suggesting that members of the Homo sapiens clade left Africa earlier than previously thought. This finding changes our view on modern human dispersal and is consistent with recent genetic studies, which have posited the possibility of an earlier dispersal of Homo sapiens around 220,000 years ago. The Misliya maxilla is associated with full-fledged Levallois technology in the Levant, suggesting that the emergence of this technology is linked to the appearance of Homo sapiens in the region, as has been documented in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two early Late Pleistocene (~105,000- to 125,000-year-old) crania from Lingjing, Xuchang, China, exhibit a morphological mosaic with differences from and similarities to their western contemporaries. They share pan–Old World trends in encephalization and in supraorbital, neurocranial vault, and nuchal gracilization. They reflect eastern Eurasian ancestry in having low, sagittally flat, and inferiorly broad neurocrania. They share occipital (suprainiac and nuchal torus) and temporal labyrinthine (semicircular canal) morphology with the Neandertals. This morphological combination reflects Pleistocene human evolutionary patterns in general biology, as well as both regional continuity and interregional population dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Neandertal sequences that persist in the genomes of modern humans have been identified in Eurasians, comparable studies in people whose ancestors hybridized with both Neandertals and Denisovans are lacking.We developed an approach to identify DNA inherited from multiple archaic hominin ancestors and applied it to whole-genome sequences from 1523 geographically diverse individuals, including 35 previously unknown Island Melanesian genomes. In aggregate, we recovered 1.34 gigabases and 303 megabases of the Neandertal and Denisovan genome, respectively.We use these maps of archaic sequences to show that Neandertal admixture occurred multiple times in different non-African populations, characterize genomic regions that are significantly depleted of archaic sequences, and identify signatures of adaptive introgression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the evolution of Homo sapiens based on genetic and fossil information. The authors comment on the shared characteristics of Homo sapiens, including large brains, narrow pelvises, and smaller teeth, in comparison to other members of the genus Homo, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans. Advances in the understanding of the human fossil record are also explored.

The article looks at how evidence drawn from the genomic sequencing of fossil hominids is modifying pre-existing explanations of human evolution developed from research in anthropology, population genetics, and archaeologists. Topics include the relationship between Neandertals and modern humans, and researchers including paleoanthropologist Chris Stringer, paleogeneticist Svante Pääbo, and population geneticist Joshua Akey are cited.

The article focuses on researchers efforts to determine the time and place of origin of the genus Homo. Topics include the fossil record gap between 2.0 and 3.0 million years (Ma.), the recovery of Homo remains, and the latest-surviving population. Information is provided on how climatic changes may have impacted previous ecosystems.

Sedimentary basins in eastern Africa preserve a record of continental rifting and contain important fossil assemblages for interpreting hominin evolution. However, the record of hominin evolution between 3 and 2.5 million years ago (Ma) is poorly documented in surface outcrops, particularly in Afar, Ethiopia. Here we present the discovery of a 2.84- to 2.58-million-year-old fossil and hominin-bearing sediments in the Ledi-Geraru research area of Afar, Ethiopia, that have produced the earliest record of the genus Homo. Vertebrate fossils record a faunal turnover indicative of more open and probably arid habitats than those reconstructed earlier in this region, which is in broad agreement with hypotheses addressing the role of environmental forcing in hominin evolution at this time. Geological analyses constrain depositional and structural models of Afar and date the LD 350-1 Homo mandible to 2.80 to 2.75 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distinctly human ability for forceful precision and power "squeeze" gripping is linked to two key evolutionary transitions in hand use: a reduction in arboreal climbing and the manufacture and use of tools. However, it is unclear when these locomotory and manipulative transitions occurred. Here we show that Australopithecus africanus (~3 to 2 million years ago) and several Pleistocene hominins, traditionally considered not to have engaged in habitual tool manufacture, have a human-like trabecular bone pattern in the metacarpals consistent with forceful opposition of the thumb and fingers typically adopted during tool use. These results support archaeological evidence for stone tool use in australopiths and provide morphological evidence that Pliocene hominins achieved human-like hand postures much earlier and more frequently than previously considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research into 17 cranial specimens of Middle Pleistocene Neandertal hominins from the Sima de los Huesos site in Atapuerca, Spain, as of 2014. Topics include the dating of the fossils to around 430,000 years ago, examination of cranial, facial, and dental features, and speculation into Neandertal evolution.

The article focuses on the complexity of human evolution as demonstrated in studies of archaic Homo fossils and stone tools in Nesher Ramla, Israel. Topics discussed include the possible late survivorship of an archaic Homo population that can be traced to earlier Levantine fossils, reason behind the decision of the researchers to avoid formal taxonomic attribution to the discovery, and relationship between climate change and the Homo demographic pattern.

The site of Dmanisi, Georgia, has yielded an impressive sample of hominid cranial and postcranial remains, documenting the presence of Homo outside Africa around 1.8 million years ago. Here we report on a new cranium from Dmanisi (D4500) that, together with its mandible (D2600), represents the world's first completely preserved adult hominid skull from the early Pleistocene. D4500/D2600 combines a small braincase (546 cubic centimeters) with a large prognathic face and exhibits close morphological affinities with the earliest known Homo fossils from Africa. The Dmanisi sample, which now comprises five crania, provides direct evidence for wide morphological variation within and among early Homo paleodemes. This implies the existence of a single evolving lineage of early Homo, with phylogeographic continuity across continents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a DNA library preparation method that has allowed us to reconstruct a high-coverage (30x) genome sequence of a Denisovan, an extinct relative of Neandertals. The quality of this genome allows a direct estimation of Denisovan heterozygosity indicating that genetic diversity in these archaic hominins was extremely low. It also allows tentative dating of the specimen on the basis of "missing evolution" in its genome, detailed measurements of Denisovan and Neandertal admixture into present-day human populations, and the generation of a near-complete catalog of genetic changes that swept to high frequency in modern humans since their divergence from Denisovans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diet changes are considered key events in human evolution. Most studies of early hominin diets focused on tooth size, shape, and craniomandibular morphology, as well as stone tools and butchered animal bones. However, in recent years, dental microwear and stable isotope analyses have hinted at unexpected diversity and complexity in early hominin diets. Some traditional ideas have held; others, such as an increasing reliance on hard-object feeding and a dichotomy between Australopithecus and Paranthropus, have been challenged. The first known evidence of C4 plant (tropical grasses and sedges) and hard-object (e.g., seeds and nuts) consumption dates to millions of years after the appearance of the earliest probable hominins, and there are no consistent trends in diet change among these species through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A well-preserved and articulated partial foot and ankle of Australopithecus sediba, including an associated complete adult distal tibia, talus, and calcaneus, have been discovered at the Malapa site. South Africa, and reported in direct association with the female paratype Malapa Hominin 2. These fossils reveal a mosaic of primitive and derived features that are distinct from those seen in other hominins. The ankle (talocrural) joint is mostly humanlike in form and inferred function, and there is some evidence for a humanlike arch and Achilles tendon. However, Au. sediba is apelike in possessing a more gracile calcaneal body and a more robust medial malleolus than expected. These observations suggest, if present models of foot function are correct, that Au. sediba may have practiced a unique form of bipedalism and some degree of arboreality. Given the combination of features in the Au. sediba foot, as well as comparisons between Au. sediba and older hominins, homoplasy is implied in the acquisition of bipedal adaptations in the hominin foot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hand bones from a single individual with a clear taxonomic affiliation are scarce in the hominin fossil record, which has hampered understanding the evolution of manipulative abilities in hominins. Here we describe and analyze a nearly complete wrist and hand of an adult female [Malapa Hominin 2 (MH2)] Australopithecus sediba from Malapa, South Africa (1.977 million years ago). The hand presents a suite of Australopithecus-like features, such as a strong flexor apparatus associated with arboreal locomotion, and Homo-like features, such as a long thumb and short fingers associated with precision gripping and possibly stone tool production. Comparisons to other fossil hominins suggest that there were at least two distinct hand morphotypes around the Plio-Pleistocene transition. The MH2 fossils suggest that Au. sediba may represent a basal condition associated with early stone tool use and production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fossil record of the hominin pelvis reflects important evolutionary changes in locomotion and parturition. The partial pelves of two individuals of Australopithecus sediba were reconstructed from previously reported finds and new material. These remains share some features with australopiths, such as large biacetahular diameter, small sacral and coxal joints, and long pubic rami. The specimens also share derived features with Homo, including more vertically oriented and sigmoid-shaped iliac blades, greater robusticity of the iliac body, sinusoidal anterior iliac borders, shortened ischia, and more superiorly oriented pubic rami. These derived features appear in a species with a small adult brain size, suggesting that the birthing of larger-brained babies was not driving the evolution of the pelvis at this time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The virtual endocast of MH1 (Australopithecus sediba), obtained from high-quality synchrotron scanning, reveals generally australopith-like convolutional patterns on the frontal lobes but also some foreshadowing of features of the human frontal lobes, such as posterior repositioning of the olfactory bulbs. Principal component analysis of orbitofrontal dimensions on australopith endocasts (MH1, Sts 5, and Sts 60) indicates that among these, MH1 orbitofrontal shape and organization align most closely with human endocasts. These results are consistent with gradual neural reorganization of the orbitofrontal region in the transition from Australopithecus to Homo, but given the small volume of the MH1 endocast, they are not consistent with gradual brain enlargement before the transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Denisovans, which were a group of archaic humans that researchers hypothesize lived in the same area as both modern humans and Neandertals and whose range may have stretched into east Asia. Topics include an overview of the discovery of several fossils and tools in Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia, by anthropologist Bence Viola, and the results from a DNA analysis of the fossils, which revealed that the fossils were from both Neandertals and Denisovans. Also discussed is research by paleogeneticist Svante Pääbo and archaeologist Anatoly Derevianko mapping the trail of ancient humans, including the use of advanced methods in toolmaking and whether the Denisovans, Neandertals, and modern humans may occupied the Altai Mountains simultaneously. INSET: A Denisovan Legacy in the Immune System?.

We describe the geological, geochronological, geomorphological, and faunal context of the Malapa site and the fossils of Australopithecus sediba. The hominins occur with a macrofauna assemblage that existed in Africa between 2.36 and 1.50 million years ago (Ma). The fossils are encased in water-laid, clastic sediments that were deposited along the lower parts of what is now a deeply eroded cave system, immediately above a flowstone layer with a U-Pb date of 2.026 ± 0.021 Ma. The flowstone has a reversed paleomagnetic signature and the overlying hominin-bearing sediments are of normal polarity, indicating deposition during the 1.95- to 1.78-Ma Olduvai Subchron. The two hominin specimens were buried together in a single debris flow that lithified soon after deposition in a phreatic environment inaccessible to scavengers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a rich African Plio-Pleistocene hominin fossil record, the ancestry of Homo and its relation to earlier australopithecines remain unresolved. Here we report on two partial skeletons with an age of 1.95 to 1.78 million years. The fossils were encased in cave deposits at the Malapa site in South Africa. The skeletons were found close together and are directly associated with craniodental remains. Together they represent a new species of Australopithecus that is probably descended from Australopithecus africanus. Combined craniodental and postcranial evidence demonstrates that this new species shares more derived features with early Homo than any other australopith species and thus might help reveal the ancestor of that genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genomic comparisons have established the chimpanzee and bonobo as our closest living relatives. However, the intricacies of gene regulation and expression caution against the use of these extant apes in deducing the anatomical structure of the last common ancestor that we shared with them. Evidence for this structure must therefore be sought from the fossil record. Until now, that record has provided few relevant data because available fossils were too recent or too incomplete. Evidence from Ardipithecus ramidus now suggests that the last common ancestor lacked the hand, foot, pelvic, vertebral, and limb structures and proportions specialized for suspension, vertical climbing, and knuckle-walking among extant African apes. If this hypothesis is correct, each extant African ape genus must have independently acquired these specializations from more generalized ancestors who still practiced careful arboreal climbing and bridging. African apes and hominids acquired advanced orthogrady in parallel Hominoid spinal invagination is an embryogenetic mechanism that reoriented the shoulder girdle more laterally. It was unaccompanied by substantial lumbar spine abbreviation, an adaptation restricted to vertical climbing and/or suspension. The specialized locomotor anatomies and behaviors of chimpanzees and gorillas therefore constitute poor models for the origin and evolution of human bipedality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A diverse assemblage of large mammals is spatially and stratigraphically associated with Ardipithecus ramidus at Aramis. The most common species are tragelaphine antelope and colobine monkeys. Analyses of their postcranial remains situate them in a closed habitat. Assessment of dental mesowear, microwear, and stable isotopes from these and a wider range of abundant associated larger mammals indicates that the local habitat at Aramis was predominantly woodland. The Ar. ramidus enamel isotope values indicate a minimal C4 vegetation component in its diet (plants using the C4 photosynthetic pathway), which is consistent with predominantly forest/woodland feeding. Although the Early Pliocene Afar included a range of environments, and the local environment at Aramis and its vicinity ranged from forests to wooded grasslands, the integration of available physical and biological evidence establishes Ar. ramidus as a denizen of the closed habitats along this continuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hominid fossils predating the emergence of Australopithecus have been sparse and fragmentary. The evolution of our lineage after the last common ancestor we shared with chimpanzees has therefore remained unclear. Ardipithecus ramidus, recovered in ecologically and temporally resolved contexts in Ethiopia's Afar Rift, now illuminates earlier hominid paleobiology and aspects of extant African ape evolution. More than 110 specimens recovered from 4.4-million-year-old sediments include a partial skeleton with much of the skull, hands, feet, limbs, and pelvis. This hominid combined arboreal palmigrade clambering and careful climbing with a form of terrestrial bipedality more primitive than that of Austrolopithecus. Ar. ramidus had a reduced canine/ premolar complex and a little-derived cranial morphology and consumed a predominantly C3 plant-based diet (plants using the C3 photosynthetic pathway). Its ecological habitat appears to have been largely woodland-focused. Ar. ramidus lacks any characters typical of suspension, vertical climbing, or knuckle-walking. Ar. ramidus indicates that despite the genetic similarities of living humans and chimpanzees, the ancestor we last shared probably differed substantially from any extant African ape. Hominids and extant African apes have each become highly specialized through very different evolutionary pathways. This evidence also illuminates the origins of orthogrady, bipedality, ecology, diet, and social behavior in earliest Hominidae and helps to define the basal hominid adaptation, thereby accentuating the derived nature of Austrolopithecus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several author's summaries are presented regarding reports on the early hominid species Ardipithecus ramidus including one by Tim D. White and colleagues, one by Giday WoldeGabriel and colleagues, and one by Antoine Louchart and colleagues.

The Middle Awash Ardipithecus ramidus sample comprises over 145 teeth, including associated maxillary and mandibular sets. These help reveal the earliest stages of human evolution. Ar. ramidus lacks the postcanine megadontia of Australopithecus. Its molars have thinner enamel and are functionally less durable than those of Australopithecus but lack the derived Pan pattern of thin occlusal enamel associated with ripe-fruit frugivory. The Ar. ramidus dental morphology and wear pattern are consistent with a partially terrestrial, omnivorous/frugivorous niche. Analyses show that the ARA-VP-6/500 skeleton is female and that Ar. ramidus was nearly monomorphic in canine size and shape. The canine/lower third premolar complex indicates a reduction of canine size and honing capacity early in hominid evolution, possibly driven by selection targeted on the male upper canine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the oldest known hominin skeleton named Ardipithecus ramidus from Aramis, Ethiopia, which is one of the most complete skeletons of the earliest specimens. Scientists use fossil DNA extracted from the bones and artifacts of thousand of human ancestors which provide clues to the history of human evolution. Since the discovery of the fossil hominid Lucy, scientists have wondered how earlier hominids walked, such as upright or on their knuckles. An in-depth discussion of A. ramidus, including its anatomy and physiology, what the skeleton reveals about early hominids, and a historical overview of the skeleton's discovery during an archeological dig near the village of Aramis. INSET: Habitat for Humanity.

Hominin footprints offer evidence about gait and foot shape, but their scarcity, combined with an inadequate hominin fossil record, hampers research on the evolution of the human gait. Here, we report hominin footprints in two sedimentary layers dated at 1.51 to 1.53 million years ago (Ma) at Ileret, Kenya, providing the oldest evidence of an essentially modern human-like foot anatomy, with a relatively adducted haltux, medial longitudinal arch, and media[ weight transfer before push-off. The size of the Ileret footprints is consistent with stature and body mass estimates for Homo ergaster/erectus, and these prints are also morphologically distinct from the 3.75-million-year-old footprints at Laetoli, Tanzania. The Ileret prints show that by 1.5 Ma, hominins had evolved an essentially modern human foot function and style of bipedal locomotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyses of the KNM-WT 15000 Homo erectus juvenile male patrial skeleton from Kenya concluded that this species had a tall thin body shape due to specialized locomotor and climatic adaptations. Moreover, it was concluded that H. erectus pelves were obstetrically restricted to birthing a small-brained altricial neonate. Here we describe a nearly complete early Pleistocene adult female H. erectus pelvis from the Busidima Formation of Gona, Afar, Ethiopia. This obstetrically capacious pelvis demonstrates that pelvic shape in H. erectus was evolving in response to increasing fetal brain size. This pevis indicates that neither adaptations to tropical environments nor endurance running were primary selective factors in determining pelvis morphology in H. erectus during the early Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the factors that led to humans remaining dependent upon their parents for a long period after weaning. This lengthy dependency is significantly different from the human's close relative the chimpanzee, taking twice as long to reach adulthood. Research conducted on the fossilized remains of early hominids is discussed, highlighting the research of Australian anatomist Raymond Dart, as well as anatomists Christopher Dean and Timothy Bromage. Revelations garnered about the childhood periods of Homo erectus and Homo antecessor are evaluated. A report authored by Scott Simpson of Case Western Reserve University is discussed.

In primates that are highly sexually dimorphic, males often reach maturity later than females, and young adult males do not show the size, morphology, and coloration of mature males. Here we describe extended male development in a hominin species, Paranthropus robustus. Ranking a large sample of facial remains on the basis of dental wear stages reveals a difference in size and robusticity between young adult and old adult males. Combined with estimates of sexual dimorphism, this pattern suggests that male reproductive strategy focused on monopolizing groups of females, in a manner similar to that of silverback gorillas. However, males appear to have borne a substantial cost in the form of high rates of predation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of Late Pleistocene human fossils from sub-Saharan Africa has limited paleontological testing of competing models of recent human evolution. We have dated a skull from Hofmeyr, South Africa, to 36.2 ± 3.3 thousand years ago through a combination of optically stimulated luminescence and uranium-series dating methods. The skull is morphologically modern overall but displays some archaic features. Its strongest morphometric affinities are with Upper Paleolithic (UP) Eurasians rather than recent, geographically proximate people. The Hofmeyr cranium is consistent with the hypothesis that UP Eurasians descended from a population that emigrated from sub-Saharan Africa in the Late Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our knowledge of Neanderthals is based on a limited number of remains and artifacts from which we must make inferences about their biology, behavior, and relationship to ourselves. Here, we describe the characterization of these extinct hominids from a new perspective, based on the development of a Neanderthal metagenomic library and its high-throughput sequencing and analysis. Several lines of evidence indicate that the 65,250 base pairs of hominid sequence so far identified in the library are of Neanderthal origin, the strongest being the ascertainment of sequence identities between Neanderthal and chimpanzee at sites where the human genomic sequence is different. These results enabled us to calculate the human-Neanderthal divergence time based on multiple randomly distributed autosomal loci. Our analyses suggest that on average the Neanderthal genomic sequence we obtained and the reference human genome sequence share a most recent common ancestor ∼706,000 years ago, and that the human and Neanderthal ancestral populations split ∼370,000 years ago, before the emergence of anatomically modern humans. Our finding that the Neanderthal and human genomes are at least 99.5% identical led us to develop and successfully implement a targeted method for recovering specific ancient DNA sequences from metagenomic libraries. This initial analysis of the Neanderthal genome advances our understanding of the evolutionary relationship of Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis and signifies the dawn of Neanderthal genomics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on successful sequencing of nuclear DNA from a Neandertal bone that has facilitated the revelation of Neandertal Genomics. In order to reveal the entire Neandertal genome scientists are using metagenomics studies that eases the process by avoiding the task of purifying ancient DNA and provides cheaper and faster sequencing methods. The decoding of DNA has revealed that Neandertals were a distinct species that were members of the hominid family of human ancestors, separated from them a half-million years ago and did not interbreed with modern humans.

Nonhuman primates represent the most relevant model organisms to understand the biology of Homo sapiens. The recent divergence and associated overall sequence conservation between individual members of this taxon have nonetheless largely precluded the use of primates in comparative sequence studies. We used sequence comparisons of an extensive set of Old World and New World monkeys and hominoids to identify functional regions in the human genome. Analysis of these data enabled the discovery of primate-specific gene regulatory elements and the demarcation of the exons of multiple genes. Much of the information content of the comprehensive primate sequence comparisons could be captured with a small subset of phylogenetically close primates. These results demonstrate the utility of intraprimate sequence comparisons to discover common mammalian as well as primate-specific functional elements in the human genome, which are unattainable through the evaluation of more evolutionarily distant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides an in depth description of a species descended from Australopithecus afarensis, and discovered from the Hata beds in Ethiopia's Middle Awash. How the remains may link the species to an early form of modern man; Etymology; Holotype; Locality; Dental description; More.

Reviews conventional criteria for allocating fossil species to the genus Homo. Problem of how to incorporate information about evolutionary history into taxonomy; Belief that the problem is exemplified in defining the genus Homo; Criteria found to be either inappropriate or inoperable; Revised definition for Homo; Conclusion that Homo habilis and Homo rudolfensis do not belong in the genus.

Reports the discovery of Homo antecessor, a species of hominid from the lower Pleistocene cave site of Gran Dolina, Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain. Fully modern midfacial morphology of the fossils; Traits defining the fossil; Other fossils discovered at the site; Where H. antecessor is likely situated on the human evolutionary tree.

Reports the discovery of a large-bodied hominoid genus from Uganda dating to the Miocene Epoch, at least 20.6 million years ago. Fossils found; The hominoid representing the oldest known hominoid sharing anatomical similarities with living apes and humans.

Reports on the human remains dating more than 780,000 years as associated with a rich faunal and lithic assemblage in the Pleistocene cave site of Gran Dolina, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain. Micrommal species as representing the late Biharian; Lithic objects; Consideration for the hominid fossils.

Describes four articulating hominid foot bones recovered from Sterkfontein Member 2, near Johannesburg, South Africa. Human features in the hindfoot; Apelike traits in the forefoot; Manifest adaptation of the foot for bipedilism; Medial divergence and strong mobility of the great toe; Possibility that bones belonged to Australopithecus.