269 results on '"Grün, Rainer"'
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2. Rocks, teeth, and tools: New insights into early Neanderthal mobility strategies in South-Eastern France from lithic reconstructions and strontium isotope analysis.
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Moncel, Marie-Hélène, Fernandes, Paul, Willmes, Malte, James, Hannah, and Grün, Rainer
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Animals ,Archaeology ,Climate ,Fossils ,France ,Neanderthals ,Strontium Isotopes ,Tooth - Abstract
Neanderthals had complex land use patterns, adapting to diversified landscapes and climates. Over the past decade, considerable progress has been made in reconstructing the chronology, land use and subsistence patterns, and occupation types of sites in the Rhône Valley, southeast France. In this study, Neanderthal mobility at the site of Payre is investigated by combining information from lithic procurement analysis (chaîne evolutive and chaîne opératoire concepts) and strontium isotope analysis of teeth (childhood foraging area), from two units (F and G). Both units date to the transition from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 8 to MIS 7, and show similar environmental conditions, but represent contrasting occupation durations. Level Gb (unit G) represents a long-term year-round use, in contrast to short-term seasonal use of the cave in level Fb (unit F). For both levels, lithic material and food were generally collected from a local to semi-local region. However, in level Gb, lithic materials were mainly collected from colluviums and food collected in the valley, whereas in level Fb, lithic procurement focused primarily on alluvial deposits and food was collected from higher elevation plateaus. These procurement or exchange patterns might be related to flint availability, knapping advantages of alluvial flint or occupation duration. The site of Payre is located in a flint rich circulation corridor and the movement of groups or exchanges between groups were organized along a north-south axis on the plateaus or towards the east following the river. The ridges were widely used as they are rich in flint, whereas the Rhône Valley is not an important source of lithic raw materials. Compared to other western European Middle Palaeolithic sites, these results indicate that procurement strategies have a moderate link with occupation types and duration, and with lithic technology. The Sr isotope ratios broadly match the proposed foraging areas, with the Rhône Valley being predominantly used in unit G and the ridges and limestone plateaus in unit F. While lithic reconstructions and childhood foraging are not directly related this suggests that the three analysed Neanderthals spend their childhood in the same general area and supports the idea of mobile Neanderthals in the Rhône Valley and neighbouring higher elevation plateaus. The combination of reconstructing lithic raw material sources, provisioning strategies, and strontium isotope analyses provides new details on how Neanderthals at Payre practised land use and mobility in the Early Middle Palaeolithic.
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- 2019
3. Dating the skull from Broken Hill, Zambia, and its position in human evolution
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Grün, Rainer, Pike, Alistair, McDermott, Frank, Eggins, Stephen, Mortimer, Graham, Aubert, Maxime, and Kinsley, Lesley
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Kabwe, Zambia -- Natural history ,Anthropological research -- Research -- Usage -- Physiological aspects ,Human evolution -- Research -- Physiological aspects -- Usage ,Radiocarbon dating -- Usage -- Physiological aspects -- Research ,Fossils -- Observations -- Usage -- Physiological aspects -- Research ,Environmental issues ,Science and technology ,Zoology and wildlife conservation - Abstract
The cranium from Broken Hill (Kabwe) was recovered from cave deposits in 1921, during metal ore mining in what is now Zambia.sup.1. It is one of the best-preserved skulls of a fossil hominin, and was initially designated as the type specimen of Homo rhodesiensis, but recently it has often been included in the taxon Homo heidelbergensis.sup.2-4. However, the original site has since been completely quarried away, and--although the cranium is often estimated to be around 500 thousand years old.sup.5-7--its unsystematic recovery impedes its accurate dating and placement in human evolution. Here we carried out analyses directly on the skull and found a best age estimate of 299 [plus or minus] 25 thousand years (mean [plus or minus] 2[sigma]). The result suggests that later Middle Pleistocene Africa contained multiple contemporaneous hominin lineages (that is, Homo sapiens.sup.8,9, H. heidelbergensis/H. rhodesiensis and Homo naledi.sup.10,11), similar to Eurasia, where Homo neanderthalensis, the Denisovans, Homo floresiensis, Homo luzonensis and perhaps also Homo heidelbergensis and Homo erectus.sup.12 were found contemporaneously. The age estimate also raises further questions about the mode of evolution of H. sapiens in Africa and whether H. heidelbergensis/H. rhodesiensis was a direct ancestor of our species.sup.13,14. Analyses of the hominin skull from Broken Hill, Zambia, place it at an earlier date than previously thought, confirming that later Middle Pleistocene Africa was home to at least three lineages of hominin., Author(s): Rainer Grün [sup.1] [sup.2] , Alistair Pike [sup.3] , Frank McDermott [sup.4] , Stephen Eggins [sup.2] , Graham Mortimer [sup.2] , Maxime Aubert [sup.2] [sup.5] , Lesley Kinsley [sup.2] [...]
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- 2020
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4. Last appearance of Homo erectus at Ngandong, Java, 117,000–108,000 years ago
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Rizal, Yan, Westaway, Kira E., Zaim, Yahdi, van den Bergh, Gerrit D., Bettis, III, E. Arthur, Morwood, Michael J., Huffman, O. Frank, Grün, Rainer, Joannes-Boyau, Renaud, Bailey, Richard M., Sidarto, Westaway, Michael C., Kurniawan, Iwan, Moore, Mark W., Storey, Michael, Aziz, Fachroel, Suminto, Zhao, Jian-xin, Aswan, Sipola, Maija E., Larick, Roy, Zonneveld, John-Paul, Scott, Robert, Putt, Shelby, and Ciochon, Russell L.
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- 2020
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5. Apidima Cave fossils provide earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in Eurasia
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Harvati, Katerina, Röding, Carolin, Bosman, Abel M., Karakostis, Fotios A., Grün, Rainer, Stringer, Chris, and Karkanas, Panagiotis
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Prehistoric peoples -- Discovery and exploration -- Identification and classification ,Fossils -- Discovery and exploration -- Identification and classification ,Environmental issues ,Science and technology ,Zoology and wildlife conservation - Abstract
Two fossilized human crania (Apidima 1 and Apidima 2) from Apidima Cave, southern Greece, were discovered in the late 1970s but have remained enigmatic owing to their incomplete nature, taphonomic distortion and lack of archaeological context and chronology. Here we virtually reconstruct both crania, provide detailed comparative descriptions and analyses, and date them using U-series radiometric methods. Apidima 2 dates to more than 170 thousand years ago and has a Neanderthal-like morphological pattern. By contrast, Apidima 1 dates to more than 210 thousand years ago and presents a mixture of modern human and primitive features. These results suggest that two late Middle Pleistocene human groups were present at this site--an early Homo sapiens population, followed by a Neanderthal population. Our findings support multiple dispersals of early modern humans out of Africa, and highlight the complex demographic processes that characterized Pleistocene human evolution and modern human presence in southeast Europe. Detailed comparative analyses of two fossil crania from Apidima Cave, Greece, indicate that two late Middle Pleistocene human groups were present at this site; first an early Homo sapiens population followed by a Neanderthal population., Author(s): Katerina Harvati [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] , Carolin Röding [sup.1] , Abel M. Bosman [sup.1] [sup.2] , Fotios A. Karakostis [sup.1] , Rainer Grün [sup.4] , Chris Stringer [sup.5] , [...]
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- 2019
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6. A new species of Homo from the Late Pleistocene of the Philippines
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Détroit, Florent, Mijares, Armand Salvador, Corny, Julien, Daver, Guillaume, Zanolli, Clément, Dizon, Eusebio, Robles, Emil, Grün, Rainer, and Piper, Philip J.
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- 2019
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7. Age estimates for hominin fossils and the onset of the Upper Palaeolithic at Denisova Cave
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Douka, Katerina, Slon, Viviane, Jacobs, Zenobia, Ramsey, Christopher Bronk, Shunkov, Michael V., Derevianko, Anatoly P., Mafessoni, Fabrizio, Kozlikin, Maxim B., Li, Bo, Grün, Rainer, Comeskey, Daniel, Devièse, Thibaut, Brown, Samantha, Viola, Bence, Kinsley, Leslie, Buckley, Michael, Meyer, Matthias, Roberts, Richard G., Pääbo, Svante, Kelso, Janet, and Higham, Tom
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- 2019
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8. On the age of Ain Hanech Oldowan locality (Algeria): First numerical dating results
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Duval, Mathieu, primary, Sahnouni, Mohamed, additional, Parés, Josep M., additional, Zhao, Jian-xin, additional, Grün, Rainer, additional, Abdessadok, Salah, additional, Pérez-González, Alfredo, additional, Derradji, Abdelkader, additional, Harichane, Zoheir, additional, Mazouni, Nacim, additional, Boulaghraief, Kamel, additional, Cheheb, Razika Chelli, additional, and van der Made, Jan, additional
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- 2023
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9. On the age of Ain Hanech Oldowan locality (Algeria): First numerical dating results
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Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España), European Commission, Stone Age Institute, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (France), Duval, Mathieu, Sahnouni, Mohamed, Parés, Josep M., Zhao, Jian-Xin, Grün, Rainer, Abdessadok, Salah, Pérez-González, Alfredo, Derradji; Abdelkader, Harichane, Zoheir, Mazouni, Nacim, Boulaghraief, Kamel, Cheheb, Razika Chelli, Van der Made, Jan, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España), European Commission, Stone Age Institute, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (France), Duval, Mathieu, Sahnouni, Mohamed, Parés, Josep M., Zhao, Jian-Xin, Grün, Rainer, Abdessadok, Salah, Pérez-González, Alfredo, Derradji; Abdelkader, Harichane, Zoheir, Mazouni, Nacim, Boulaghraief, Kamel, Cheheb, Razika Chelli, and Van der Made, Jan
- Abstract
Our current understanding of early human settlements in North Africa relies on a few well-contextualized Oldowan and Acheulean sites (e.g., Ain Hanech, El Kherba, Ain Boucherit Lw and Up, Tighennif in Algeria; Thomas Quarry in Morocco). In particular, the site of Ain Hanech has documented for many decades the earliest evidence of human presence in North Africa (e.g., Sahnouni and de Heinzelin, 1998), until older stone tools were recently reported at the nearby Ain Boucherit locality (Sahnouni et al., 2018). While the Early Pleistocene antiquity of this Oldowan assemblage has never really been questioned, its exact age has, however, been discussed. In the early 2000s, a series of articles were published in this journal arguing either for an age of ~1.8 Ma (Sahnouni et al., 2002, 2004) or much younger, around 1.2 Ma (Geraads et al., 2004). Although subsequent chronostratigraphic studies have provided additional evidence for the older age (Pares et al., 2014 ; Sahnouni et al., 2018; Duval et al., 2021), Ain Hanech site had never been numerically dated until now. Moreover, beyond the archeological relevance of the site, Ain Hanech faunal association has also long been used as a reference for biochronological inferences and comparative studies with other paleontological localities of the region (e.g., Geraads, 2002; Sahnouni et al., 2002; Van der Made and Sahnouni, 2013; Van der Made et al., 2021). In other words, the accuracy of North African biochronology over the Early Pleistocene timescale partly relies on the age of Ain Hanech. In this context, we present here the dating results from electron spin resonance (ESR) and uranium-series (U-series) methods tentatively applied to optically bleached quartz grains and fossil teeth from Ain Hanech and the nearby stratigraphically equivalent site of El Kherba (Sahnouni and de Heinzelin, 1998).
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- 2023
10. First magnetostratigraphic results in the Aïn Beni Mathar-Guefaït Basin, Northern High Plateaus (Morocco): The Pliocene-Pleistocene Dhar Iroumyane composite section
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Fundación Palarq, Ministerio de Cultura (España), Ministry of Culture and Communication (Morocco), Parés, Josep M., Haddoumi, Hamid, Duval, Mathieu, Aouraghe, Hassan, Álvarez-Posada, Claudia, Pla-Pueyo, Sila, Benito-Calvo, Alfonso, Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Antonio, Van der Made, Jan, Piñeiro, Pedro, Agustí, Jordi, Oujaa, Aïcha, Grün, Rainer, Chacón, María Gema, Sala-Ramos, Robert, Fundación Palarq, Ministerio de Cultura (España), Ministry of Culture and Communication (Morocco), Parés, Josep M., Haddoumi, Hamid, Duval, Mathieu, Aouraghe, Hassan, Álvarez-Posada, Claudia, Pla-Pueyo, Sila, Benito-Calvo, Alfonso, Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Antonio, Van der Made, Jan, Piñeiro, Pedro, Agustí, Jordi, Oujaa, Aïcha, Grün, Rainer, Chacón, María Gema, and Sala-Ramos, Robert
- Abstract
The Aïn Beni Mathar-Guefaït Basin, in the High Plateau Region (Morocco), is dissected by the Za River, the main eastern tributary of the Moulouya, which incises more than 150 m into Plio-Pleistocene sediments. The main goal of the present study is to provide an initial geochronologic framework for such basin infill based on a combination of magnetostratigraphy and electron spin resonance (ESR). The combined results have implications on the age of the paleontological record, the evolution of the Moulouya River, and the activity of the faults that delimit the basin. We have studied sedimentary rocks that are essentially flat-lying and of an alluvial and lacustrine/palustrine origin. An approximately 140 m-thick section has been sampled at an average of 2.5 m per site, allowing to build a local magnetic polarity stratigraphy that includes nine geomagnetic reversals. Although no fold test is available, the presence of dual polarities and rockmagnetic analysis give us confidence that magnetization directions are primary. We then anchored the obtained magnetozones to the Geomagnetic Polarity Timescale (GPTS) using the biostratigraphic data as well as local geological observations. Our proposed magnetostratigraphy-based chronology reveals a Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary infill spanning from Gauss to Olduvai Chrons. The lower, detrital formations mostly fall within the normal Gauss Chron, whereas the upper lacustrine and palustrine carbonates, which are almost widespread to the top of the sedimentary fill, are Olduvai in age. These results provide the first chronological constraints for the basin fill in one of the largest intermontane basins of the High Plateaus. The new magnetostratigraphy also reveals that the major environmental change that triggered a switch from alluvial to lacustrine-palustrine conditions in Northern Maghreb occurred near the Gauss-Matuyama reversal, ca. 2.6 Ma. In addition, it shows that the age of the paleontological site Guefaït-4 is approximately
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- 2023
11. The age of the hominin fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, and the origins of the Middle Stone Age
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Richter, Daniel, Grün, Rainer, Joannes-Boyau, Renaud, Steele, Teresa E., Amani, Fethi, Rué, Mathieu, Fernandes, Paul, Raynal, Jean-Paul, Geraads, Denis, Ben-Ncer, Abdelouahed, Hublin, Jean-Jacques, and McPherron, Shannon P.
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- 2017
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12. Earliest hominin occupation of Sulawesi, Indonesia
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van den Bergh, Gerrit D., Li, Bo, Brumm, Adam, Grün, Rainer, Yurnaldi, Dida, Moore, Mark W., Kurniawan, Iwan, Setiawan, Ruly, Aziz, Fachroel, Roberts, Richard G., Storey, Michael, Setiabudi, Erick, and Morwood, Michael J.
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Sulawesi -- Natural history ,Hominids -- Environmental aspects ,Environmental issues ,Science and technology ,Zoology and wildlife conservation - Abstract
New excavations in Sulawesi, where in situ stone artefacts associated with fossil remains of megafauna have been recovered from stratified deposits between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago, suggest that Sulawesi was host to a long-established population of archaic hominins. Sulawesi is the largest and oldest island within Wallacea, a vast zone of oceanic islands separating continental Asia from the Pleistocene landmass of Australia and Papua (Sahul). By one million years ago an unknown hominin lineage had colonized Flores immediately to the south.sup.1, and by about 50 thousand years ago, modern humans (Homo sapiens) had crossed to Sahul.sup.2,3. On the basis of position, oceanic currents and biogeographical context, Sulawesi probably played a pivotal part in these dispersals.sup.4. Uranium-series dating of speleothem deposits associated with rock art in the limestone karst region of Maros in southwest Sulawesi has revealed that humans were living on the island at least 40 thousand years ago (ref. 5). Here we report new excavations at Talepu in the Walanae Basin northeast of Maros, where in situ stone artefacts associated with fossil remains of megafauna (Bubalus sp., Stegodon and Celebochoerus) have been recovered from stratified deposits that accumulated from before 200 thousand years ago until about 100 thousand years ago. Our findings suggest that Sulawesi, like Flores, was host to a long-established population of archaic hominins, the ancestral origins and taxonomic status of which remain elusive., Author(s): Gerrit D. van den Bergh [sup.1] [sup.2] , Bo Li [sup.1] , Adam Brumm [sup.3] [sup.4] , Rainer Grün [sup.3] , Dida Yurnaldi [sup.1] [sup.5] , Mark W. Moore [...]
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- 2016
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13. Age and context of the oldest known hominin fossils from Flores
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Brumm, Adam, van den Bergh, Gerrit D., Storey, Michael, Kurniawan, Iwan, Alloway, Brent V., Setiawan, Ruly, Setiyabudi, Erick, Grün, Rainer, Moore, Mark W., Yurnaldi, Dida, Puspaningrum, Mika R., Wibowo, Unggul P., Insani, Halmi, Sutisna, Indra, Westgate, John A., Pearce, Nick J. G., Duval, Mathieu, Meijer, Hanneke J. M., Aziz, Fachroel, Sutikna, Thomas, Kaars, Sander van der, Flude, Stephanie, and Morwood, Michael J.
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- 2016
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14. Revised stratigraphy and chronology for Homo floresiensis at Liang Bua in Indonesia
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Sutikna, Thomas, Tocheri, Matthew W., Morwood, Michael J., Saptomo, E. Wahyu, Jatmiko, Awe, Rokus Due, Wasisto, Sri, Westaway, Kira E., Aubert, Maxime, Li, Bo, Zhao, Jian-xin, Storey, Michael, Alloway, Brent V., Morley, Mike W., Meijer, Hanneke J. M., van den Bergh, Gerrit D., Grün, Rainer, Dosseto, Anthony, Brumm, Adam, Jungers, William L., and Roberts, Richard G.
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- 2016
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15. Direct U-series dating of the Apidima C human remains
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Harvati, Katerina, Grün, Rainer, Duval, Mathieu, Zhao, Jian-xin, Karakostis, Alexandros, Tourloukis, Vangelis, Gorgoulis, Vassilis, and Kouloukoussa, Mirsini
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The site of Apidima, in southern Greece, is one of the most important Paleolithic sites in Greece and southeast Europe. One of the caves belonging to this cave complex, Cave A, has yielded human fossil crania Apidima 1 and 2, showing the presence of an early Homo sapiens population followed by a Neanderthal one in the Middle Pleistocene. Less known are the human remains reportedly recovered from Cave C at Apidima. These include a number of isolated elements, but also a partial skeleton interpreted as a female burial, Apidima 3, proposed by Pitsios (e.g., Pitsios 1999) to be associated with Aurignacian lithics and to date to ca. 30 ka. In light of the rarity of the Upper Paleolithic in Greece, and the general scarcity of human remains associated with the Aurignacian, the remains from Apidima Cave C are potentially very significant in elucidating the arrival of the early Upper Paleolithic populations in Europe. Here we undertake direct Uranium-series dating of three human samples from Cave C, including the burial, to help clarify their chronology. Results suggest a minimum age of terminal Pleistocene for all three samples.
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- 2021
16. Massive cranium from Harbin in northeastern China establishes a new Middle Pleistocene human lineage
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Ni, Xijun, primary, Ji, Qiang, additional, Wu, Wensheng, additional, Shao, Qingfeng, additional, Ji, Yannan, additional, Zhang, Chi, additional, Liang, Lei, additional, Ge, Junyi, additional, Guo, Zhen, additional, Li, Jinhua, additional, Li, Qiang, additional, Grün, Rainer, additional, and Stringer, Chris, additional
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- 2021
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17. Geochemical provenancing and direct dating of the Harbin archaic human cranium
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Shao, Qingfeng, primary, Ge, Junyi, additional, Ji, Qiang, additional, Li, Jinhua, additional, Wu, Wensheng, additional, Ji, Yannan, additional, Zhan, Tao, additional, Zhang, Chi, additional, Li, Qiang, additional, Grün, Rainer, additional, Stringer, Chris, additional, and Ni, Xijun, additional
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- 2021
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18. Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) Dating of the Origin of Modern Man
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Schwarcz, Henry P. and Grun, Rainer
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- 1992
19. Electron-Spin-Resonance Dating of Tooth Enamel From Klasies River Mouth Cave
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Grun, Rainer, Shackleton, Nicholas J., and Deacon, Hilary J.
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- 1990
20. Homo luzonensis : principales caractéristiques et implications pour l’histoire évolutionnaire du genre Homo
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Détroit, Florent, Mijares, Armand Salvador, Corny, Julien, Daver, Guillaume, Zanolli, Clément, Dizon, Eusebio, Robles, Emil, Grün, Rainer, Piper, Philip, Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique (HNHP), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD), University of the Philippines (UP System), Département Homme et environnement (H&E), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Laboratoire de paléontologie, évolution, paléoécosystèmes, paléoprimatologie (PALEVOPRIM ), Université de Poitiers-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (PACEA), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), National Museum of the Philippines, Research School of Earth Sciences [Canberra] (RSES), and Australian National University (ANU)
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[SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory ,[SHS.ANTHRO-BIO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Biological anthropology ,[SDU.STU.PG]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Paleontology - Abstract
International audience; La nouvelle espèce Homo luzonensis a été décrite en 2019 à partir d’un assemblage constitué de treize éléments fossiles découverts dans la grotte de Callao (île de Luzon, Philippines) en 2007, 2011 et 2015. La datation directe de deux de ces fossiles par les séries de l’uranium indique des âges minimums respectifs de 50 000 et 67 000 ans. Dans cette présentation, nous montrons que ces spécimens présentent une combinaison de caractéristiques morphologiques primitives (i.e. ressemblant à Australopithecus) et dérivées (i.e. ressemblant à Homo sapiens) qui diffère de celle rencontrée dans toute les autres espèces du genre Homo connues jusqu’alors, y compris H. floresiensis et H. sapiens. Les implications potentielles des caractéristiques primitives observées sur les os des mains et des pieds sur les capacités manipulatrices et locomotrices d’H. luzonensis sont discutées, ainsi que les hypothèses sur l’origine de ces caractéristiques et plus généralement du taxon H. luzonensis. Ces caractéristiques pourraient avoir été héritées directement d’hominines anciens tels Australopithecus ou H. habilis, inconnus jusqu’à présent hors d’Afrique, ou alternativement avoir été héritées d’H. erectus asiatiques (de Chine et / ou d’Indonésie) et, après avoir évolué sous certaines pressions de sélection propres à l’île de Luzon, « ressembler » aux conditions primitives observées dans la tribu des hominines. Si au regard du registre connu en Asie pour les hominines fossiles la seconde hypothèse semble actuellement la plus probable, l’une ou l’autre de ces hypothèses aurait des implications majeures sur notre compréhension de l’histoire évolutionnaire récente du genre Homo.
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- 2021
21. A new Upper Pleistocene hominin calvarium from West-Turkana (Kenya)
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Mounier, Aurélien, primary, Van Baelen, Ann, additional, Crivellaro, Federica, additional, Rivera, Frances, additional, Wilshaw, Alex, additional, Grün, Rainer, additional, Foley, Robert, additional, and Mirazón Lahr, Marta, additional
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- 2021
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22. Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar: A dated late Early Pleistocene Palaeolithic site in southeastern Spain
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Australian Research Council, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España), Walker, Michael J., Haber Uriarte, María, López Jiménez, Antonio, López Martínez, Mariano, Martín Lerma, Ignacio, Van der Made, Jan, Duval, Mathieu, Grün, Rainer, Australian Research Council, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España), Walker, Michael J., Haber Uriarte, María, López Jiménez, Antonio, López Martínez, Mariano, Martín Lerma, Ignacio, Van der Made, Jan, Duval, Mathieu, and Grün, Rainer
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Systematic excavation and multidisciplinary research undertaken over three decades have deepened our understanding of the early Palaeolithic archaeology at Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar (Caravaca de la Cruz, Murcia, Spain). New results from biochronology and combined ESR and U-series dating corroborate previous magnetostratigraphy, placing the entire excavated sequence between the Jaramillo sub-chron and the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary (i.e., ca. 990-772 thousand years ago [ka]); palaeontological and palynological findings reflect temperate environmental conditions. A bifacially-flaked limestone hand-axe was excavated one metre below the top of the Pleistocene sequence. The Equus cf. altidens tooth that provided the ESR estimate was excavated one metre below the hand-axe. Throughout its five-metre-deep sedimentary sequence, small nodules, fragments, and struck flakes make up the bulk of the Palaeolithic assemblage. Stratigraphical analysis points to undisturbed continuous sedimentary deposition above a layer of ashy sediment, encountered 4.5 m below the top of the Pleistocene sequence, which contained thermallyaltered bone and heat-shattered chert cores and flakes. Cueva Negra is among the earliest European sites with firm evidence of combustion.
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- 2020
23. Bioavailable soil and rock strontium isotope data from Israel
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Moffat, Ian, primary, Rudd, Rachel, additional, Willmes, Malte, additional, Mortimer, Graham, additional, Kinsley, Les, additional, McMorrow, Linda, additional, Armstrong, Richard, additional, Aubert, Maxime, additional, and Grün, Rainer, additional
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- 2020
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24. Sampling Plants and Malacofauna in 87Sr/86Sr Bioavailability Studies: Implications for Isoscape Mapping and Reconstructing of Past Mobility Patterns
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Britton, Kate, primary, Le Corre, Mael, additional, Willmes, Malte, additional, Moffat, Ian, additional, Grün, Rainer, additional, Mannino, Marcello A., additional, Woodward, Stephen, additional, and Jaouen, Klervia, additional
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- 2020
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25. Archaeology Early human northerners: A site in Norfolk, UK, provides the earliest and northernmost evidence of human expansion into Eurasia. Environmental indicators suggest that these early Britons could adapt to a range of climatic conditions.
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Roberts, Andrew P. and Grün, Rainer
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- 2010
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26. Ages for the Middle Stone Age of Southern Africa: Implications for Human Behavior and Dispersal
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Jacobs, Zenobia, Roberts, Richard G., Galbraith, Rex F., Deacon, Hilary J., Grün, Rainer, Mackay, Alex, Mitchell, Peter, Vogelsang, Ralf, and Wadley, Lyn
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- 2008
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27. Homo luzonensis Détroit & Mijares & Corny & Daver & Zanolli & Dizon & Robles & Grün & Piper 2019, sp. nov
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Détroit, Florent, Mijares, Armand Salvador, Corny, Julien, Daver, Guillaume, Zanolli, Clément, Dizon, Eusebio, Robles, Emil, Grün, Rainer, and Piper, Philip J.
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Primates ,Mammalia ,Homo ,Homo luzonensis ,Animalia ,Hominidae ,Biodiversity ,Chordata ,Taxonomy - Abstract
Homo luzonensis sp. nov. Etymology. The species name is derived from the island of Luzon, where the specimens were discovered. Holotype. CCH6 (CCH6-a to CCH6-e), maxillary right postcanine dentition of a single individual discovered on 24 August 2011. The repository is the National Museum of the Philippines, Manila. Homo luzonensis has been deposited in the ZooBank database (http://zoobank.org/) with Life Science Identifier urn:lsid:zoobank. org:act: 4F743862-662F-4E6B-9812-8 A05533 C1347. Paratypes. Recovered in 2007, 2011 and 2015 from the same excavation area and layer as the holotype: CCH1, a right third metatarsal 1; CCH2 and CCH5, two manual phalanges; CCH3 and CCH4, two pedal phalanges; CCH8, a left upper third or fourth premolar (P 3/4); and CCH9, a right M 3 (all specimens are housed at the National Museum of the Philippines, Manila). Referred material. CCH7, a femoral shaft that belonged to a juvenile individual (housed at the National Museum of the Philippines, Manila). Locality. The type locality is Callao Cave, in the Callao Limestone formation in the Peñablanca region of northern Luzon, the Philippines, at coordinates 17° 42′ 11.7″ N, 121° 49′ 25.5″ E. Diagnosis. Postcanine maxillary teeth of small size that are mesiodistally compressed, with a premolar:molar crown size ratio that is high compared to other species in the genus Homo. Upper premolars with two or three roots, a mesio-distally expanded lingual crown, strong buccal grooves, partial or continuous transverse crest, and an enameldentine junction (EDJ) shape that is distinct from that of H. sapiens, Homo neanderthalensis and Asian Homo erectus. Very small upper molars, with a M 1 > M 2 > M 3 crown size pattern, a simplified occlusal morphology with reduced metacone and hypocone, no crenulation on the EDJ, and EDJ shape affinities with that of H. sapiens and Asian H. erectus. Intermediate manual phalanx (rays 2–4) that is long and narrow (unlike all hominins except H. sapiens), with a longitudinally curved and dorso-palmarly compressed shaft, well-developed flexor sheath attachments and a strongly developed dorsal beak; it shares shape affinities with Australopithecus, H. floresiensis and—to a lesser extent— H. sapiens. Distal hand phalanx with proportions unlike 1 Département Homme & Environnement, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7194, CNRS,Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France. 2 Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, The Philippines. 3 National Museum of the Philippines, Manila, The Philippines. 4 Laboratoire Paléontologie Evolution Paléoécosystèmes Paléoprimatologie (PALEVOPRIM), UMR 7262, CNRS, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France. 5 Laboratoire PACEA, UMR 5199 CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France. 6 Laboratoire AMIS, UMR 5288 CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France. 7 Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. 8 Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 9 School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. * e-mail: florent.detroit@mnhn.fr; mandy24_us@yahoo.com those of early Homo / Paranthropus, Homo naledi, H. floresiensis and H. neanderthalensis. The third metatarsal has a base that is very small relative to bone length, dorso-plantarly short and with a marked dorsoplantar convexity of the proximal articular facet. The proximal pedal phalanx (rays 2–4) shares shape affinities with Australopithecus: marked longitudinal curvature, parallel medial and lateral sides in dorsal view, a small bicondylar head and weak dorsal canting of the proximal articular surface (unlike African and European early Homo, H. naledi, H. neanderthalensis, H. floresiensis and H. sapiens). Description and comparison of the fossil elements Of the seven posterior maxillary teeth, six are from the right side (CCH6-a to CCH6-e and CCH9) and one (CCH8) is from the left (Fig. 2a, f, g, Extended Data Fig. 1 and Supplementary Information). The M 2 (CCH6-b) and one of the M 3 s (CCH9) are complete; the other teeth have well-preserved crowns, and at least one—but sometimes all—roots are partly broken. Micro-fissures are present in the enamel, dentine and cementum, and the pulp cavity is generally filled by calcium carbonate; however, these post-depositional modifications do not affect the size, shape or morphological attributes of the teeth. In comparison to Australopithecus, Paranthropus and other species of the genus Homo, the maxillary postcanine teeth of H. luzonensis are small and mesio-distally compressed, and there is a marked contrast between the relative size and shape of the premolars and molars (Figs. 2–4 and Extended Data Figs. 1–4). The upper molars of H. luzonensis have small crown sizes with a M 1 > M 2 > M 3 pattern and simplified occlusal surface morphology with a reduced number of cusps and an absence of marked crenulations at the EDJ (Fig. 3 and Extended Data Fig. 1). These derived features are found in other Late Pleistocene species of the genus Homo (that is, H. neanderthalensis, H. floresiensis and H. sapiens), but in this respect H. luzonensis molars more closely resemble those of H. sapiens 4, 5. However, the M 1 and M 2 of H. luzonensis have smaller crown sizes than those of H. sapiens (Fig. 3 and Extended Data Fig. 2d, e). Compared to the molars of H. floresiensis, H. luzonensis molars are smaller and the M 1 is not more mesio-distally compressed than the other postcanine teeth 6, 7 (Extended Data Figs. 2–4). For their diminutive size and simplified crown morphology, H. luzonensis molars also differ considerably from Asian H. erectus 4, 5, 8, 9 and Denisovans 10, although the EDJ of H. luzonensis M 1 shows some shape affinities with several Indonesian H. erectus specimens (Extended Data Fig. 4f, h). H. luzonensis premolars are noticeably large relative to the molarseven more so than seen in H. floresiensis and unlike the pattern seen in other hominins, except Paranthropus (Fig. 3)—and also display several primitive features. For instance, the P 3 and P 4 crowns are asymmetric with a large and mesially displaced lingual cusp, as in early Homo 11, and complete or partial mesial transverse ridges are present on the upper premolars, similar to those of H. floresiensis 6, 7. Developed mesial and distal vertical grooves are also evident on the buccal aspects of the P 3 and P 4; features that are more frequent in early Homo than in H. sapiens 12 and that are absent in H. floresiensis 6, 7. Moreover, H. luzonensis premolars have multiple roots (P 3 has three, P 4 has two) that are robust and highly divergent, an archaic condition typically found in Australopithecus, Paranthropus and early Homo 13. Multiple robust and divergent premolar roots also occur in Asian H. erectus (Early Pleistocene Indonesian and Middle Pleistocene Chinese specimens), but are rare in H. sapiens and absent in H. floresiensis 4, 6, 9, 12 – 17. CCH8 (Fig. 2f and Extended Data Fig. 1f), an isolated left upper premolar, exhibits three roots (typically a P 3 feature) with a relatively symmetric crown (typically a P 4 feature). If CCH8 is a P 4, a similar three-rooted condition has not been reported for any Pleistocene Homo from Asia and is rarely found in modern humans (1 to 3%) 13, 14. In terms of absolute tooth size and premolar–molar proportions, H. luzonensis shows a pattern that is not seen elsewhere in the genus Homo (Fig. 3 and Extended Data Fig. 2). Although Paranthropus shows similarly large premolars relative to molars (Fig. 3), the maxillary postcanine teeth of H. luzonensis differ markedly from those of Paranthropus in absolute size and shape (Extended Data Fig. 2). Multivariate statistical analysis of P 3 –M 2 dental diameters results in H. luzonensis clustering with Asian H. erectus. Both species are characterized by almost similarly sized first and second molars, large premolars relative to molars and postcanine teeth that are mesio-distally compressed (Extended Data Fig. 2g, h). The mesio-distally compressed shape of the M 1 of H. luzonensis is also visible in the results of the elliptic Fourier analysis of the crown contour, in which H. luzonensis plots at the margins of the range of variation for H. sapiens (which is characterized by more squared or rhomboidal M 1 s) (Extended Data Fig. 3). H. luzonensis differs from H. floresiensis, which displays an M 1 crown contour shape that is even more mesio-distally compressed and has a more developed protocone (Extended Data Fig. 3c, f). Threedimensional geometric morphometric analyses of the P 3 and P 4 EDJs discriminate CCH6 and CCH8 from fossil and extant H. sapiens, H. neanderthalensis and Asian H. erectus, with H. luzonensis occupying its own area of the morphospace or sharing it with H. floresiensis when the latter is included (Fig. 4 and Extended Data Fig. 4d, e). The 3D geometric morphometric analyses of M 1 and M 2 EDJs are less clear, with H. luzonensis clustering with extant H. sapiens and Asian H. erectus (Extended Data Fig. 4f), with extant H. sapiens only (Extended Data Fig. 4g), with Asian H. erectus only (Extended Data Fig. 4h), or by itself (Extended Data Fig. 4i). However, the overall pattern of morphology seen in the dental remains of H. luzonensis is easily distinguishable from all previously described hominin species. CCH2 is an intermediate manual phalanx with a total length of 32.5 mm (interarticular length, 31 mm; Fig. 2b, Supplementary Information and Supplementary Table 2). The bone is complete and well-preserved, but it was recovered broken just distal of the midshaft in two refitting parts (Extended Data Fig. 5a). On the basis of the asymmetry of the proximal and distal ends, it belongs to rays 2, 3 or 4 of the left hand. CCH2 displays primitive features such as an elongated and dorso-palmarly compressed shaft and well-developed flexor sheath attachments (Extended Data Fig. 5b). All these features are observed in Australopithecus 18 – 20 and to a lesser extent in the Homo habilis holotype OH7 21 (but see a previous publication 22), but not in other Homo species that show more derived morphologies 23 – 26 (Extended Data Fig. 5c), although a primitive morphology is reported for H. naledi 27. Metric (Extended Data Fig. 5 d–f) and 3D geometric morphometric analyses (Extended Data Fig. 6) show that the intermediate manual phalanx of H. luzonensis is long, narrow medio-laterally (base, shaft and head) and markedly curved. These shape characteristics are shared with Australopithecus and H. floresiensis, but not with H. naledi (which shares shape affinities with Paranthropus /early Homo specimens from Swartkrans), and are seen occasionally in H. sapiens (Extended Data Fig. 6a, d, e). H. floresiensis differs from H. luzonensis and most other hominins by the shape of the phalangeal head, which—in lateral or medial view—has a very small diameter and is only slightly palmarly deviated relative to the proximo-distal axis of the shaft (Extended Data Fig. 6b, c). An idiosyncratic feature that differentiates H. luzonensis from all other species of Homo is the strong development and proximal projection of the dorsal beak and this may have limited extension at the interphalangeal joint. CCH5 is a complete and well-preserved distal manual phalanx 15.9 mm in total length (interarticular length, 15.6 mm; Fig. 2c, Extended Data Fig. 7, Supplementary Information and Supplementary Table 2). Its laterality and ray cannot be determined with certainty, but its proximal articular surface is too small to articulate with CCH2. The proportions of CCH5 (apical tuft expansion and robusticity indices) are within the ranges of variation for H. sapiens and Australopithecus and outside those of H. neanderthalensis and H. floresiensis 23, 28 (Extended Data Fig. 7d, e). CCH4 is a complete and well-preserved right proximal pedal phalanx of rays 2, 3 or 4 (Fig. 2d, Extended Data Fig. 8, Supplementary Information and Supplementary Table 2) that is 27.4 mm long (interarticular length, 26.5 mm). It shows primitive— Australopithecus -likefeatures, including pronounced longitudinal curvature of the shaft in lateral view, parallel medial and lateral diaphyseal margins in dorsal view and well-developed flexor sheath attachments in the distal two-thirds of the shaft, bordered by marked plantar crests (Extended Data Fig. 8b, c). The base is small, with a circular proximal articular surface that displays dorsal canting and articular angles of 94.5° and 89.6°, respectively. These angular values are outside of the ranges of variation for H. sapiens, H. neanderthalensis, H. naledi and H. floresiensis, but within those of Australopithecus afarensis and Australopithecus africanus 20, 29 – 31 (Extended Data Fig. 8f, g). The head is relatively small, bicondylar and proximo-dorsally to disto-plantarly compressed, with a plantar breadth that is larger than its dorsal one. All of these features are typically found in combination in Australopithecus 19, 20, 29, 31. The morphology of the proximal pedal phalanges of H. floresiensis has also been described as Australopithecus -like in some respects (for example, absence of an hourglass shape) 32, 33; however, the combination of features found in CCH4 is essentially indistinguishable from the features of A. afarensis and A. africanus as shown by a 3D geometric morphometric shape analysis (Fig. 5). Although proximal pedal phalanges are missing from the Asian H. erectus fossil record, those known for African and European species (for example, H. naledi, Homo antecessor and H. neanderthalensis) suggest that the morphology of H. luzonensis is unique among the genus Homo 26, 31, 34. Fig. 4 | Premolar EDJ of H. luzonensis. a , EDJ of the P 3 of H. luzonensis (CCH6-e) compared to the EDJs of H. floresiensis (Liang Bua 1 (LB1)), H. sapiens, H. erectus (Sangiran 4) and H. neanderthalensis (KRD 53). Horns of dentine were reconstructed for CCH6-e, LB1 and Sangiran 4; see Methods. Scale bar, 5 mm. b, c, Between-group principal component analyses (bgPCAs) of the three-dimensional landmark Procrustes- registered shape coordinates of the P 3 s (b) and P 4 s (c). Sample sizes for b, c, respectively: H. erectus, n = 2, 3; H. neanderthalensis, n = 5, 6; fossil H. sapiens, n = 3, 3; extant H. sapiens, n = 8, 9; H. floresiensis, n = 1, 0; H. luzonensis, n = 2, 2. A detailed list of specimens can be found in Supplementary Table 6. CCH3 is a complete and well-preserved intermediate pedal phalanx with a total length of 16.3 mm (interarticular length, 14.9 mm; Fig. 2e, Extended Data Fig. 9, Supplementary Information and Supplementary Table 2). Because the shape, size and morphology of this element is highly variable in H. sapiens and other hominins, little can be said at this time about its comparative morphology; however, it visually more closely resembles the intermediate pedal phalanges of H. sapiens and H. floresiensis than it does those of A. afarensis (Extended Data Fig. 9c). The previously published third metatarsal (CCH1) 1, 2 has a proximal base that is particularly small compared to the total length of the bone. It is further characterized by a pronounced triangular shape with a short dorso-plantar height and a medio-laterally expanded dorsal aspect, and a marked dorso-plantar convexity of the proximal articular facet for the lateral cuneiform. The latter feature, which is very uncommon in hominins, has been reported (since the description of CCH1) in a fourth metatarsal of Australopithecus sediba 35. The referred specimen, CCH7, is a partial left femur from which both the proximal and distal ends are missing (Fig. 2h, Extended Data Fig. 10 and Supplementary Information). Transverse slices of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scans show a high density of Haversian canals in the cortical bone that is characteristic of a growing juvenile individual (Extended Data Fig. 10c). Implications of H. luzonensis for hominin evolution The Late Pleistocene hominin fossils from Callao Cave show a combination of dental and postcranial (hand and foot) features that is distinct from currently known species of the genus Homo (Supplementary Table 3). The premolars of H. luzonensis combine size and shape features seen in other Late Pleistocene species of the genus Homo (for example, H. neanderthalensis, H. floresiensis and H. sapiens) with primitive morphological features of the crown, EDJ and roots, which are typically found in earlier hominins, including Australopithecus and Paranthropus (Supplementary Table 3). The molars are extremely small and their external morphology resembles those of H. sapiens and—to a lesser extent—those of H. floresiensis, whereas some of their EDJ shapes show affinities with those of Asian H. erectus. Notable similarities are observed between H. luzonensis and Australopithecus in the anatomy of their manual and pedal elements. The morphologies of the hands and feet of Australopithecus, which are generally described as an intermediate between the morphologies of great apes and modern humans, are typically interpreted either as indicating adaptations to various degrees of bipedalism and climbing and/or suspension 36 or as reflecting the retention of plesiomorphic features in obligatory bipeds 35, 37. However, the partial and fragmentary nature of the H. luzonensis postcranial elements presently limits further interpretation of its locomotor and manipulative abilities. The origin of H. luzonensis, as well as its phylogenetic relationships with other hominins present in eastern Asia at around the same timeincluding H. sapiens 38, H. floresiensis 39 and Denisovans 10, and hominins recently discovered in China 40 —remains to be determined. As is the case for most hominins recovered from tropical Asia 41, attempted DNA extraction from H. luzonensis fossils has been unsuccessful. Direct dates on H. luzonensis tooth and bone samples indicate it was present on Luzon before 50 kyr ago 1, 3 and the recent discovery 42 of stone tools and a butchered rhinoceros in the nearby Cagayan Valley indicates t
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28. Direct ESR dating of the Pleistocene vertebrate assemblage from Khok Sung locality, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Northeast Thailand
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Duval, Mathieu, primary, Fang, Fang, additional, Suraprasit, Kantapon, additional, Jaeger, Jean-Jacques, additional, Benammi, Mouloud, additional, Chaimanee, Yaowalak, additional, Cibanal, Javier Iglesias, additional, and Grün, Rainer, additional
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29. A reassessment of the early archaeological record at Leang Burung 2, a Late Pleistocene rock-shelter site on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi
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Brumm, Adam, Hakim, Budianto, Ramli, Muhammad, Aubert, Maxime, van den Bergh, Gerrit D., Li, Bo, Burhan, Basran, Saiful, Andi Muhammad, Siagian, Linda, Sardi, Ratno, Jusdi, Andi, Abdullah, Mubarak, Andi Pampang, Moore, Mark W., Roberts, Richard G., Zhao, Jian Xin, McGahan, David, Jones, Brian G., Perston, Yinika, Szabó, Katherine, Mahmud, M. Irfan, Westaway, Kira, Jatmiko, Saptomo, E. Wahyu, van der Kaars, Sander, Grün, Rainer, Wood, Rachel, Dodson, John, Morwood, Michael J., Brumm, Adam, Hakim, Budianto, Ramli, Muhammad, Aubert, Maxime, van den Bergh, Gerrit D., Li, Bo, Burhan, Basran, Saiful, Andi Muhammad, Siagian, Linda, Sardi, Ratno, Jusdi, Andi, Abdullah, Mubarak, Andi Pampang, Moore, Mark W., Roberts, Richard G., Zhao, Jian Xin, McGahan, David, Jones, Brian G., Perston, Yinika, Szabó, Katherine, Mahmud, M. Irfan, Westaway, Kira, Jatmiko, Saptomo, E. Wahyu, van der Kaars, Sander, Grün, Rainer, Wood, Rachel, Dodson, John, and Morwood, Michael J.
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This paper presents a reassessment of the archaeological record at Leang Burung 2, a key early human occupation site in the Late Pleistocene of Southeast Asia. Excavated originally by Ian Glover in 1975, this limestone rock-shelter in the Maros karsts of Sulawesi, Indonesia, has long held significance in our understanding of early human dispersals into 'Wallacea', the vast zone of oceanic islands between continental Asia and Australia. We present new stratigraphic information and dating evidence from Leang Burung 2 collected during the course of our excavations at this site in 2007 and 2011-13. Our findings suggest that the classic Late Pleistocene modern human occupation sequence identified previously at Leang Burung 2, and proposed to span around 31,000 to 19,000 conventional 14C years BP (~35-24 ka cal BP), may actually represent an amalgam of reworked archaeological materials. Sources for cultural materials of mixed ages comprise breccias from the rear wall of the rock-shelter-remnants of older, eroded deposits dated to 35-23 ka cal BP-and cultural remains of early Holocene antiquity. Below the upper levels affected by the mass loss of Late Pleistocene deposits, our deep-trench excavations uncovered evidence for an earlier hominin presence at the site. These findings include fossils of now-extinct proboscideans and other 'megafauna' in stratified context, as well as a cobble-based stone artifact technology comparable to that produced by late Middle Pleistocene hominins elsewhere on Sulawesi.
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30. The chronology and environmental context of a cave deposit and associated faunal assemblage including megafauna teeth near Wee Jasper, southeastern Australia
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Theden-Ringl, Fenja, Hislop, Kathleen, Aplin, Ken, Schurr, Mark, Grün, Rainer, Theden-Ringl, Fenja, Hislop, Kathleen, Aplin, Ken, Schurr, Mark, and Grün, Rainer
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A limestone cave on the lower slopes of the southeastern Australian high country reveals a deep, stratified deposit dated from ca. 14,000 to 2000 cal. BP and rich in predominantly non-cultural faunal remains. Located in a sensitive ecological area between the Australian Alps and the Southern Tablelands, the site provides a valuable chronological archive for the interpretation of local environmental change using the faunal record as a proxy, in particular native rodents and other small mammals. Inferred palaeoenvironmental trends include the cessation of periglacial conditions in the surrounding ranges during the Terminal Pleistocene; a shift to warmer conditions and the establishment of forest and wetland habitats from around 13,500 to 10,000 cal. BP, with a significant decline in cold-adapted species at ca. 11,500 cal. BP and a period of significant taxon fluctuation and extinctions corresponding to a possible peak in warm and moist conditions (a ‘Holocene Optimum’), beginning around 8000 cal. BP and lasting perhaps 1500 to 2000 years. Complications to the relatively steady and continuous chronostratigraphy, formed from an AMS radiocarbon sequence from sedimentary charcoal, arose from the presence of several teeth of extinct sthenurine megafauna. These were resolved with direct U-series analysis to establish their much greater antiquity and comparison of the sthenurine teeth with teeth of extant macropodids from the same deposit through fluoride absorption analysis, which also identified the megafauna teeth as anomalous to the sequence. The site provides an important case study for the interpretation of megafauna remains in stratified sedimentary deposits, especially for sites that appear to contain evidence for the co-occurrence of megafauna and humans in primary contexts.
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31. The earliest modern humans outside Africa
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Hershkovitz, Israel, Weber, Gerhard W, Quam, Rolf, Duval, Mathieu, Grün, Rainer, Kinsley, Leslie, Ayalon, Avner, Bar-Matthews, Miryam, Valladas, Helene, Mercier, Norbert, Arsuaga, Juan Luis, Martinón-Torres, María, Bermúdez de Castro, José María, Fornai, Cinzia, Martín-Francés, Laura, Sarig, Rachel, May, Hila, Krenn, Viktoria A, Slon, Viviane, Rodríguez, Laura, García, Rebeca, Lorenzo, Carlos, Carretero, Jose Miguel, Frumkin, Amos, Shahack-Gross, Ruth, Bar-Yosef Mayer, Daniella E, Cui, Yaming, Wu, Xinzhi, Peled, Natan, Groman-Yaroslavski, Iris, Weissbrod, Lior, Yeshurun, Reuven, Tsatskin, Alexander, Zaidner, Yossi, Weinstein-Evron, Mina, Hershkovitz, Israel, Weber, Gerhard W, Quam, Rolf, Duval, Mathieu, Grün, Rainer, Kinsley, Leslie, Ayalon, Avner, Bar-Matthews, Miryam, Valladas, Helene, Mercier, Norbert, Arsuaga, Juan Luis, Martinón-Torres, María, Bermúdez de Castro, José María, Fornai, Cinzia, Martín-Francés, Laura, Sarig, Rachel, May, Hila, Krenn, Viktoria A, Slon, Viviane, Rodríguez, Laura, García, Rebeca, Lorenzo, Carlos, Carretero, Jose Miguel, Frumkin, Amos, Shahack-Gross, Ruth, Bar-Yosef Mayer, Daniella E, Cui, Yaming, Wu, Xinzhi, Peled, Natan, Groman-Yaroslavski, Iris, Weissbrod, Lior, Yeshurun, Reuven, Tsatskin, Alexander, Zaidner, Yossi, and Weinstein-Evron, Mina
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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.
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32. Mapping of bioavailable strontium isotope ratios in France for archaeological provenance studies
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Willmes, Malte, Bataille, Clement P., James, Hannah F., Moffat, Ian, McMorrow, Linda, Kinsley, Leslie, Armstrong, Richard, Eggins, Stephen, Grün, Rainer, Willmes, Malte, Bataille, Clement P., James, Hannah F., Moffat, Ian, McMorrow, Linda, Kinsley, Leslie, Armstrong, Richard, Eggins, Stephen, and Grün, Rainer
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Strontium isotope ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) of archaeological samples (teeth and bones) can be used to track mobility and migration across geologically distinct landscapes. However, traditional interpolation algorithms and classification approaches used to generate Sr isoscapes are often limited in predicting multiscale ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr patterning. Here we investigate the suitability of plant samples and soil leachates from the IRHUM database (www.irhumdatabase.com) to create a bioavailable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr map using a novel geostatistical framework. First, we generated an ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr map by classifying ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values into five geologically-representative isotope groups using cluster analysis. The isotope groups were then used as a covariate in kriging to integrate prior geological knowledge of Sr cycling with the information contained in the bioavailable dataset and enhance ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr predictions. Our approach couples the strengths of classification and geostatistical methods to generate more accurate ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr predictions (Root Mean Squared Error = 0.0029) with an estimate of spatial uncertainty based on lithology and sample density. This bioavailable Sr isoscape is applicable for provenance studies in France, and the method is transferable to other areas with high sampling density. While our method is a step forward in generating accurate ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isoscapes, the remaining uncertainty also demonstrates that fine-modelling of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr variability is challenging and requires more than geological maps for accurately predicting ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr variations across the landscape. Future efforts should focus on increasing sampling density and developing predictive models to further quantify and predict the processes that lead to ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr variability.
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33. A reassessment of the early archaeological record at Leang Burung 2, a Late Pleistocene rock-shelter site on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi
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Brumm, Adam R, Hakim, Budianto, Ramli, Muhammad, Aubert, Maxime, van den Bergh, Gerrit D, Li, Bo, Burhan, Basran, Saiful, Andi, Siagian, Linda, Sardi, Ratno, Jusdi, Andi, Abdullah,, Mubarak, Andi Pampang, Moore, Mark W, Roberts, Richard G, Zhao, J -X, McGahan, David, Jones, Brian G, Perston, Yinika, Szabo, Katherine A, Mahmud, M. Irfan, Westaway, Kira E, Jatmiko, Jatmiko, Saptomo, E Wahyu, van der Kaars, Sander, Grün, Rainer, Wood, Rachel, Dodson, John R, Morwood, Michael J, Brumm, Adam R, Hakim, Budianto, Ramli, Muhammad, Aubert, Maxime, van den Bergh, Gerrit D, Li, Bo, Burhan, Basran, Saiful, Andi, Siagian, Linda, Sardi, Ratno, Jusdi, Andi, Abdullah,, Mubarak, Andi Pampang, Moore, Mark W, Roberts, Richard G, Zhao, J -X, McGahan, David, Jones, Brian G, Perston, Yinika, Szabo, Katherine A, Mahmud, M. Irfan, Westaway, Kira E, Jatmiko, Jatmiko, Saptomo, E Wahyu, van der Kaars, Sander, Grün, Rainer, Wood, Rachel, Dodson, John R, and Morwood, Michael J
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This paper presents a reassessment of the archaeological record at Leang Burung 2, a key early human occupation site in the Late Pleistocene of Southeast Asia. Excavated originally by Ian Glover in 1975, this limestone rock-shelter in the Maros karsts of Sulawesi, Indonesia, has long held significance in our understanding of early human dispersals into 'Wallacea', the vast zone of oceanic islands between continental Asia and Australia. We present new stratigraphic information and dating evidence from Leang Burung 2 collected during the course of our excavations at this site in 2007 and 2011-13. Our findings suggest that the classic Late Pleistocene modern human occupation sequence identified previously at Leang Burung 2, and proposed to span around 31,000 to 19,000 conventional 14C years BP (~35-24 ka cal BP), may actually represent an amalgam of reworked archaeological materials. Sources for cultural materials of mixed ages comprise breccias from the rear wall of the rock-shelter-remnants of older, eroded deposits dated to 35-23 ka cal BP-and cultural remains of early Holocene antiquity. Below the upper levels affected by the mass loss of Late Pleistocene deposits, our deep-trench excavations uncovered evidence for an earlier hominin presence at the site. These findings include fossils of now-extinct proboscideans and other 'megafauna' in stratified context, as well as a cobble-based stone artifact technology comparable to that produced by late Middle Pleistocene hominins elsewhere on Sulawesi.
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- 2018
34. Wintertime stress, nursing, and lead exposure in Neanderthal children
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Smith, Tanya M., primary, Austin, Christine, additional, Green, Daniel R., additional, Joannes-Boyau, Renaud, additional, Bailey, Shara, additional, Dumitriu, Dani, additional, Fallon, Stewart, additional, Grün, Rainer, additional, James, Hannah F., additional, Moncel, Marie-Hélène, additional, Williams, Ian S., additional, Wood, Rachel, additional, and Arora, Manish, additional
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- 2018
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35. The age of Homo naledi and associated sediments in the Rising Star Cave, South Africa
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Dirks, Paul H.G.M, Roberts, Eric, Hilbert-Wolf, Hannah, Kramers, Jan, Hawks, John, Dosseto, Anthony, Duval, Mathieu, Elliott, Marina, Evans, Mary, Grün, Rainer, Dirks, Paul H.G.M, Roberts, Eric, Hilbert-Wolf, Hannah, Kramers, Jan, Hawks, John, Dosseto, Anthony, Duval, Mathieu, Elliott, Marina, Evans, Mary, and Grün, Rainer
- Abstract
New ages for flowstone, sediments and fossil bones from the Dinaledi Chamber are presented. We combined optically stimulated luminescence dating of sediments with U-Th and palaeomagnetic analyses of flowstones to establish that all sediments containing Homo naledi fossils can be allocated to a single stratigraphic entity (sub-unit 3b), interpreted to be deposited between 236 ka and 414 ka. This result has been confirmed independently by dating three H. naledi teeth with combined U-series and electron spin resonance (US-ESR) dating. Two dating scenarios for the fossils were tested by varying the assumed levels of 222Rn loss in the encasing sediments: a maximum age scenario provides an average age for the two least altered fossil teeth of 253 +82/-70 ka, whilst a minimum age scenario yields an average age of 200 +70/-61 ka. We consider the maximum age scenario to more closely reflect conditions in the cave, and therefore, the true age of the fossils. By combining the US-ESR maximum age estimate obtained from the teeth, with the U-Th age for the oldest flowstone overlying Homo naledi fossils, we have constrained the depositional age of Homo naledi to a period between 236 ka and 335 ka. These age results demonstrate that a morphologically primitive hominin, Homo naledi, survived into the later parts of the Pleistocene in Africa, and indicate a much younger age for the Homo naledi fossils than have previously been hypothesized based on their morphology.
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- 2017
36. Uranium uptake history, open-system behaviour and uranium-series ages of fossil Tridacna gigas from Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea
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Ayling, Bridget F., Eggins, Stephen, McCulloch, Malcolm T., Chappell, John, Grün, Rainer, Mortimer, Graham, Ayling, Bridget F., Eggins, Stephen, McCulloch, Malcolm T., Chappell, John, Grün, Rainer, and Mortimer, Graham
- Abstract
Molluscs incorporate negligible uranium into their skeleton while they are living, with any uranium uptake occurring post-mortem. As such, closed-system U-series dating of molluscs is unlikely to provide reliable age constraints for marine deposits. Even the application of open-system U-series modelling is challenging, because uranium uptake and loss histories can affect time-integrated uranium distributions and are difficult to constrain. We investigate the chemical and isotopic distribution of uranium in fossil Tridacna gigas (giant clams) from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e (128–116 ka) and MIS 11 (424–374 ka) reefs at Huon Peninsula in Papua New Guinea. The large size of the clams enables detailed chemical and isotopic mapping of uranium using LA-ICPMS and LA-MC-ICPMS techniques. Within each fossil Tridacna specimen, marked differences in uranium concentrations are observed across the three Tridacna growth zones (outer, inner, hinge), with the outer and hinge zones being relatively enriched. In MIS 5e and MIS 11 Tridacna, the outer and hinge zones contain approximately 1 ppm and 5 ppm uranium respectively. In addition to uptake of uranium, loss of uranium appears prevalent, especially in the MIS 11 specimens. The effect of uranium loss is to elevate measured [230Th/238U] values with little effect on [234U/238U] values. Closed-system age estimates are on average 50% too young for the MIS 5e Tridacna, and 25% too young for the MIS 11 Tridacna. A complex, multi-stage uptake and loss history is interpreted for the fossil Tridacna and we demonstrate that they cannot provide independent, reliable geochronological controls on the timing of past reef growth at Huon Peninsula.
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- 2017
37. Early human symbolic behavior in the Late Pleistocene of Wallacea
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Brumm, Adam R, Langley, Michelle, Moore, Mark W, Hakim, Budianto, Ramli, Muhammad, Sumantri, Iwan, Burhan, Basran, Saiful, Andi, Siagian, Linda, Suryatman, Sardi, Ratno, Andi, Jusdi, Abdullah, Mubarak, Andi Pampang, Hasliana, Hasrianti, Oktaviana, Adhi Agus, Adhityatama, Shinatria, van den Bergh, Gerrit D, Aubert, Maxime, Zhao, J -X, Huntley, Jillian, Li, Bo, Roberts, Richard G, Saptomo, E Wahyu, Perston, Yinika, Grün, Rainer, Brumm, Adam R, Langley, Michelle, Moore, Mark W, Hakim, Budianto, Ramli, Muhammad, Sumantri, Iwan, Burhan, Basran, Saiful, Andi, Siagian, Linda, Suryatman, Sardi, Ratno, Andi, Jusdi, Abdullah, Mubarak, Andi Pampang, Hasliana, Hasrianti, Oktaviana, Adhi Agus, Adhityatama, Shinatria, van den Bergh, Gerrit D, Aubert, Maxime, Zhao, J -X, Huntley, Jillian, Li, Bo, Roberts, Richard G, Saptomo, E Wahyu, Perston, Yinika, and Grün, Rainer
- Abstract
Wallacea, the zone of oceanic islands separating the continental regions of Southeast Asia and Australia, has yielded sparse evidence for the symbolic culture of early modern humans. Here we report evidence for symbolic activity 30,000-22,000 y ago at Leang Bulu Bettue, a cave and rock-shelter site on the Wallacean island of Sulawesi. We describe hitherto undocumented practices of personal ornamentation and portable art, alongside evidence for pigment processing and use in deposits that are the same age as dated rock art in the surrounding karst region. Previously, assemblages of multiple and diverse types of Pleistocene "symbolic" artifacts were entirely unknown from this region. The Leang Bulu Bettue assemblage provides insight into the complexity and diversification of modern human culture during a key period in the global dispersal of our species. It also shows that early inhabitants of Sulawesi fashioned ornaments from body parts of endemic animals, suggesting modern humans integrated exotic faunas and other novel resources into their symbolic world as they colonized the biogeographically unique regions southeast of continental Eurasia.
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- 2017
38. Potential of 2D-modeling for beta dose rate characterization in heterogeneous samples
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MARTIN, Loïc, INCERTI, Sébastien, MERCIER, Norbert, GRÜN, Rainer, FANG, Fang, LEBRUN, Brice, Université, Bordeaux Montaigne, IRAMAT-Centre de recherche en physique appliquée à l’archéologie (IRAMAT-CRP2A), Institut de Recherches sur les Archéomatériaux (IRAMAT), Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Université Bordeaux Montaigne-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Université Bordeaux Montaigne-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre d'Etudes Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan (CENBG), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1, Australian National University (ANU), Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Bordeaux Montaigne-Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Bordeaux Montaigne-Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM), and Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
[SHS.ARCHEO] Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory ,[SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS - Abstract
International audience
- Published
- 2016
39. El grupu neandertal de la Cueva d'El Sidrón (Borines, Piloña)
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Rasilla, Marco de la, Rosas, Antonio, Cañaveras, Juan Carlos, Lalueza-Fox, Carles, Santamaría, David, Duarte, Elsa, Sánchez Moral, Sergio, Estalrrich, Almudena, García Tabernero, Antonio, Silva Barroso, Pablo Gabriel, Santos, Gabriel, Huguet, Rosa, Bastir, Markus, Suárez, Paloma, Díez, Ana Belén, López Tascón, C, Fernández Cascón, Beatriz, Cuezva, Soledad, Fernández Cortés, Ángel, Muñoz, Concepción, Lario, Javier, García Antón, Elena, Ríos, Luis, Pérez-Criado, Laura, García-Martínez, Daniel, Rodríguez-Pérez, Francisco, Ferrando, Anabel, Standing, M., Carrasco, Pedro, Huerta, Pedro, Ayarza, P., Álvarez Lobato, F., Rodríguez, Loreto, Picón, Inmaculada, Fernández, Begoña, Sesé, Carmen, Torres, Trinidad José de, Ortiz Menéndez, José Eugenio, Valladas, Helèn, Mercier, Norbert, Tisnèrat-Laborde, Nadine, Grün, Rainer, Eggins, Stephen, Higham, Thomas, Wood, Rachel E., Julià Brugués, Ramón, Soler, Vicente, Badal, Ernestina, Tarriño, Antonio, Alonso Peña, Jesús, and Martínez, Lucía
- Subjects
Neandertales ,ADN ,España ,Asturias ,Musteriense ,Geología ,Pleistoceno Superior ,Cronología ,Yacimiento de la Cueva de El Sidrón ,Industria lítica - Abstract
Na monografía clásica de Puig y Larraz (1896: 250-252) amiéntense delles cavidaes del Conceyu de Piloña, pero non la Cueva d’El Sidrón (Fig. 1). Esta conocíase, ensin dulda, dende la Guerra Civil y el maquis al servir d’abellugu a persiguíos políticos, y guarda una alcordanza imborrable nuna de les sos múltiples entraes, yá qu’ellí ta enterrada Olvido Otero González (1908-1938). Per El Sidrón pasaron munches persones a lo llargo de los años, pero en 1994 prodúxose’l descubrimientu per parte d’unos espeleólogos xixoneses d’unos güesos humanos que dieron un importante xiru a la conocencia de los nuesos antepasaos neandertales.
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- 2016
40. U-series dating and classification of the Apidima 2 hominin from Mani Peninsula, Southern Greece
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Bartsiokas, Antonis, primary, Arsuaga, Juan Luis, additional, Aubert, Maxime, additional, and Grün, Rainer, additional
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- 2017
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41. The age of Homo naledi and associated sediments in the Rising Star Cave, South Africa
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Dirks, Paul HGM, primary, Roberts, Eric M, additional, Hilbert-Wolf, Hannah, additional, Kramers, Jan D, additional, Hawks, John, additional, Dosseto, Anthony, additional, Duval, Mathieu, additional, Elliott, Marina, additional, Evans, Mary, additional, Grün, Rainer, additional, Hellstrom, John, additional, Herries, Andy IR, additional, Joannes-Boyau, Renaud, additional, Makhubela, Tebogo V, additional, Placzek, Christa J, additional, Robbins, Jessie, additional, Spandler, Carl, additional, Wiersma, Jelle, additional, Woodhead, Jon, additional, and Berger, Lee R, additional
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- 2017
- Full Text
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42. Last appearance of Homo erectusat Ngandong, Java, 117,000–108,000 years ago
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Rizal, Yan, Westaway, Kira E., Zaim, Yahdi, van den Bergh, Gerrit D., Bettis, E. Arthur, Morwood, Michael J., Huffman, O. Frank, Grün, Rainer, Joannes-Boyau, Renaud, Bailey, Richard M., Sidarto, Westaway, Michael C., Kurniawan, Iwan, Moore, Mark W., Storey, Michael, Aziz, Fachroel, Suminto, Zhao, Jian-xin, Aswan, Sipola, Maija E., Larick, Roy, Zonneveld, John-Paul, Scott, Robert, Putt, Shelby, and Ciochon, Russell L.
- Abstract
Homo erectusis the founding early hominin species of Island Southeast Asia, and reached Java (Indonesia) more than 1.5 million years ago1,2. Twelve H. erectuscalvaria (skull caps) and two tibiae (lower leg bones) were discovered from a bone bed located about 20 m above the Solo River at Ngandong (Central Java) between 1931 and 19333,4, and are of the youngest, most-advanced form of H. erectus5–8. Despite the importance of the Ngandong fossils, the relationship between the fossils, terrace fill and ages have been heavily debated9–14. Here, to resolve the age of the Ngandong evidence, we use Bayesian modelling of 52 radiometric age estimates to establish—to our knowledge—the first robust chronology at regional, valley and local scales. We used uranium-series dating of speleothems to constrain regional landscape evolution; luminescence, 40argon/39argon (40Ar/39Ar) and uranium-series dating to constrain the sequence of terrace evolution; and applied uranium-series and uranium series–electron-spin resonance (US–ESR) dating to non-human fossils to directly date our re-excavation of Ngandong5,15. We show that at least by 500 thousand years ago (ka) the Solo River was diverted into the Kendeng Hills, and that it formed the Solo terrace sequence between 316 and 31 ka and the Ngandong terrace between about 140 and 92 ka. Non-human fossils recovered during the re-excavation of Ngandong date to between 109 and 106 ka (uranium-series minimum)16and 134 and 118 ka (US–ESR), with modelled ages of 117 to 108 thousand years (kyr) for the H. erectusbone bed, which accumulated during flood conditions3,17. These results negate the extreme ages that have been proposed for the site and solidify Ngandong as the last known occurrence of this long-lived species.
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- 2020
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43. The Acheulian and Early Middle Paleolithic in Latium (Italy): Stability and Innovation
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Villa, Paola, Soriano, Sylvain, Grün, Rainer, Marra, Fabrizio, Nomade, Sebastien, Pereira, Alison, Boschian, Giovanni, Pollarolo, Luca, Fang, Fang, Bahain, Jean-Jacques, Villa, Paola, Soriano, Sylvain, Grün, Rainer, Marra, Fabrizio, Nomade, Sebastien, Pereira, Alison, Boschian, Giovanni, Pollarolo, Luca, Fang, Fang, and Bahain, Jean-Jacques
- Abstract
We present here the results of a technological and typological analysis of the Acheulian and early Middle Paleolithic assemblages from Torre in Pietra (Latium, Italy) together with comparisons with the Acheulian small tools of Castel di Guido. The assemblages were never chronometrically dated before. We have now 40Ar/39Ar dates and ESR-U-series dates, within a geomorphological framework, which support correlations to marine isotope stages. The Acheulian (previously correlated to MIS 9) is now dated to MIS 10 while the Middle Paleolithic is dated to MIS 7. Lithic analyses are preceded by taphonomic evaluations. The Levallois method of the Middle Paleolithic assemblage is an innovation characterized by the production of thin flake blanks without cortex. In contrast, the small tool blanks of the Acheulian were either pebbles or thick flakes with some cortex. They provided a relatively easy manual prehension. The choice of Levallois thin flake blanks in the Middle Paleolithic assemblage suggest that the new technology is most likely related to the emergence of hafting. Accordingly, the oldest direct evidence of hafting technology is from the site of Campitello Quarry in Tuscany (Central Italy) where birch-bark tar, found on the proximal part of two flint flakes, is dated to the end of MIS 7. Nevertheless, a peculiar feature of the Middle Paleolithic at Torre in Pietra is the continuous presence of small tool blanks on pebbles and cores and on thick flake albeit at a much lower frequency than in the older Acheulian industries. The adoption of the new technology is thus characterized by innovation combined with a degree of stability. The persistence of these habits in spite of the introduction of an innovative technique underlies the importance of cultural transmission and conformity in the behavior of Neandertals.
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- 2016
44. The timing and cause of megafauna mass deaths at Lancefield Swamp, south-eastern Australia
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Dortch, Joe, Cupper, Matt, Grün, Rainer, Harpley, Bernice, Lee, Kerrie, Field, Judith, Dortch, Joe, Cupper, Matt, Grün, Rainer, Harpley, Bernice, Lee, Kerrie, and Field, Judith
- Abstract
Lancefield Swamp, south-eastern Australia, was one of the earliest sites to provoke interest in Pleistocene faunal extinctions in Sahul (Pleistocene Australia-New Guinea). The systematic investigation of the deposit in the early 1970s identified megafaunal remains dominated by the 100–200 kg kangaroo Macropus giganteus titan. Associated radiocarbon ages indicated that the species was extant until c.30,000 BP, suggesting significant overlap with human settlement of Sahul. This evidence was inconsistent with contemporary models of rapid human-driven extinctions. Instead, researchers inferred ecological tethering of fauna at Lancefield Swamp due to intense drought precipitated localised mass deaths, consistent with Late Pleistocene climatic variability. Later investigations in another part of the swamp, the Mayne Site, remote to the initial investigations, concluded that mass flow disturbed this area, and Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) analyses on megafauna teeth returned wide-ranging ages. To clarify site formation processes and dating of Lancefield Swamp, we excavated new test-pits next to previous trenches in the Classic and Mayne Sites. We compared absolute chronologies for sediments and teeth, sedimentology, palaeo-topography, taphonomy, and macropod age at death across the swamp. Luminescence dating of sediments and ESR analysis of teeth returned ages between c.80,000 and 45,000 years ago. We found no archaeological remains in the bone beds, and evidence of carnivore activity and fluvial action, in the form of reactivated spring flow. The latter disturbed limited parts of the site and substantial areas of the bone beds remained intact. The faunal assemblage is dominated by megafaunal adult Macropus, consistent with mass die-offs due to severe drought. Such droughts appear to have recurred over millennia during the climatic variability of Marine Isotope Stages 4 and 3. These events began tens of millennia before the first appearance of Aboriginal people in Sahul an
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- 2016
45. El grupu neandertal de la Cueva d'El Sidrón (Borines, Piloña).
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Torres Pérez-Hidalgo, Trinidad José, Ortiz Menéndez, José Eugenio, Rasilla, Marco de la, Rosas, Antonio, Cañaveras, Juan Carlos, Lalueza, Carles, Santamaría, David, Duarte, Elsa, Sánchez Moral, Sergio, Estalrrich, Almudena, García Tabernero, Antonio, Silva, Pablo G., Santos, Gabriel, Huguet, Rosa, Bastir, Markus, Martínez, Lucía, Suárez, Paloma, Díez, Ana Belén, López Tascón, Cristina, Fernández Cascón, Beatriz, Cuezva, Soledad, Fernández Cortés, Ángel, Muñoz, Concepción, Lario, Javier, García Antón, Elena, Rios, Luis, Pérez Criado, Laura, García-Martínez, Daniel, Rodríguez Pérez, Francisco J., Ferrando, Anabel, Standing, Melanie, Carrasco, Pedro, Huerta, Pedro, Ayarza, Puy, Álvarez Lobato, Fernando, Rodríguez, Loreto, Picón, Inmaculada, Fernández Caso, Begoña, Sesé, Carmen, Valladas, Heléne, Mercier, Norbert, Tisnèrat-Laborde, Nadine, Grün, Rainer, Eggins, Stephen, Higham, Thomas, Wood, Rachel E., Juliá, Ramón, Soler Javaloyes, Vicente, Badal, Ernestina, Tarriño, Antonio, Alonso, Jesús, Torres Pérez-Hidalgo, Trinidad José, Ortiz Menéndez, José Eugenio, Rasilla, Marco de la, Rosas, Antonio, Cañaveras, Juan Carlos, Lalueza, Carles, Santamaría, David, Duarte, Elsa, Sánchez Moral, Sergio, Estalrrich, Almudena, García Tabernero, Antonio, Silva, Pablo G., Santos, Gabriel, Huguet, Rosa, Bastir, Markus, Martínez, Lucía, Suárez, Paloma, Díez, Ana Belén, López Tascón, Cristina, Fernández Cascón, Beatriz, Cuezva, Soledad, Fernández Cortés, Ángel, Muñoz, Concepción, Lario, Javier, García Antón, Elena, Rios, Luis, Pérez Criado, Laura, García-Martínez, Daniel, Rodríguez Pérez, Francisco J., Ferrando, Anabel, Standing, Melanie, Carrasco, Pedro, Huerta, Pedro, Ayarza, Puy, Álvarez Lobato, Fernando, Rodríguez, Loreto, Picón, Inmaculada, Fernández Caso, Begoña, Sesé, Carmen, Valladas, Heléne, Mercier, Norbert, Tisnèrat-Laborde, Nadine, Grün, Rainer, Eggins, Stephen, Higham, Thomas, Wood, Rachel E., Juliá, Ramón, Soler Javaloyes, Vicente, Badal, Ernestina, Tarriño, Antonio, and Alonso, Jesús
- Abstract
Na monografía clásica de Puig y Larraz (1896: 250-252) amiéntense delles cavidaes del Conceyu de Piloña2 , pero non la Cueva d’El Sidrón (Fig. 1). Esta conocíase, ensin dulda, dende la Guerra Civil y el maquis al servir d’abellugu a persiguíos políticos, y guarda una alcordanza imborrable nuna de les sos múltiples entraes, yá qu’ellí ta enterrada Olvido Otero González (1908-1938). Per El Sidrón pasaron munches persones a lo llargo de los años, pero en 1994 prodúxose’l descubrimientu per parte d’unos espeleólogos xixoneses d’unos güesos humanos que dieron un importante xiru a la conocencia de los nuesos antepasaos neandertales
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- 2016
46. Earliest hominin occupation of Sulawesi, Indonesia
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van den Bergh, Gerrit D, Li, Bo, Brumm, Adam R, Grün, Rainer, Yurnaldi, Dida, Moore, Mark W, Kurniawan, Iwan, Setiawan, Ruly, Aziz, Fachroel, Roberts, Richard G, Suyono,, Storey, Michael, Setiabudi, Erick, Morwood, Michael J, van den Bergh, Gerrit D, Li, Bo, Brumm, Adam R, Grün, Rainer, Yurnaldi, Dida, Moore, Mark W, Kurniawan, Iwan, Setiawan, Ruly, Aziz, Fachroel, Roberts, Richard G, Suyono,, Storey, Michael, Setiabudi, Erick, and Morwood, Michael J
- Abstract
Sulawesi is the largest and oldest island within Wallacea, a vast zone of oceanic islands separating continental Asia from the Pleistocene landmass of Australia and Papua (Sahul). By one million years ago an unknown hominin lineage had colonized Flores immediately to the south1, and by about 50 thousand years ago, modern humans (Homo sapiens) had crossed to Sahul2, 3. On the basis of position, oceanic currents and biogeographical context, Sulawesi probably played a pivotal part in these dispersals4. Uranium-series dating of speleothem deposits associated with rock art in the limestone karst region of Maros in southwest Sulawesi has revealed that humans were living on the island at least 40 thousand years ago (ref. 5). Here we report new excavations at Talepu in the Walanae Basin northeast of Maros, where in situ stone artefacts associated with fossil remains of megafauna (Bubalus sp., Stegodon and Celebochoerus) have been recovered from stratified deposits that accumulated from before 200 thousand years ago until about 100 thousand years ago. Our findings suggest that Sulawesi, like Flores, was host to a long-established population of archaic hominins, the ancestral origins and taxonomic status of which remain elusive.
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- 2016
47. Last interglacial (MIS 5e) sea-level determined from a tectonically stable, far-field location, Eyre Peninsula, southern Australia
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Murray-Wallace, Colin V, Belperio, A P, Dosseto, Anthony, Nicholas, William A, Mitchell, C, Bourman, Robert P, Eggins, Stephen M, Grün, Rainer, Murray-Wallace, Colin V, Belperio, A P, Dosseto, Anthony, Nicholas, William A, Mitchell, C, Bourman, Robert P, Eggins, Stephen M, and Grün, Rainer
- Abstract
The last interglacial maximum (Marine Isotope Substage 5e [MIS 5e], 128¿116 ka) is a distinctive event in recent Earth history. Shoreline successions of this age are important for calibrating climate models and defining the overall behaviour of the crust¿mantle system to fluctuating ice and ocean-water volumes. In a global context, the recently intensified interest in last interglacial shoreline successions has revealed considerable variability in the magnitude of sea-level rise during this time interval and highlighted the need to examine paleosea-level evidence from tectonically stable, far-field settings. Situated in the far-field of continental ice sheets and on the tectonically stable Gawler Craton, the 300 km coastal sector of western Eyre Peninsula between Fowlers Bay and Lake Newland in southern Australia represents an important region for defining the glacio-eustatic (ice-equivalent) sea-level attained during the last interglacial maximum based on the relative sea-level observations from this region. Low-energy, shoaling upward, peritidal bioclastic carbonate successions of the last interglacial (locally termed Glanville Formation) formed within back-barrier, estuarine¿lagoonal environments in the lee of eolianite barrier complexes (locally termed Bridgewater Formation) along this coastline. The well-preserved shelly successions (coquinas) contain diverse molluscan fossil assemblages including species no longer living in the coastal waters of South Australia (e.g. the Sydney cockle Anadara trapezia and the benthic foraminifer Marginopora vertebralis). The extent of amino acid racemisation (a measure of fossil age based on increasing d/l value) in a range of species, and in particular A. trapezia and Katelysia sp., confirms the time equivalence of the isolated embayment-fill successions, correlated with the informal type section of the Glanville Formation at Dry Creek, north of Adelaide. Preliminary U-series analyses on A. trapezia also suggest a correlation
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- 2016
48. Appendix: Dating Methods Applied to Azokh Cave Sites
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Fernández-Jalvo, Yolanda, Ditchfield, Peter, Grün, Rainer, Lees, Wendy, Aubert, Maxime, Torres, Trinidad, Ortiz, José E., Díaz Bautista, Arantxa, Pickering, Robyn, Fernández-Jalvo, Yolanda, Ditchfield, Peter, Grün, Rainer, Lees, Wendy, Aubert, Maxime, Torres, Trinidad, Ortiz, José E., Díaz Bautista, Arantxa, and Pickering, Robyn
- Abstract
Dating is basic for archaeological and paleontological investigations and results of different dating methods used in Azokh caves are described in this chapter. Fossils from Azokh were not dated by any method previously. Lithic technology and taxonomy suggested a middle Pleistocene age for Unit V (from where Acheulian industries and a human mandible fragment were recovered) while Units III and II yielded Mousterian industries indicating middle Paleolithic ages. Dates from Azokh by Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) previously published elsewhere were given before final calculations and they slightly differ from those given in this Appendix, which are the definitive dating results.
- Published
- 2016
49. El grupu neandertal de la Cueva d' El Sidrón (Borines, Piloña)
- Author
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Rasilla, Marco de la, Rosas, Antonio, Cañaveras, Juan Carlos, Lalueza, C., Santamaría, D., Duarte, Elsa, Sánchez-Moral, Sergio, Estalrrich, Almudena, García-Tabernero, Antonio, Silva Barroso, Pablo Gabriel, Santos, G., Huguet, Rosa, Bastir, Markus, Martínez, L., Suárez, P., Díez, A. B., López Tascón, C, Fernández Cascón, Beatriz, Cuezva, Soledad, Fernández Cortés, A., Muñoz, C., Lario, Javier, García Antón, Elena, Ríos, Luis, Pérez-Criado, Laura, García-Martínez, Daniel, Rodríguez Pérez, F. J., Ferrando, A., Standing, M., Carrasco, P., Huerta, Pedro, Ayarza, P., Álvarez Lobato, F., Rodríguez, L., Picón, Inmaculada, Fernández Díez, Begoña, Sesé, Carmen, Torres, T. de, Ortiz, J. E., Valladas, Helène, Mercier, Norbert, Tisnèrat-Laborde, Nadine, Grün, Rainer, Eggins, S., Higham, Thomas, Wood, Rachel E., Julià Brugués, Ramón, Soler, Vicente, Badal, E., Tarriño, Antonio, Alonso, J., Rasilla, Marco de la, Rosas, Antonio, Cañaveras, Juan Carlos, Lalueza, C., Santamaría, D., Duarte, Elsa, Sánchez-Moral, Sergio, Estalrrich, Almudena, García-Tabernero, Antonio, Silva Barroso, Pablo Gabriel, Santos, G., Huguet, Rosa, Bastir, Markus, Martínez, L., Suárez, P., Díez, A. B., López Tascón, C, Fernández Cascón, Beatriz, Cuezva, Soledad, Fernández Cortés, A., Muñoz, C., Lario, Javier, García Antón, Elena, Ríos, Luis, Pérez-Criado, Laura, García-Martínez, Daniel, Rodríguez Pérez, F. J., Ferrando, A., Standing, M., Carrasco, P., Huerta, Pedro, Ayarza, P., Álvarez Lobato, F., Rodríguez, L., Picón, Inmaculada, Fernández Díez, Begoña, Sesé, Carmen, Torres, T. de, Ortiz, J. E., Valladas, Helène, Mercier, Norbert, Tisnèrat-Laborde, Nadine, Grün, Rainer, Eggins, S., Higham, Thomas, Wood, Rachel E., Julià Brugués, Ramón, Soler, Vicente, Badal, E., Tarriño, Antonio, and Alonso, J.
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- 2016
50. Age and context of the oldest known hominin fossils from Flores
- Author
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Brumm, Adam R, van den Bergh, Gerrit D, Storey, Michael A, Kurniawan, Lwan, Alloway, Brent V, Setiawan, Ruly, Setiyabudi, Erick, Grün, Rainer, Moore, Mark W, Yurnaldi, Dida, Puspaningrum, Mika, Wibowo, Unggul, Insani, Halmi, Sutisna, Indra, Westgate, John A, Pearce, Nick J. G, Duval, Mathieu, Meijer, Hanneke J.M, Aziz, Fachroel, Sutikna, Thomas, van der Kaars, Sander, Flude, Stephanie, Morwood, Michael J, Brumm, Adam R, van den Bergh, Gerrit D, Storey, Michael A, Kurniawan, Lwan, Alloway, Brent V, Setiawan, Ruly, Setiyabudi, Erick, Grün, Rainer, Moore, Mark W, Yurnaldi, Dida, Puspaningrum, Mika, Wibowo, Unggul, Insani, Halmi, Sutisna, Indra, Westgate, John A, Pearce, Nick J. G, Duval, Mathieu, Meijer, Hanneke J.M, Aziz, Fachroel, Sutikna, Thomas, van der Kaars, Sander, Flude, Stephanie, and Morwood, Michael J
- Abstract
Recent excavations at the early Middle Pleistocene site of Mata Menge in the So'a Basin of central Flores, Indonesia, have yielded hominin fossils1 attributed to a population ancestral to Late Pleistocene Homo floresiensis2. Here we describe the age and context of the Mata Menge hominin specimens and associated archaeological findings. The fluvial sandstone layer from which the in situ fossils were excavated in 2014 was deposited in a small valley stream around 700 thousand years ago, as indicated by 40Ar/39Ar and fission track dates on stratigraphically bracketing volcanic ash and pyroclastic density current deposits, in combination with coupled uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating of fossil teeth. Palaeoenvironmental data indicate a relatively dry climate in the So'a Basin during the early Middle Pleistocene, while various lines of evidence suggest the hominins inhabited a savannah-like open grassland habitat with a wetland component. The hominin fossils occur alongside the remains of an insular fauna and a simple stone technology that is markedly similar to that associated with Late Pleistocene H. floresiensis.
- Published
- 2016
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