Journal of Human Evolution最新文献

{"title":"Re-evaluating Omo 105-7, a provisional hominin last lumbar vertebra from the Lower Omo Basin (Plio-Pleistocene) of Ethiopia","authors":"Xue Wang , Marc R. Meyer , Scott A. Williams","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103676","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103676","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 103676"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143786035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Aurignacian groups at Isturitz (France) adapted to a shifting environment upon their arrival in Western Europe ∼42,000 years ago","authors":"E. Berlioz ,&nbsp;M. Fernández-García ,&nbsp;M.-C. Soulier ,&nbsp;L. Agudo-Pérez ,&nbsp;G. Amorós ,&nbsp;C. Normand ,&nbsp;A.B. Marín-Arroyo","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103665","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103665","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Marine Isotope Stage 3 is a context of considerable climatic instability. Establishing the link between global climate changes and their impact on the local ecological contexts and prey exploited by human populations is challenging. Still, it is necessary to understand better the local conditions where humans lived to unravel how they adapted to fluctuating environmental conditions. Here, we address this question by studying 250 osteodental elements from animals hunted and consumed by human groups at Isturitz, a rich and well-documented French archaeological site and one of the earliest in Western Europe where the Aurignacian technoculture has been attested. To do so, we set up a multiproxy approach (archaeozoology, three-dimensional dental microwear texture analyses, and stable isotopic analyses of δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C in enamel bioapatite and δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S in bone collagen) that informs us on a timeline from the first years to the last few days of an animal's life. We reconstructed their ecologies and paleoenvironments during the different Aurignacian phases at Isturitz. Our findings indicate that the first human occupations at Isturitz occurred under cold and arid conditions, rapidly becoming even cooler and drier. Limited changes are observed in the human-environment-prey relationship despite this unstable climatic context where significant changes in rainfall, temperature, and a gradual opening of environments and some changes in the faunal assemblage occurred. Our findings suggest that human groups hunted in similar territories and utilized comparable strategies throughout the temporal sequence. Our multiproxy approach, combining complementary analyses, provides a better understanding of the adaptation strategies when the first phases of the Upper Paleolithic were emerging in Western Europe.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 103665"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143776521","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Palaeoecology of the Pliocene large carnivore guild at Hadar, Lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia","authors":"Joshua R. Robinson ,&nbsp;Ignacio A. Lazagabaster ,&nbsp;John Rowan ,&nbsp;Margaret E. Lewis ,&nbsp;Lars Werdelin ,&nbsp;Christopher J. Campisano ,&nbsp;Kaye E. Reed","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103653","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103653","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Hadar Formation at Hadar (Lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia, ∼3.45–2.95 Ma) is one of the most well-known and studied Pliocene hominin-bearing sequences in eastern Africa, yielding numerous fossils of the species <em>Australopithecus afarensis</em>. While much research has been conducted on the palaeoecology of the Hadar Formation broadly, little attention has been placed on the carnivore guild. Here, we present new stable carbon and oxygen isotope data for Hadar carnivores that contribute to the palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of the Hadar Formation and facilitate inference of predator-prey relationship between the large carnivore and herbivore guilds at Hadar. Overall, the members of the Hadar carnivore guild had relatively high carbon values (−4.6 ± 1.4‰), with the highest values in the middle part of the sequence (Denen Dora Member, ∼3.2 Ma). These values are higher than the carbon values of carnivores from penecontemporaneous sediments in the Turkana Basin (southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya). Stable oxygen isotope values are variable throughout the Hadar Formation, but reconstruction of estimated meteoric water oxygen values indicates a wetter and more pluvial climate than that at the present. Carbon isotope mixing models weighted by a prey selectivity index based on established predator-prey body size relationships reveals that two large-bodied taxa (<em>Homotherium</em> and <em>Crocuta venustula</em>) had partitioned their dietary niches only to a limited extent. Understanding the nature of the large carnivore guild at Hadar allows us to predict which taxa may have been competitors or predators of <em>Au. afarensis</em>, offering insights into the palaeoecological context beyond what can be inferred from palaeoenvironmental reconstructions alone. Moreover, our analyses provide a valuable insight into the little-known isotopic ecology of fossil African carnivores.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 103653"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143747001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"JHE: The case for preserving a legacy journal and its community","authors":"Radu Iovita ,&nbsp;Nohemi Sala ,&nbsp;Song Xing","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103677","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103677","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"201 ","pages":"Article 103677"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143635002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Human midfacial growth pattern differs from that of Neanderthals and chimpanzees","authors":"Alexandra Schuh ,&nbsp;Philipp Gunz ,&nbsp;Chiara Villa ,&nbsp;Bruno Maureille ,&nbsp;Michel Toussaint ,&nbsp;Grégory Abrams ,&nbsp;Jean-Jacques Hublin ,&nbsp;Sarah E. Freidline","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103667","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103667","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Present-day humans have small and retracted midfaces, while Neanderthals possess large and forwardly projected midfaces. To understand the ontogenetic patterns underlying these characteristic morphologies, we compared maxillary growth and development from birth to adulthood in present-day humans (<em>Homo sapiens</em>; <em>n</em> = 128), Neanderthals (<em>Homo neanderthalensis</em>; <em>n</em> = 13), and chimpanzees (<em>Pan troglodytes verus</em>; <em>n</em> = 33) using macroscopic (i.e., geometric morphometrics) and microscopic (i.e., surface histology) approaches. Using geometric morphometrics to quantify macroscopic patterns of growth and development, we found that the midfaces of present-day humans are on average already smaller at birth than those of Neanderthals and grow more slowly after birth. In particular, we find an early cessation of growth around adolescence, which is unique to our species. Microscopically, this is reflected in reduced amounts of bone resorption, indicative of decreased cellular activities linked to bone development. Greater amounts of bone formation in the infraorbital and nasal regions and faster growth rates are responsible for the large Neanderthal midface. These results highlight the importance of postnatal ontogeny (especially in late stages) for explaining facial differences between Neanderthals and present-day humans, as well as part of the gracilization process characteristic of present-day humans.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 103667"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143682672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Marine Isotope Stage 5 (∼105 ka) lithic assemblage from Ga-Mohana Hill North Rockshelter and insights into social transmission across the Kalahari Basin and its environs","authors":"Precious Chiwara-Maenzanise ,&nbsp;Benjamin J. Schoville ,&nbsp;Yonatan Sahle ,&nbsp;Jayne Wilkins","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103654","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103654","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The social transmission of cultural information is widely acknowledged as a key factor in the survival of our species. This paper explores lithic technological systems to assess the presence and extent of cultural information transmission between early human groups in the Kalahari Basin and its environs during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 (∼130–74 ka). This period is crucial for understanding the development and expansion of complex behaviors in Africa. Dated to ∼105 ka, the dark brown silt and roofspall lithic assemblage at Ga-Mohana Hill North Rockshelter in the southern Kalahari provides evidence of early human behavior from South Africa's interior. Technological analyses reveal that lithic reduction at Ga-Mohana Hill North Rockshelter focused on producing flakes, convergent pieces, and blades, primarily using the recurrent Levallois method. Comparisons with contemporaneous MIS 5 assemblages in the Kalahari and surrounding regions, such as Erfkroon, Florisbad, and White Paintings Rockshelter, reveal significant technological similarities. These include the use of local raw materials, recurrent Levallois methods, hard hammer percussion technique, core maintenance through débordants, manufacturing of blanks with comparable shapes and sizes, mostly with faceted platforms, and a low frequency of formal tools. These similarities suggest a shared technological tradition and potential cultural exchange among the groups at these sites. This connectivity may reflect their shared adaptation to the predominantly arid and semi-arid conditions of the Kalahari Basin and its environs, which may have necessitated the formation of social ties to access scarce and potentially unpredictable resources, in contrast to the fragmentation observed in some other regions during interglacial periods.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 103654"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143682673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ulnar morphology of Pliobates cataloniae (Pliopithecoidea: Crouzeliidae): Insights into catarrhine locomotor diversity and forelimb evolution","authors":"Georgina Raventós-Izard ,&nbsp;Oriol Monclús-Gonzalo ,&nbsp;Salvador Moyà-Solà ,&nbsp;David M. Alba ,&nbsp;Julia Arias-Martorell","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103663","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103663","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Pliobates cataloniae</em> is a small-bodied crouzeliid pliopithecoid from the Miocene (∼11.6 Ma) of Abocador de Can Mata (ACM; Vallès-Penedès Basin, NE Iberian Peninsula). It exhibits a mosaic of primitive (stem catarrhine) and derived (modern hominoid-like) postcranial features. The holotype partial skeleton, from locality ACM/C8-A4, includes an almost complete ulna—a bone that plays a critical role in forearm flexion-extension and pronation-supination. Here, we use landmark-based three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to evaluate the closest morphometric affinities of the <em>Pliobates</em> ulna and explore its implications for the locomotor repertoire of this taxon. The comparative sample includes 156 specimens corresponding to 35 species from 20 anthropoid genera, three lorisid genera, and 10 fossil catarrhines. Our results indicate that the trochlear notch morphology of <em>Pliobates</em> resembles that of stem catarrhines and other nonhominoid primates. However, <em>Pliobates</em> differs from cercopithecoids (especially terrestrial taxa) in radial notch features related to enhanced pronation-supination capabilities, closely resembling the condition displayed by crown hominoids, <em>Ateles</em>, and <em>Loris</em>. In turn, the distal ulna of <em>Pliobates</em> does not overlap with any extant group and differs from the other fossils analyzed, most closely resembling that of hylobatids and lorisids. <em>Pliobates</em> probably had an extensive range of movement in the distal forearm, as indicated by the incipiently expanded semilunar ulnar head, the relatively short styloid process, the deep fovea, and the hooklike styloid process. This suggests that <em>Pliobates</em> would have frequently displayed nonstereotypical limb postures and slow locomotor behaviors. Overall, the ulnar morphology of <em>Pliobates</em> suggests that its locomotor repertoire may have combined cautious above-branch quadrupedalism and eclectic climbing with nonagile suspensory behaviors resembling those of <em>Ateles</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 103663"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143637521","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A fresh look at an iconic human fossil: Virtual reconstruction of the KNM-WT 15000 cranium","authors":"Karen L. Baab","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103664","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103664","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 103664"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143637520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Micro-computed tomography unveils anatomy of the oldest known plesiadapiform cranium","authors":"Jordan W. Crowell ,&nbsp;K. Christopher Beard ,&nbsp;Stephen G.B. Chester","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103655","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103655","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Palaechthonids are a likely paraphyletic or polyphyletic assemblage of dentally plesiomorphic plesiadapiforms known from the Paleocene of North America. This family is known primarily from isolated dental fossils, but one partial cranium of the palaechthonid <em>Plesiolestes nacimienti</em> (Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas [KUVP] 9557) exists and was studied a half-century ago to infer aspects of the paleobiology of basal or stem primates. Since then, additional plesiadapiform crania representing several families have been described, but KUVP 9557 remains the best preserved for a palaechthonid and is the geologically oldest known cranial fossil of any plesiadapiform or euarchontan mammal (primates + colugos + treeshrews). Here, for the first time, we scanned the partial cranium of <em>P. nacimienti</em> using micro-computed tomography (μCT) to assess previously described morphology, document novel morphology, and make comparisons with crania of other plesiadapiforms and euarchontans. While several previous cranial descriptions are reaffirmed here (e.g., caudal expansion of the nasals, an intraorbital lacrimal foramen), μCT scan data have clarified that certain previously identified structures (e.g., postorbital process) are not present and have unveiled previously unknown structures (e.g., foramen ovale, optic foramen). Comparisons indicate that the cranial anatomy of <em>P. nacimienti</em> is most like that of non-microsyopid plesiadapiforms and that unambiguous synapomorphies with an extant euarchontan clade are absent. Paleobiological inferences presented here suggest that <em>P. nacimienti</em> was broadly similar to the extant treeshrew <em>Ptilocercus</em>, albeit less insectivorous, which is in line with evolutionary scenarios proposed for the ancestral primatomorphan or the ancestral primate (sensu lato) that emphasize the importance of arboreality and angiosperm products.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"201 ","pages":"Article 103655"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143610320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Morphological variation of the Australopithecus afarensis maxilla","authors":"Hester Hanegraef ,&nbsp;Fred Spoor","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103651","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103651","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Central to discussions about hominin diversity in the mid-Pliocene of eastern Africa is whether or not certain fossils should be attributed to <em>Australopithecus afarensis</em>, instead of representing separate species. Key to answering this question is a good understanding of the magnitude and pattern of intraspecific variation shown by <em>A. afarensis</em>. Given the importance of maxillary characteristics in species diagnoses of early hominins, we explored morphological variation among all nine sufficiently preserved <em>A. afarensis</em> maxillae from Hadar. After CT-based virtual reconstruction, these were analyzed in the comparative context of 448 extant hominine (modern human and African ape) maxillae, representing all currently recognized subspecies, large geographic areas, and both sexes. Maxillary morphology was captured by three-dimensional landmarks, and size and shape were examined using geometric morphometric methods. The main findings are that 1) <em>A. afarensis</em> has high degrees of size and shape variation compared with extant hominines, potentially linked with sexual dimorphism, 2) no allometry was found, despite the large size variation, 3) a temporal trend in maxillary size is suggested but not in shape, and 4) the inferred patterns of sexual dimorphism in form and shape are different from those observed in <em>Homo sapiens</em>, <em>Pan</em>, and <em>Gorilla</em>. These results provide a greater understanding of <em>A. afarensis</em>, enable quantitative comparisons with contemporary maxillae attributed to <em>Kenyanthropus platyops</em>, <em>Australopithecus deyiremeda</em>, and <em>Australopithecus bahrelghazali</em>, and can help evaluate variation in other Plio-Pleistocene hominins, such as those assigned to species of early <em>Homo</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"201 ","pages":"Article 103651"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}