Early hominin paleoecology. Edited by MattSponheimer, Julia A.Lee-Thorp, Kaye E.Reed, and PeterUngar. 368 pp. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado. 2013. $70.00 (cloth), $56.00 (e-book).

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-103
Author(s):  
Herman Pontzer
Keyword(s):  
Early Hominin

Can we use chimpanzee behavior to model early hominin hunting?

2012 ◽  
pp. 174-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis Rayne Pickering ◽  
Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo
Keyword(s):  
Early Hominin

scholarly journals When Did Archaic Humans Control Fire?

Eos ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Morton
Keyword(s):  
Early Hominin

A familiar geochemical technique shines a new spotlight on early hominin use of fire.

scholarly journals Functional morphology, biomechanics and the retrodiction of early hominin diets

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 613-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick E. Grine ◽  
David J. Daegling
Keyword(s):  
Functional Morphology ◽  
Early Hominin

scholarly journals Early Pleistocene conifer macrofossils from Happisburgh, Norfolk, UK, and their environmental implications for early hominin occupation

2020 ◽  
Vol 232 ◽  
pp. 106115
Author(s):  
Aljos Farjon ◽  
David J. Horne ◽  
Simon A. Parfitt ◽  
Philip I. Buckland ◽  
Mark D. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Environmental Implications ◽  
Early Hominin

scholarly journals Sporadic sampling, not climatic forcing, drives observed early hominin diversity

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (19) ◽  
pp. 4891-4896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon J. Maxwell ◽  
Philip J. Hopley ◽  
Paul Upchurch ◽  
Christophe Soligo
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Hominin Evolution ◽  
Rock Exposure ◽  
Early Hominin ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Taxic Diversity ◽  
Diversity Estimates

The role of climate change in the origin and diversification of early hominins is hotly debated. Most accounts of early hominin evolution link observed fluctuations in species diversity to directional shifts in climate or periods of intense climatic instability. None of these hypotheses, however, have tested whether observed diversity patterns are distorted by variation in the quality of the hominin fossil record. Here, we present a detailed examination of early hominin diversity dynamics, including both taxic and phylogenetically corrected diversity estimates. Unlike past studies, we compare these estimates to sampling metrics for rock availability (hominin-, primate-, and mammal-bearing formations) and collection effort, to assess the geological and anthropogenic controls on the sampling of the early hominin fossil record. Taxic diversity, primate-bearing formations, and collection effort show strong positive correlations, demonstrating that observed patterns of early hominin taxic diversity can be explained by temporal heterogeneity in fossil sampling rather than genuine evolutionary processes. Peak taxic diversity at 1.9 million years ago (Ma) is a sampling artifact, reflecting merely maximal rock availability and collection effort. In contrast, phylogenetic diversity estimates imply peak diversity at 2.4 Ma and show little relation to sampling metrics. We find that apparent relationships between early hominin diversity and indicators of climatic instability are, in fact, driven largely by variation in suitable rock exposure and collection effort. Our results suggest that significant improvements in the quality of the fossil record are required before the role of climate in hominin evolution can be reliably determined.

The Long Limb Bones of the StW 573 Australopithecus Skeleton from Sterkfontein Member 2: Descriptions and Proportions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason L. Heaton ◽  
Travis Rayne Pickering ◽  
Kristian J. Carlson ◽  
Robin H. Crompton ◽  
Tea Jashashvili ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Limb ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Limb Bones ◽  
Most Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Climbing Ability ◽  
Early Hominin ◽  
Allometric Analysis ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Limb Proportions

Due to its completeness, the A.L. 288-1 (Lucy) skeleton has long served as the archetypal bipedal Australopithecus. However, there remains considerable debate about its limb proportions. There are three competing, but not necessarily mutually exclusive, explanations for the high humerofemoral index of A.L. 288-1: (1) a retention of proportions from an Ardipithecus-like most recent common ancestor (MRCA); (2) indication of some degree of climbing ability; (3) allometry. Recent discoveries of other partial skeletons of Australopithecus, such as those of A. sediba (MH1 and MH2) and A. afarensis (KSD-VP-1/1 and DIK-1/1), have provided new opportunities to test hypotheses of early hominin body size and limb proportions. Yet, no early hominin is as complete (>90%), as is the 3.67 Ma Little Foot (StW 573) specimen, from Sterkfontein Member 2. Here, we provide the first descriptions of its upper and lower long limb bones, as well as a comparative context of its limb proportions. As to the latter, we found that StW 573 possesses absolutely longer limb lengths than A.L. 288-1, but both skeletons show similar limb proportions. This finding seems to argue against an allometric explanation for the limb proportions of A.L. 288-1. In fact, our multivariate allometric analysis suggests that limb lengths of Australopithecus, as represented by StW 573 and A.L. 288-1, developed along a significantly different (p < 0.001) allometric scale than that which typifies modern humans and African apes. Our analyses also suggest, as have those of others, that hominin limb evolution occurred in two stages with: (1) a modest increase in lower limb length and a concurrent shortening of the antebrachium between Ardipithecus and Australopithecus, followed by (2) considerable lengthening of the lower limb along with a decrease of both upper limb elements occurring between Australopithecus and Homo sapiens.

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