Anth 112 - Homo Evolution

when and who - the initial occupation of Western Europe

Homo erectus migrated to Western Europe by about 1.4 mya

first to leave Africa, have significant use of tools, and use of fire 

lots of debate of what to label the species, differentiation?

earliest hominin fossils in western Europe are classified as 

• Homo erectus 

• Homo antecessor 

Early Western European Sites - Sima del Elefante, Spain

this site contains some of the oldest hominin fossils in western Europe

• partial hominin midface found in levels between 1.1 to 1.4mya - “first human face of Western Europe”

• face resembles Homo erectus, but has been classified as Homo affinis erectus

  • name symbolizes the similarity, a branch of migrated erectus 

site is well stratified

has also found a jaw, dated to 1.2mya, found above the previous 

animal bones with marks, indicating hunting and tool use, was also found 

Early Western European Sites - Gran Dolina, Spain 

Homo antecessor fossils found, dated to 800,000yrs 

• little more complete, upper jaw, back of skull 

• 1000ccm cranial capacity, low forehead, jut in back of skull 

looks different than erectus and affinis, but these three are usually all clumped together with erectus 

this site also has evidence of cannibalism, bones recovered have stone tool cut marks, bones smashed open for marrow 

bones treated the same as animal bones, cut marks, disposal, breakage pattern - label it as cannibalism instead of a cultural practice 

Homo heidelbergensis 

dated to 600,000 to 400,000 yrs

well represented

many paleoanthropologists suggest its the ancestor of Neandertals (most direct ancestor) in Europe, modern humans in Africa, and another species in Asia 

• different branches of the same species

• between modern and erectus 

• 1100 to 1400ccm cranial capacity - within modern range 

• large midface region

• large, arched brow ridges and a large, rounded occipital torus - erectus had an angular one 

Sima de los Huesos - Pit of Bones

Homo heidelbergensis site in northern Spain

dated 430,000 yrs, and over 6500 fossils were found representing at least 28 individuals

• was able to extracts DNA (incredible, rare) and was able to reconstruct genomes

  • DNA showed that they were very similar to Neandertral, linked them together

  • the environment was consistently moist and cool, which led to the protection and preservation of the DNA

• can treat it like a crime scene - can actually use forensics

• “First Murder Victim” - skull with stone tool marks in skull, cause of death

Schoningen, Germany

Homo heidelbergensis site - preserved wooden spears 

several spears were found in association with stone tools and butchered remains of large animals 

337,000 to 300,000 yrs dated 

• known as hunters

• spruce wood, 6-7ft, sharpened ends, looked like modern day javelins

• rapidly covered, glacial sediment, making an anaerobic environment, halts decomposition 

• butchered remains of animals - deer, wild cattle, wild horses - big game hunters 

Boxgrove Site, England 

Homo heidelbergensis site, dated to 524,000 to 420,000yrs 

perforated horse scapula, shoulder blade, with a circular puncture wound indicates big game hunting with spears 

an abundance of butchered animal bone and more than 100 finely made hand axes found 

a tibia from site was identified as heidelbergensis

even found four butchered rhinoceros - cave bear, wild horses; different game compared to today

The earliest Genus Homo

emergence is marked by fossils dating back 2.8 million years

• same time as other hominins

• discovered in Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia in 2015

  • a partial lower jaw was identified as the earliest member of the genus homo

  • not directly put into a species, not certain enough 

Homo habilis

2.4 to 1.4mya

have larger brain, rounder skull - first one to show significant brain size increase 

smaller teeth and jaws, parabolic arcade 

less prognathic face, high vertical eye ridge 

presence of material culture - artifacts found, tools 

• post cranially very similar to afarensis, likely that afarensis led to robustus and habilis, different branches 

• also could be called Homo rudolfensis - but is there really a difference or just differentiation in a species, remains found could indicate a male, not another genus 

found in the same strata as stone tools, therefore categorized as a stone tool manufacturer - known as the first tool users, but it is debatable as there has been other signs but no artifacts found with hominin sites 

Earliest Stone Tools

recent evidence suggests stone tools were used as early as 3.3 million years ago

• 500,000yrs before earliest homo - did other hominins make, or maybe the earliest homo has not been found yet

simple stone tools called Lomekwian tools - found in Kenya

• simple tools, flakes, hitting together

• no remains found with these tools, not possible to know who used

Oldowan Tools

found in Olduvai Gorge - 2.5mya

manufactured by Homo habilis

hammerstones, choppers, and flakes

• manufactured by percussion flaking - used for hunting, cutting, getting to bone marrow

• ability to produce tools indicated having forethought - planning ahead, tools have been transported - travel with tools; important development, utilizing a wider variety of resources

Olduvai Gorge - Tanzania

very important hominin site

great rift valley, lots of tectonic activity, rifting and erosion

sequence of about 2 million years exposed, well defined strata, volcanic activity

many artifacts found, homo erectus/habilis, Paranthropus boisei

Leakey family spent they whole life studying the area

Homo erectus 

emerged 1.9mya - the first hominin to leave the African continent

indication of world traveling and/or migration 

has a larger body and larger brain

unique skull - low, long cranium, big ridge on the back of skull (jutted out), huge ridge above eyes, less prognathic, smaller teeth and jaw, no chin

cranial capacity of 800-1200ccm - two thirds of modern human

Asian homo erectus - African and Georgian forms often classified as Homo ergaster - once again, it it differentiation 

really start to look human like, first ones fully upright, lost arboreal adaptation 

Homo erectus - African sites

oldest Homo erectus specimens here date to 1.9mya

very well represented in the fossil record, early as 1800 discovery

no longer ape-like sized, fully grown could be up to 6ft - 1000ccm cranial capacity

Turkana Boy, Kenya - most complete early hominin ever discovered, most post-cranium reserved (even ribs), has modern limb proportions

Homo erectus - Eastern Europe sites

Dmanisi, Georgia - earliest well dated hominin site outside of Africa

dated back to 1.8mya, early migration beyond Africa

significantly smaller, small brain capacity (600-775), more like habilis - but from skull study and shape it is classified as erectus

• indicated they were early erectus, still small, and also has Oldowan tools

Homo erectus - Java, Indonesia 

recovered by Eugene Dubois in 1891

reported as 1.6 to 1.75mya

originally classified as Pithecanthropus erectus “erect ape man” but later reclassified as Homo erectus 

few stone tools, maybe they had tools made of other material that did not preserve

once again, fast movement after first appearance

note : they did not use watercraft to get to the islands, the water level was much lower back then, Indonesia was not an island yet 

Homo erectus - China site

many fossils in China date to 800,000 to 200,000yrs 

there is also evidence of fossils in Northern China as old as 1.66mya - fast movement '

“Peking Man” 

fossils that got lost during WW2

Acheulean tool industry

Homo erectus manufactured

characterized by large oval or teardrop shaped hand axes

much more sophisticated, bifacial

digging, chopping, smashing open marrow, butchering - evidence of hunting along with scavenging

1.7mya - oldest tools, 1.4mya - much more common, produced for over a million years

not seen much outside of Africa, maybe lined up with the migration time

Earliest fire use

earliest evidence of controlled fire use dates to the Homo erectus

• Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa - dates to 1mya; burned bone and plant material

• Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, Isreal - 700,000 yrs; burnt wood and flint

difficult to recognize the start of fire use, but whenever it was, it was an amazing development

have to rule out natural causes first - brush fires, lightning strikes

Homo erectus use would be in discreet areas, restricted to just certain areas, evidence of hearths

How did fire change the lives of early hominins?

• changes in culture and biology

• cooking - destroying toxins and bacteria, less energy to digest cooked food - decrease in teeth and jaws, increase in brain, shortening digestive tract - changed physical characteristics

• warmth - expand into other environments, migration

• protection - safer on ground, from predators

• light source - extending hours of usable time

• culture - stories, socialization, passing on

homo floresiensis - “the Hobbit”

very unique hominin species discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores 

• date between 100,000 - 60,000 years - Liang Bua site 

• tiny hominin with a small cranial capacity of 420ccm - chimp size, and only 3.5 ft tall 

• despite its small brain size, there is evidence of tool use, hunting, and fire use

• the Mata Menge site (same island) date to 800,000 yrs 

this branch of hominins is a recent discovery, and is unusual for this time period

15 individuals have been found, indicating a whole population lived here

well represented skeletons - skull, limp proportions, pelvis 

looks a lot like erectus (especially the skull), though to have evolved from the initial homo erectus species from that area

island dwarfism - have found dwarf mammals here, less predators, large body not needed 

volcanic eruptions, or modern human migration are guesses as to extinction 

homo naledi

another recently discovered species - dated to 335,000 - 236,000 yrs ago

many fossils were found from the Rising Star Cave System in South Africa

over 1500 fossil representing 15 individuals have been identified, well represented

has features similar to Homo and Australopithecines, although more like Homo

fossils found deep within the Dinaledi Cave

• females 4.5, males 5 - 460-560ccm cranial capacity

• discovered by cave explorers - fossils scattered the floor, incredibly difficult to get to, areas being ten inches tall to crawl through

• no sight of carnivore marks - not dragged in or water drag; seems likely that they were dropped there

• debated from site : was it intentional disposal of dead, burial - striations found, could be considered artwork