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Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Louisville, KY, USA
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Oldest H. sapiens yet, from Awash, Ethiopia
Significant article in today's Nature, describing the 3 oldest H. sapiens crania yet discovered.
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The origin of anatomically modern Homo sapiens and the fate of Neanderthals have been fundamental questions in human evolutionary studies for over a century1-4. A key barrier to the resolution of these questions has been the lack of substantial and accurately dated African hominid fossils from between 100,000 and 300,000 years ago5. Here we describe fossilized hominid crania from Herto, Middle Awash, Ethiopia, that fill this gap and provide crucial evidence on the location, timing and contextual circumstances of the emergence of Homo sapiens. Radioisotopically dated to between 160,000 and 154,000 years ago6, these new fossils predate classic Neanderthals and lack their derived features. The Herto hominids are morphologically and chronologically intermediate between archaic African fossils and later anatomically modern Late Pleistocene humans. They therefore represent the probable immediate ancestors of anatomically modern humans. Their anatomy and antiquity constitute strong evidence of modern-human emergence in Africa.
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White et al, Pleistocene Homo sapiens from Middle Awash, Ethiopia. Nature 423, 742 - 747 (2003).
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Clarifying the geographic, environmental and behavioural contexts in which the emergence of anatomically modern Homo sapiens occurred has proved difficult, particularly because Africa lacked adequate geochronological, palaeontological and archaeological evidence. The discovery of anatomically modern Homo sapiens fossils at Herto, Ethiopia1, changes this. Here we report on stratigraphically associated Late Middle Pleistocene artefacts and fossils from fluvial and lake margin sandstones of the Upper Herto Member of the Bouri Formation, Middle Awash, Afar Rift, Ethiopia. The fossils and artefacts are dated between 160,000 and 154,000 years ago by precise age determinations using the 40Ar/39Ar method. The archaeological assemblages contain elements of both Acheulean and Middle Stone Age technocomplexes. Associated faunal remains indicate repeated, systematic butchery of hippopotamus carcasses. Contemporary adult and juvenile Homo sapiens fossil crania manifest bone modifications indicative of deliberate mortuary practices.
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Clark et al, Stratigraphic, chronological and behavioural contexts of Pleistocene Homo sapiens from Middle Awash, Ethiopia. Nature 423, 747 - 752 (2003).
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The morphology of the most complete of these three fossils helps to clarify the pattern of early H. sapiens evolution in Africa, as it shows an interesting combination of features from archaic, early modern and recent humans. The cranium is very large, but once the size is standardized, it shares with ancient African crania a wide interorbital breadth (the distance between the orbits of the eyes), anteriorly placed teeth, and a short occipital (the bone at the rear of the braincase). It also has a wide upper face and moderately domed forehead, as do the Skhul and Qafzeh fossils. Its low nose and face and flat midface are more widely shared early H. sapiens features, whereas other characteristics, such as its globular braincase, are typically modern. In the angulation and transverse ridge of the occipital, there is also an intriguing resemblance to fossils from sites such as Elandsfontein (South Africa) and Broken Hill (Zambia) that are often assigned to H. heidelbergensis or H. rhodesiensis. This may provide a clue to the individual's ancestors (Fig. 1). But overall, the fossil seems closest in morphology to particular crania from Jebel Irhoud, Omo Kibish and Qafzeh.
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Stringer, Human evolution: Out of Ethiopia. Nature 423, 692 - 695 (2003).
New Scientist Press Release
Patrick
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06-11-2003, 10:50 AM
