Out of Africa I (eBook)

John Fleagle is Distinguished Professor of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University. He has conducted paleontological field work in many parts of the world, including Argentina, Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia, and India. He is the author of the textbook Primate Adaptation and Evolution (1988, 1999, Elsevier), Co-Editor of the Human Evolution Sourcebook (1993, 2006, Prentice Hall) and the Editor of journal Evolutionary Anthropology.

Preface 6
Contents 8
Contributors 10
Introduction 12
Chapter 1: Early Pleistocene Mammals of Africa: Background to Dispersal 14
Introduction 14
Anthropoid Faunal Assemblages 14
Patterns of Catarrhine Dispersal 16
Patterns of Carnivore Dispersal 17
The Early Pleistocene Carnivore Guild 18
Early Pleistocene Herbivores: Proboscideans, Perissodactyls and Artiodactyls 18
Conclusions 20
References 20
Chapter 2: Carnivoran Dispersal Out of Africa During the Early Pleistocene: Relevance for Hominins? 23
Introduction 23
The Plio-Pleistocene Carnivoran Guilds of Africa 24
Questions Surrounding the Dispersal of Megantereon 25
Brief History of the Taxonomy of Megantereon 25
A New Species of African Megantereon: Significance for Dmanisi 29
Ecomorphology of African Megantereon 30
Megantereon and Hominin Behavior 31
Reiteration of Questions Posed Earlier 32
Conclusions 34
References 34
Chapter 3: Saharan Corridors and Their Role in the Evolutionary Geography of ‘Out of Africa I’ 37
Introduction 37
A Biogeographical Model for Dispersals Out of East Africa 39
Plio-Pleistocene North Africa 40
Across Deserts and Mountains, Seas and Deltas 43
Out of Africa Across the Sahara 46
‘Out of Africa I’: Different Routes and Directions 47
Integrating Model and Data 48
Causes, Conditions, Constraintsand Consequences 51
Conditions 51
Causes 51
Constraints 52
Consequences 52
Concluding Thoughts 52
References 53
Chapter 4: Stone Age Visiting Cards Revisited: A Strategic Perspective on the Lithic Technology of Early Hominin Dispersal 57
Introduction 57
Background 58
Early Paleolithic Stone Tools 58
Pebble-Cores 59
Large Cutting Tools 60
Early Paleolithic Industries 61
The Oldowan Industry 62
The Developed Oldowan Industry 62
The Early Acheulean Industry 62
Early Paleolithic Industrial Variability as Strategic Variabiliity 62
Core Reduction Strategies 62
Pebble Core Reduction Strategies: Costs and Benefits 63
LCT Reduction Strategies: Costs and Benefits 63
Explaining Early Paleolithic Industrial Variability 64
Alternatives to the Strategic Variation Model 69
Biological Variation? 69
Cultural Variation? 70
Functional Variation? 70
Conclusion 71
References 72
Chapter 5: Behavioral and Environmental Background to ‘Out-of-Africa I’ and the Arrival of Homo erectus in East Asia 77
Introduction 77
The African Context for ‘Out-of-Africa I’ 77
Morphological Indicators of Terrestrial Mobility 78
Archeological Measures of Mobility: Lifting of Landscape Constraints 78
Adaptability to Novel Environments 79
Arrival in East Asia: Evidence from Yuanmou and Nihewan, China 80
Yuanmou Basin Hominin Fossils and Stone Tools 80
Nihewan Basin Archeological Sites 82
Biogeographic Context of Out-of-Africa Dispersal 83
Levant 83
Bab-el-Mandeb 83
Arabian Peninsula 84
Indian Subcontinent and Central Asia 84
Fellow Travelers and Three Hypotheses of Hominin Dispersal 85
Environmental Contexts of the Oldest Hominins in East Asia 89
Distinctive Faunas and Regional Diversity 89
Climate Dynamics 90
Discussion 90
Conclusion 92
References 92
Chapter 6: New Archeological Evidence for the Earliest Hominin Presence in China 96
Introduction 96
The Natural Landscape and Chronological Scale of China 96
Three Newly Discovered Early Archeological Sites in Southern China 97
Renzidong Site in Fanchang County of Anhui Province 97
Longgudong Site in Jianshi County of Hubei Province 99
Longgupo Site in Wushan County of Chongqing City 99
Hominoid Coexistence and Other Relevant Information 100
Conclusions 101
References 103
Chapter 7: Geological Evidence for the Earliest Appearance of Hominins in Indonesia 105
Introduction 105
Quaternary Geology of Indonesia 105
Quaternary Stratigraphy of Hominin and Vertebrate Remains in Java 107
Quaternary Stratigraphy of West Java 107
Quaternary Stratigraphy of Central Java 109
Bumiayu Area 109
Patiayam Area 109
Sangiran Area 110
Sambungmacan Area 111
Quaternary Stratigraphy of the KendengZone, East Java 111
Trinil Area 111
Ngandong Area 111
Kedung Brubus Area 111
Perning (Mojokerto) Area 111
Quaternary Stratigraphy of the Islands Outside Java 113
Java: The Home for Hominins in Southeast Asia 113
Conclusions 116
References 117
Chapter 8: Divorcing Hominins from the Stegodon-Ailuropoda Fauna: New Views on the Antiquity of Hominins in Asia1 119
Introduction 119
Evidence from China 120
Mohui Cave, Guangxi, China 120
Jianshi, Hubei, China 122
Longgupo Cave, Sichuan, China 122
Sanhe Cave, Guangxi, China 124
Nihewan Basin, Hebei, China 124
Shanxi Province, China 125
Evidence from Peninsular Southeast Asia 126
Lang Trang Caves, Vietnam 126
Tham Khuyen Cave, Vietnam 127
Evidence from Java 127
How Did Homo erectus Disperse from Africa to Island Southeast Asia? 127
Early Hominins in Central Java 128
New Paleoecological Studies in the Sangiran Dome 129
Discussion and Conclusions 131
References 132
Chapter 9: Early Pleistocene Mammalian Faunas of India and Evidence of Connections with Other Parts of the World 136
Introduction 136
Plio-Pleistocene Deposits of Indo-Pakistan and the Mammalian Fauna 138
Plio-Pleistocene Paleoecology and Climate in the Indian Subcontinent 140
Connections with Other Parts of the World 142
Tectonic Activity, Climate Change and Migration of the Siwalik Mammals at the Plio-Pleistocene Boundary 145
Discussion and Conclusions 146
References 147
Chapter 10: The Indian Subcontinent and ‘Out of Africa I’ 151
Introduction 151
The Biogeography of South Asia 152
South Asian Plio-Pleistocene Environments 154
The Two Routes of Entry into the Indian Subcontinent 155
Central India 155
Narmada Valley 155
Mahadeo Piparia and Durkadi 156
Northern Pakistan 157
The Siwalik Hills 157
Northern India 157
Kheri-Jhiran (Northern India) 157
Jainti Devi Ki Rao (Chandigarh Area, Northern India) 158
Toka (Northern India) 159
Uttarbaini (Northern India) 159
Riwat and the Pabbi Hills Assemblages (Northern Pakistan) 160
Riwat 160
Pabbi Hills Assemblages 160
Claims of Pre-Middle Pleistocene Hominin Fossils 164
Nadah 164
Khetpurali and Masol 164
Discussion and Conclusion 165
References 167
Chapter 11: The Early Paleolithic of the Indian Subcontinent: Hominin Colonization, Dispersals and Occupation History 171
Introduction 171
Geography and Paleoenvironments 171
Earliest Occupation of the Subcontinent 174
The Upper Siwaliks and the Earliest Colonization 174
The Soan Industry and Its Antiquity 174
So, Are There Occupations at the Plio-Pleistocene Boundary? 175
Acheulean Colonization and Dispersal 176
Acheulean Dispersals 176
Dispersals and the Basin Model 176
Occupation Intensity During the Acheulean 178
The South Asian Acheulean and ‘Acheulean-Like’ Assemblages to the East 178
The Luonan Basin: An Acheulean Sortie into China? 181
Conclusion 181
References 182
Chapter 12: Early Pleistocene Faunal Connections Between Africa and Eurasia: An Ecological Perspective 187
Introduction 187
Testing the Environmental Hypothesis: The Case of the Southern Levant 188
Multivariate Analysis of the Large Mammal Community of ‘Ubeidiya 189
How Can the Presence of African Taxa Be Explained in a Mediterranean Biome? 194
The LDD Model 195
Testing the LDD Model in the Plio-Pleistocene of the Southern Levant 196
Grazers 197
Browsers 199
Aquatic Taxa 199
Carnivores 200
Discussion and Conclusions 202
Hominin Dispersal 202
References 203
Chapter 13: Early Pleistocene Faunas of Eurasia and Hominin Dispersals 210
Introduction 210
Middle and Late Pliocene Large Mammal Assemblages 210
The Plio-Pleistocene Transition and the Early Pleistocene Large Mammal Assemblages 212
The Pachycrocuta brevirostris Event 213
The Early Pleistocene Faunas 213
The Early-Middle Pleistocene Faunal Transition 215
The Early Pleistocene African Taxa in Eurasia and Their Connection with Homo Dispersals 216
The Plio-Pleistocene Transition and Significant Early Pleistocene Taxa 217
Pelorovis oldowayensis (Now Bos oldowayensis After Martínez-Navarro et al. 2007) 217
Kolpochoerus olduvaiensis 217
Hippopotamus antiquus 218
Megantereon whitei 219
Theropithecus oswaldi 220
Early Pleistocene Eurasian Species in Africa 220
Discussion 221
Conclusions 222
References 222
Chapter 14: Fossil Skulls from Dmanisi: A Paleodeme Representing Earliest Homo in Eurasia 228
Introduction 228
The Site 229
The D2280 Cranium 229
The D2282/D211 Skull 232
The D2700/D2735 Subadult Skull 234
The D3444/D3900 Skull 236
The Dmanisi Paleodeme 238
Comparisons with Early Homo from Eastern Africa 239
Resemblances to Homo erectus 240
Dmanisi and Human Evolution 242
Summary 244
References 245
Chapter 15: “Out of Africa I”: Current Problems and Future Prospects 248
Introduction 248
Part I: Problems with the “Out of Africa I” Model 249
The Enigmatic Origin of H. erectus in Africa 249
The Implications of Dmanisi 250
The Taxonomic Unity of H. erectus: Coherent Taxon or a Dust-Bin Category? 251
The Asian Late Pliocene Fossil Record: Absence of Evidence Versus Evidence of Absence 251
Southwest Asia 252
Part II: Climatic Change and Hominin Settlement in Asia During the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene 253
Part III: A Research Agenda for Improving Our Understanding of Our Early Hominin Settlement in Asia 256
Southwest Asia: From the Mediterranean and Red Sea to the Indus 258
Central Asia and North China 261
South Asia (India, Pakistan and Nepal) 263
The Upper Siwaliks of North India, Pakistan and Nepal 264
Peninsular India 265
South China and Mainland Southeast Asia 265
Flood Plains: Yuanmou Revisited? 267
Indonesia 267
Summary 267
References 269
Chapter 16: Summary and Prospectus 275
External Versus Internal Stimulus to Hominin Dispersal 276
The Nature and Number of Early Hominin Dispersal(s) 276
Fellow Travelers 277
Who’s Who in the Fossil Record 277
What Are Artifacts and Who Made Them? 278
How Old? 278
Prospectus 278
References 279