A Complete Skull from Dmanisi, Georgia, and the Evolutionary Biology of Early Homo

Abstract

The site of Dmanisi, Georgia, has yielded an impressive sample of hominid cranial and postcranial remains, documenting the presence of Homo outside Africa around 1.8 million years ago. Here we report on a new cranium from Dmanisi (D4500) that, together with its mandible (D2600), represents the world's first completely preserved adult hominid skull from the early Pleistocene. D4500/D2600 combines a small braincase (546 cubic centimeters) with a large prognathic face and exhibits close morphological affinities with the earliest known Homo fossils from Africa. The Dmanisi sample, which now comprises five crania, provides direct evidence for wide morphological variation within and among early Homo paleodemes. This implies the existence of a single evolving lineage of early Homo, with phylogeographic continuity across continents.

Comparative analysis of dentognathic pathologies in the Dmanisi mandibles

“…The well-preserved cranial, mandibular and postcranial remains of five individuals are unique in offering detailed insights into patterns of morphological variation within a paleodeme of early Homo, and into patterns of growth and aging Margvelashvili et al 2013;Zollikofer et al 2014). The craniomandibular morphology of the Dmanisi paleodeme has been described previously (Gabunia and Vekua 1995;Gabunia et al 2000;Gabunia et al 2001;Gabounia et al 2002;Lordkipanidze et al 2005;Lordkipanidze et al 2006;Rightmire et al 2006;Rightmire and Lordkipanidze 2010;Lordkipanidze et al 2013;Margvelashvili et al 2013). Cranial and mandibular morphological variation within the Dmanisi paleodeme is wide, but well within the range of variation seen in modern humans populations, and in populations of chimpanzee subspecies (Skinner et al 2006;Lordkipanidze et al 2013;Margvelashvili et al 2013;Zollikofer et al 2014).…”

“…The craniomandibular morphology of the Dmanisi paleodeme has been described previously (Gabunia and Vekua 1995;Gabunia et al 2000;Gabunia et al 2001;Gabounia et al 2002;Lordkipanidze et al 2005;Lordkipanidze et al 2006;Rightmire et al 2006;Rightmire and Lordkipanidze 2010;Lordkipanidze et al 2013;Margvelashvili et al 2013). Cranial and mandibular morphological variation within the Dmanisi paleodeme is wide, but well within the range of variation seen in modern humans populations, and in populations of chimpanzee subspecies (Skinner et al 2006;Lordkipanidze et al 2013;Margvelashvili et al 2013;Zollikofer et al 2014). Variation in size, shape and dentognathic features among the Dmanisi mandibles has received special attention and has been studied to address questions of phylogeny, taxonomy, sexual dimorphism, diet, aging, and in-vivo modification of the dentognathic system (Gabounia et al 2002;Skinner et al 2006; 19.01.2016 3 Margvelashvili et al 2013;Martín-Francés et al 2013;Bermudez de Castro et al 2014;Schwartz et al 2014;Zollikofer et al 2014).…”

Temporal labyrinths of eastern Eurasian Pleistocene humans

“…Neandertal (and earlier Homo) femoral diaphyseal shape has suggested more mediolateral and less anteroposterior loading during locomotion; however, properly scaled, there is no difference through Pleistocene Homo in anteroposterior femoral strength, only mediolateral variation apparently related to pelvic breadth (41,42). Related are issues of head balance and momentum in running with a prognathic and platycephalic cranium (43); however, the Neandertals had shorter faces than their Pleistocene Homo predecessors (44,45), and their relative neurocranial heights are similar to all earlier Homo and overlap the variation of early modern humans (46). Given the contrast in labyrinth morphology between earlier Pleistocene Homo and the Neandertals, it is therefore difficult to account for the latter's (and Xujiayao 15's) labyrinth configuration from postcranial and overall cranial proportions.…”

New dating of the Homo erectus cranium from Lantian (Gongwangling), China

“…Wu and Poirier (1995) and Schwartz and Tattersall (2003) provide detailed summaries. Although mentioned in various publications on Early Pleistocene hominin morphology (e.g., Anton, 2002), it is often overlooked and further detailed examination in the light of recent discoveries from Dmanisi (Gabunia et al, 2000;Lordkipanidze et al, 2013) and Sangiran (Zaim et al, 2011) would be advantageous. Because Gongwangling lies in the southern part of the Loess Plateau, the main means of dating the hominin cranium and other evidence is by a combination of palaeomagnetism and correlations with loess and palaeosol sequences at other sections in the Chinese Loess Plateau.…”

“…1.75 Ma (millions of years ago) (Gabunia et al, 2000;Lordkipanidze et al, 2005Lordkipanidze et al, , 2006Rightmire et al, 2006;Lordkipanidze et al, 2007Lordkipanidze et al, , 2013; but see Bermúdez de Castro et al, 2014), followed shortly afterward by the oldest from Sangiran, Java, Indonesia that are dated to ca. 1.5e1.6 Ma (Larick et al, 2001;Bettis et al, 2009;Zaim et al, 2011).…”