Age and context of mid-Pliocene hominin cranium from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia

Saylor, Beverly Z.; Gibert, Luís; Deino, Alan L.; Alene, Mulugeta; Levin, Naomi E.; Melillo, Stephanie M.; Peaple, Mark D.; Feakins, Sarah J.; Bourel, Benjamin; Barboni, Doris; Novello, Alice; Sylvestre, Florence; Mertzman, Stanley A.; Haile‐Selassie, Yohannes

doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1514-7

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The interest in molecular fingerprinting plant biomarkers in archeological 49–55 and paleoanthropological 6–20,22,56 studies (Figure 3), lies in key advantages this technique holds over other proxies. Plant wax δ 13 C (Box 2) is not biased toward herbivore feeding behavior like that of tooth enamel, and lipid biomarkers are more widespread than paleosol carbonates which only form in soils where annual rainfall is less than 1000 mm per year 57 .…”

Section: Complementary Addition To Multi‐proxy Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While climatic and environmental variability have been prominently discussed in influencing the broad patterns of human evolution, 1–5 linking ecosystem changes to technological and behavioral responses remains challenging. To address such research challenges, the analysis of plant wax lipids from ocean and lake cores, 6–8 paleo‐lake drilling projects, 9–13 archeological and geological outcrops, 14–18 cave deposits, 19–21 and hominin‐bearing sediments 22 have the potential to provide well‐integrated, high‐resolution data on past plant ecology and environmental stresses in regions where hominins evolved.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant wax biomarkers in human evolutionary studies

Patalano

Roberts

Boivin

et al. 2021

Evolutionary Anthropology

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Plant wax biomarkers are an innovative proxy for reconstructing vegetation composition and structure, rainfall intensity, temperature, and other climatic and environmental dynamics. Traditionally used in earth sciences and climate studies from “off‐site” ocean and lake records, biomarker research is now incorporated in archeology and paleoanthropology to answer questions relating to past human‐environment interactions and human evolution. Biomarker research is generating new and exciting information on the ecological context in which Homo and its closest relatives evolved, adapted, and invented stone tool technologies. In this review, we examine plant wax biomarkers and their use in reconstructing past plant landscapes and hydroclimates. We summarize the applications of plant wax molecular proxies in archeological research, assess challenges relating to taphonomy, consider the role of modern plant ecosystems in interpreting ancient habitats, and examine case studies conducted at key paleoanthropological locations in eastern and southern Africa and Europe.

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Section: Complementary Addition To Multi‐proxy Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant wax biomarkers in human evolutionary studies

Patalano

Roberts

Boivin

et al. 2021

Evolutionary Anthropology

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“…Haile-Selassie et al 3 (page 214) and Saylor et al 4 (page 220) report the discovery of a mostly complete 3.8-million-year-old cranium found in the Woranso-Mille area of Ethiopia. The fossil is of an adult, probably male, and was identified as A. anamensis mainly on the basis of the characteristics of its jaw and canine teeth.…”

Section: Elusive Cranium Of Early Hominin Foundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The skull of the hominin species Australopithecus anamensis. Haile-Selassie et al3 and Saylor et al4 report the discovery and dating of a 3.8-million-year-old cranium (grey) of A. anamensis, found in Ethiopia (collection number MRD-VP-1/1). Surface reconstructions (yellow) of fossils representing the only previously known parts of the skull region of this species are superimposed on the cranium.…”

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confidence: 99%

Elusive cranium of early hominin found

Spoor¹

2019

Nature

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“…2). Subsequently, important specimens of A. anamensis were found at Asa Issie in the Middle Awash Valley of Ethiopia (White et al, 2006), and most recently in the Woranso-Mille research area of the Afar (Haile-Selassie et al, 2019;Saylor et al, 2019). Specimens tentatively attributed to A. anamensis also derive from the sites of Galili (Kullmer et al, 2008) and Fejej (Fleagle et al, 1991;Ward, 2014) in Ethiopia (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The ecology of Australopithecus anamensis in the early Pliocene of Kanapoi, Kenya

Bobe

Manthi

Ward

et al. 2020

Journal of Human Evolution

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Australopithecus anamensis is a pivotal species in human evolution. It is likely the direct ancestor of Australopithecus afarensis and the species that may have given rise to the Homo and Paranthropus lineages. It had a suite of adaptations for habitual bipedalism and a diet that differed from that of earlier hominin species. Under what environmental and ecological conditions did this suite of adaptations arise? The early Pliocene site of Kanapoi in the Lake Turkana Basin of Kenya has the largest sample of A. anamensis in eastern Africa, and a rich record of fossil vertebrates. Most Kanapoi fossils are chronologically well constrained by radiometrically dated tephras between the ages of 4.2 and 4.1 million years ago. Sedimentological, isotopic, and faunal data indicate that the environments of Kanapoi during the early Pliocene had a complex range of vegetation types that included closed woodlands, shrubs, and grasslands near a river (for most of the sequence) or lake. These were dynamic landscapes that could shift rapidly from fluvial to lacustrine conditions, and then back. A. anamensis shared its environments with at least ten species of very large herbivores, which undoubtedly played a major role in modifying the landscape by opening wooded areas and providing pathways for bipedal hominins. Hominins may have competed for terrestrial resources with abundant suids (Nyanzachoerus and Notochoerus), and for arboreal resources with monkeys (with Parapapio as the most common cercopithecid). Kanapoi had a formidable suite of predators that included a very abundant species of hyena (Parahyaena howelli), two sabre-tooth felids (Dinofelis and Homotherium), a giant otter (Enhydriodon cf. dikikae), and three species of crocodiles. Various measures of abundance indicate that A. anamensis was 2 an important component of the Kanapoi early Pliocene ecosystems, and that its key adaptations allowed this species to thrive in complex and dynamic landscapes. taxonomic affinities and dated to more than 4.3 Ma (McDougall and Brown, 2008;McDougall and Feibel, 1999). The largest sample of A. anamensis derives from Kanapoi, currently with 74 individuals attributed to this species, including males and females, adults and juveniles, cranial and postcranial elements (Ward et al., 2001;Ward et al., 2017). These fossils show that A. anamensis had a high degree of sexual dimorphism in body mass, comparable to that of the later species A. afarensis

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Age and context of mid-Pliocene hominin cranium from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia

Cited by 19 publications

References 39 publications

Plant wax biomarkers in human evolutionary studies

Plant wax biomarkers in human evolutionary studies

Elusive cranium of early hominin found

The ecology of Australopithecus anamensis in the early Pliocene of Kanapoi, Kenya

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