Climate forcing of first hominid dispersal in Western Europe

Agustı́, Jordi; Blain, Hugues‐Alexandre; Cuenca‐Bescós, Gloria; Bailón, Salvador

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.06.005

Cited by 123 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…As noted for ACB 4, the representation of amphibians, squa mates and chelonids in ACB 1 is also very diverse (Table 3) in a number of karst sites from these areas (Bailon, 1987(Bailon, , 1989(Bailon, , 1991aBlain, 2005Blain, , 2009Bailon and Blain, 2007;Agusti et al, 2009). After that, the set of climatic events linked to the transi tion between the earliest and the early Pleistocene at around 1.8 Ma, probably led to the final disappearance of the family in the European latitudes.…”

Section: Almenara-casablanca M (Acb M Latest Miocene)mentioning

confidence: 74%

The late Neogene-early Quaternary small vertebrate succession from the Almenara-Casablanca karst complex (Castellón, Eastern Spain): Chronologic and paleoclimatic context

Agustı́

Santos-Cubedo

Furió

et al. 2011

Quaternary International

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Section: Almenara-casablanca M (Acb M Latest Miocene)mentioning

confidence: 74%

The late Neogene-early Quaternary small vertebrate succession from the Almenara-Casablanca karst complex (Castellón, Eastern Spain): Chronologic and paleoclimatic context

Agustı́

Santos-Cubedo

Furió

et al. 2011

Quaternary International

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“…The record of colonization of Western Europe is also >1 Ma (27)(28)(29). The increasingly older age of Eurasian occupations by early Homo is important for defining patterns of dispersal and adaptations in environmental context (3,(30)(31)(32).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Earliest human occupations at Dmanisi (Georgian Caucasus) dated to 1.85–1.78 Ma

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Oms

Agustı́

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The early Pleistocene colonization of temperate Eurasia by Homo erectus was not only a significant biogeographic event but also a major evolutionary threshold. Dmanisi's rich collection of hominin fossils, revealing a population that was small-brained with both primitive and derived skeletal traits, has been dated to the earliest Upper Matuyama chron (ca. 1.77 Ma). Here we present archaeological and geologic evidence that push back Dmanisi's first occupations to shortly after 1.85 Ma and document repeated use of the site over the last half of the Olduvai subchron, 1.85-1.78 Ma. These discoveries show that the southern Caucasus was occupied repeatedly before Dmanisi's hominin fossil assemblage accumulated, strengthening the probability that this was part of a core area for the colonization of Eurasia. The secure age for Dmanisi's first occupations reveals that Eurasia was probably occupied before Homo erectus appears in the East African fossil record.Lower Paleolithic | paleoanthropology I n recent years, paleoanthropologists have intensified the search for evidence for one of the most significant events in human evolution: the dispersal of early Homo from Africa to Eurasia. That Homo erectus was the first hominin to leave Africa and colonize Eurasia has been accepted by paleoanthropologists for over a century. However, models that linked the first African exodus to increases in stature, encephalization, and technological advances (1-3) have been challenged by discoveries at Dmanisi (4). Dmanisi is located in the southern Georgian Caucasus (41°20'10"N and 44°20'38"E), 55 km southwest of Tbilisi (Fig. 1). The prehistoric excavations at Dmanisi have been concentrated in the central part of a promontory that stands above the confluence of the Masavera and Pinasauri rivers. Lower Pleistocene deposits are preserved below the Medieval ruins and above the 1.85-Ma Masavera Basalt (Fig. 1). Those excavations yielded numerous exceptionally preserved hominin fossils. Stratigraphic studies revealed that that all of those hominin fossils are from sediments of stratum B, dated to ca. 1.77 Ma, based on 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates, paleomagnetism, and paleontologic constraints (4, 5). In the main excavations, no artifacts or fossils have been found in the older stratum A deposits, which conformably overlie the Masavera Basalt. Dmanisi's rich collection of hominin fossils reveals a population with short stature and cranial capacities of only 600-775 cc (4-9). Artifact assemblages are all indicative of a Mode I technology, with no bifacial tools (10). Recently completed testing in the M5 sector of Dmanisi has yielded in situ artifacts and faunal remains from the older stratum A deposits, pushing back Dmanisi's occupational history into the upper Olduvai subchron. These findings indicate that African and Eurasian theaters for the evolution of early humans had been established even earlier than thought previously, with implications for the age of dispersals not only within Eurasia but also between Eurasia and Africa. This article describes t...

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“…In order to carry out the palaeoclimatic study the Mutual Climate Range method (MCR) was used (Blain, 2005;2009;Blain et al, 2007;2009;Agustí et al, 2009;…”

Section: Palaeoclimatic Reconstructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The end of the Last Glacial Maximum in the Iberian Peninsula characterized by the small-mammal assemblages

Bañuls‐Cardona

López‐García

Blain

et al. 2014

Journal of Iberian Geology

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This paper presents a palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic approach to the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the Iberian Peninsula on the basis of the small-mammal assemblages (insectivores, bats and rodents). The LGM is an important period in our climate history defined by the maximum extension of ice sheets between ca. 22 and 19 ka BP. In the Mediterranean region the LGM is characterized by humid conditions, which allow for the development of arboreal vegetation. The small-mammal remains described in this study were recovered from four different sites within the Iberian Peninsula: El Mirón cave (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria), Valdavara-1 (Becerreá, Lugo), El Portalón (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos), and Sala de las Chimeneas (Maltravieso, Cáceres). We found in these sites a non-analogue association represented by species associated with mid-European climatic conditions, such as the voles Chionomys nivalis, Microtus arvalis, Microtus agrestis and Microtus oeconomus, together with species associated with Mediterranean requirements, such as Microtus (Iberomys) cabrerae and Microtus (Terricola) duodecimcostatus. These assemblages reveal that the climate was harsher than today in the sites under study, though not as rigorous as elsewhere in Europe, with mean annual temperatures lower than present and an environment dominated by wet open meadows. All our data have been compared with other environmental and climatic proxies, global isotope curves and pollen data, providing a scenario for the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions that occurred during the LGM in the Iberian Peninsula.Keywords: Microvertebrate, palaeoenvironment, palaeoclimate, LGM, Late Pleistocene Resumen Este artículo representa un enfoque paleoambiental y paleoclimático del final del Último Máximo Glacial (UMG), en la Península Ibérica a partir de las asociaciones de pequeños mamíferos (insectívoros, murciélagos y roedores). El UMG es un período importante en nuestra historia del clima definido por la máxima extensión de las capas de hielo entre ca. 22 y 19 ka BP. En la región del Mediterráneo, este UMG se caracteriza por condiciones de humedad, que permiten el desarrollo de la vegetación arbórea. Los restos de micromamíferos seleccionados para este estudio corresponden a cuatro yacimientos diferentes de la Península Ibérica: la cueva del Mirón (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria), Valdavara-1 (Becerreá, Lugo), El Portalón (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos), y la Sala de las Chimeneas (Maltravieso, Cáceres). En todos los yacimientos estudiados se ha encontrado una asociación representada por las especies relacionadas con las condiciones climáticas medio-europeas, como los topillos Chionomys nivalis, Microtus arvalis, Microtus agrestis o Microtus oeconomus, junto con las especies asociadas con los requerimientos mediterráneos, como Microtus (Iberomys) cabrerae o Microtus (terricola) duodecimcostatus. Estas asociaciones nos permiten observar que el clima era más frío que hoy en día en los diferentes yacimientos estudiados, pe...

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Climate forcing of first hominid dispersal in Western Europe

Cited by 123 publications

References 19 publications

The late Neogene-early Quaternary small vertebrate succession from the Almenara-Casablanca karst complex (Castellón, Eastern Spain): Chronologic and paleoclimatic context

The late Neogene-early Quaternary small vertebrate succession from the Almenara-Casablanca karst complex (Castellón, Eastern Spain): Chronologic and paleoclimatic context

Earliest human occupations at Dmanisi (Georgian Caucasus) dated to 1.85–1.78 Ma

The end of the Last Glacial Maximum in the Iberian Peninsula characterized by the small-mammal assemblages

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