New foot remains from the Gran Dolina-TD6 Early Pleistocene site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain)

Pablos, Adrián; Lorenzo, Carlos; Martı́nez, Ignacio; Castro, José Marı́a Bermúdez de; Martinón‐Torres, María; Carbonell, Eudald; Arsuaga, Juan Luís

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.06.008

Cited by 41 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Estimates from various recent populations, including adults, juveniles and both sexes produce a mean ratio of 0.15 for foot length:stature [15], [35]–[40]. Based on skeletal evidence it is also thought that the body proportions of Middle Pleistocene hominins was similar to modern humans [41]–[42] (see Information S1). Although there will be variation between foot and footprint length [15], stature estimates using the 0.15 ratio indicate a height range between 0.93 and 1.73 m, suggesting the presence of adults and children (Table 1).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hominin Footprints from Early Pleistocene Deposits at Happisburgh, UK

et al. 2014

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Investigations at Happisburgh, UK, have revealed the oldest known hominin footprint surface outside Africa at between ca. 1 million and 0.78 million years ago. The site has long been recognised for the preservation of sediments containing Early Pleistocene fauna and flora, but since 2005 has also yielded humanly made flint artefacts, extending the record of human occupation of northern Europe by at least 350,000 years. The sediments consist of sands, gravels and laminated silts laid down by a large river within the upper reaches of its estuary. In May 2013 extensive areas of the laminated sediments were exposed on the foreshore. On the surface of one of the laminated silt horizons a series of hollows was revealed in an area of ca. 12 m2. The surface was recorded using multi-image photogrammetry which showed that the hollows are distinctly elongated and the majority fall within the range of juvenile to adult hominin foot sizes. In many cases the arch and front/back of the foot can be identified and in one case the impression of toes can be seen. Using foot length to stature ratios, the hominins are estimated to have been between ca. 0.93 and 1.73 m in height, suggestive of a group of mixed ages. The orientation of the prints indicates movement in a southerly direction on mud-flats along the river edge. Early Pleistocene human fossils are extremely rare in Europe, with no evidence from the UK. The only known species in western Europe of a similar age is Homo antecessor, whose fossil remains have been found at Atapuerca, Spain. The foot sizes and estimated stature of the hominins from Happisburgh fall within the range derived from the fossil evidence of Homo antecessor.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hominin Footprints from Early Pleistocene Deposits at Happisburgh, UK

et al. 2014

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“…2F) and the talar head narrower than both Neandertals and MH (SI Appendix, Table S23). In SH, as in Neandertals, the trochlea is relatively broad with parallel sides, compared with the relatively narrow and wedge-shaped trochlea of MH (27,49) (Fig. 1F).…”

Section: Postcranial Skeletal Anatomymentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Despite subtle variation in Pleistocene hominin tali, some consistent morphological variants can be identified among different fossil samples (27,49). The Neandertal talus displays broader lateral malleolar facets (50) and talar heads compared with MH.…”

Section: Postcranial Skeletal Anatomymentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The metatarsals from SH, Neandertals, and MH are very similar except for the broader base of the lateral metatarsals (MTIII-V), a potentially derived character shared between SH and Neandertals (49). The SH proximal pedal phalanges present hypertrophy of the shaft, and the distal phalanx of the big toe shows an expanded distal tuberosity, as in the Neandertals (39,52).…”

Section: Postcranial Skeletal Anatomymentioning

confidence: 96%

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Postcranial morphology of the middle Pleistocene humans from Sima de los Huesos, Spain

Arsuaga

Carretero

Lorenzo

et al. 2015

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

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154

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Current knowledge of the evolution of the postcranial skeleton in the genus Homo is hampered by a geographically and chronologically scattered fossil record. Here we present a complete characterization of the postcranium of the middle Pleistocene paleodeme from the Sima de los Huesos (SH) and its paleobiological implications. The SH hominins show the following: (i) wide bodies, a plesiomorphic character in the genus Homo inherited from their early hominin ancestors; (ii) statures that can be found in modern human middle-latitude populations that first appeared 1.6-1.5 Mya; and (iii) large femoral heads in some individuals, a trait that first appeared during the middle Pleistocene in Africa and Europe. The intrapopulational size variation in SH shows that the level of dimorphism was similar to modern humans (MH), but the SH hominins were less encephalized than Neandertals. SH shares many postcranial anatomical features with Neandertals. Although most of these features appear to be either plesiomorphic retentions or are of uncertain phylogenetic polarity, a few represent Neandertal apomorphies. Nevertheless, the full suite of Neandertal-derived features is not yet present in the SH population. The postcranial evidence is consistent with the hypothesis based on the cranial morphology that the SH hominins are a sister group to the later Neandertals. Comparison of the SH postcranial skeleton to other hominins suggests that the evolution of the postcranium occurred in a mosaic mode, both at a general and at a detailed level.human evolution | bauplan | postcranial anatomy |

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“…Regarding the postcranial skeleton of H. antecessor, most of the features are more similar to modern humans than to European Middle and Late Pleistocene hominins Lorenzo et al, 1999), although some traits are also shared with the latter (Pablos et al, 2012). We have identified a few features in the TD6 hominins that are also present in Neanderthals and some European Middle Pleistocene hominins.…”

Section: Other Non-facial Evidences In H Antecessormentioning

confidence: 70%

Evolutionary interpretation of the modern human-like facial morphology of the Atapuerca Gran Dolina-TD6 hominins

Castro

Martinón‐Torres

2014

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The Early Pleistocene human fossil remains recovered from the TD6 lithostratigraphic unit of the Gran Dolina cave site in the Sierra de Atapuerca, northern Spain, show a mosaic of primitive and derived features. Among the latter, the modern human-like midfacial topography, as well as several synapomorphies shared with some European Middle Pleistocene hominin and Neanderthals, represents a challenge for the phylogenetic interpretation of Homo antecessor. Using an ontogenetic approach of the maxilla ATD6-69, Freidline et al. (Journal of Human Evolution, 65: 404-423 (2013)) have confirmed previous observations that H. antecessor adults had a set of facial features characterizing H. sapiens. However, Freidline and collaborators proposed that the evolution of modern-looking facial morphology occurred independently in Africa, Asia, and Europe and at several times during the Early and the Middle Pleistocene. Following their line of reasoning, the presence in H. antecessor of some features shared with the European Middle Pleistocene hominins and the Neanderthal lineage could also be interpreted as convergences. However, instead of supposing multiple, parallel evolution, we suggest that a more parsimonious interpretation envisages the hypothetical existence of an Early Pleistocene hominin population, from which several hominin lineages originate and inherit particular combinations of derived features. The TD6 hominins probably represent a side branch of this cladogenetic event, which evolved in Western Europe.

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New foot remains from the Gran Dolina-TD6 Early Pleistocene site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain)

Cited by 41 publications

References 70 publications

Hominin Footprints from Early Pleistocene Deposits at Happisburgh, UK

Hominin Footprints from Early Pleistocene Deposits at Happisburgh, UK

Postcranial morphology of the middle Pleistocene humans from Sima de los Huesos, Spain

Evolutionary interpretation of the modern human-like facial morphology of the Atapuerca Gran Dolina-TD6 hominins

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