Tenfold Population Increase in Western Europe at the Neandertal–to–Modern Human Transition

Mellars, Paul; French, Jennifer C.

doi:10.1126/science.1206930

Cited by 152 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Areas where empirical evidence indicates an earlier dispersal suggest that our estimates of carrying capacity for those regions might be too stringent or that modern genetic diversity does not encapsulate the diversity of these ancient human populations, some of which will have presumably gone extinct without contributing directly to modern levels of genetic variation. To build a global model, we had to leave out several region-specific factors, such as local adaptation to new climatic conditions (32,33), the depletion of important food sources such as megafauna (34), the advent of new techniques such as agriculture (35) and domestication (36,37), or the possible competition with Neanderthals during the colonization of Europe (38). Moreover, given that as much as two-thirds of the history of Homo sapiens took place within sub-Saharan Africa, we should not forget the combined effects of demographic and cultural evolution within Africa before expansion (39), which may ultimately have had profound effects on our ability to adapt culturally to a range of novel environments and successfully outcompete archaic populations (2).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Pleistocene climate change and the global expansion of anatomically modern humans

Eriksson¹,

Betti²,

Friend

et al. 2012

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

158

164

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The extent to which past climate change has dictated the pattern and timing of the out-of-Africa expansion by anatomically modern humans is currently unclear [Stewart JR, Stringer CB (2012) Science 335:1317-1321. In particular, the incompleteness of the fossil record makes it difficult to quantify the effect of climate. Here, we take a different approach to this problem; rather than relying on the appearance of fossils or archaeological evidence to determine arrival times in different parts of the world, we use patterns of genetic variation in modern human populations to determine the plausibility of past demographic parameters. We develop a spatially explicit model of the expansion of anatomically modern humans and use climate reconstructions over the past 120 ky based on the Hadley Centre global climate model HadCM3 to quantify the possible effects of climate on human demography. The combinations of demographic parameters compatible with the current genetic makeup of worldwide populations indicate a clear effect of climate on past population densities. Our estimates of this effect, based on population genetics, capture the observed relationship between current climate and population density in modern huntergatherers worldwide, providing supporting evidence for the realism of our approach. Furthermore, although we did not use any archaeological and anthropological data to inform the model, the arrival times in different continents predicted by our model are also broadly consistent with the fossil and archaeological records. Our framework provides the most accurate spatiotemporal reconstruction of human demographic history available at present and will allow for a greater integration of genetic and archaeological evidence.human dispersals | colonization | population bottlenecks | net primary productivity | most recent common ancestor

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Pleistocene climate change and the global expansion of anatomically modern humans

Eriksson¹,

Betti²,

Friend

et al. 2012

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

158

164

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…However, in behavioural and cultural aspects there is a major change, both in the development of new traits, and also in the rate of change. The key elements of this phase of human evolution have been well-rehearseda ratcheting of rates of change and increased complexity in technology [85], the emergence of regional entities and identities [86], greater population densities [87], evidence for enhanced cultural processes [88], symbolic thought and representation [89]. The rate is significant too.…”

Section: (C) a New Adaptive Zonementioning

confidence: 99%

Mosaic evolution and the pattern of transitions in the hominin lineage

Foley¹

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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One contribution of 17 to a discussion meeting issue 'Major transitions in human evolution'.Subject Areas: evolution, palaeontology, behaviour Keywords: human evolution, mosaic evolution, major transitions, human evolutionary ecology, hominins, tempo and mode of evolution Humans are uniquely unique, in terms of the extreme differences between them and other living organisms, and the impact they are having on the biosphere. The evolution of humans can be seen, as has been proposed, as one of the major transitions in evolution, on a par with the origins of multicellular organisms or the eukaryotic cell (Maynard Smith & Szathmáry 1997 Major transitions in evolution). Major transitions require the evolution of greater complexity and the emergence of new evolutionary levels or processes. Does human evolution meet these conditions? I explore the diversity of evidence on the nature of transitions in human evolution. Four levels of transition are proposed-baseline, novel taxa, novel adaptive zones and major transitions-and the pattern of human evolution considered in the light of these. The primary conclusions are that changes in human evolution occur continuously and cumulatively; that novel taxa and the appearance of new adaptations are not clustered very tightly in particular periods, although there are three broad transitional phases (Pliocene, Plio-Pleistocene and later Quaternary). Each phase is distinctive, with the first based on ranging and energetics, the second on technology and niche expansion, and the third on cognition and cultural processes. I discuss whether this constitutes a 'major transition' in the context of the evolutionary processes more broadly; the role of behaviour in evolution; and the opportunity provided by the rich genetic, phenotypic (fossil morphology) and behavioural (archaeological) record to examine in detail major transitions and the microevolutionary patterns underlying macroevolutionary change. It is suggested that the evolution of the hominin lineage is consistent with a mosaic pattern of change.This article is part of the themed issue 'Major transitions in human evolution'.

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“…It offers, instead, a complementary approach to the potentially circular arguments that assess the complexity of hominin tool use based on inferred cognition, where the tools themselves provide an important line of evidence for cognitive ability. Combined consideration of palaeoenvironmental, zooarchaeological and site occupation data (to reconstruct available resources, predator/prey abundance and information on possible group sizes from the density of material remains [109], respectively) can allow assessment of the living conditions for any hominin taxon. While these will suffer the same lacunae as any archaeological data, the independent lines of evidence that they provide may at least augment reconstructions based on cranial capacities and brain organization [110], whereas lessening reliance on often-scarce hominin fossil evidence.…”

Section: Hominins As Tool-using Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Captivity bias’ in animal tool use and its implications for the evolution of hominin technology

Haslam

2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Animals in captive or laboratory settings may outperform wild animals of the same species in both frequency and diversity of tool use, a phenomenon here termed ‘captivity bias’. Although speculative at this stage, a logical conclusion from this concept is that animals whose tool-use behaviour is observed solely under natural conditions may be judged cognitively or physically inferior than if they had also been tested or observed under controlled captive conditions. In turn, this situation creates a potential problem for studies of the behaviour of extinct members of the human family tree—the hominins—as hominin cognitive abilities are often judged on material evidence of tool-use behaviour left in the archaeological record. In this review, potential factors contributing to captivity bias in primates (including increased contact between individuals engaged in tool use, guidance or shaping of tool-use behaviour by other tool-users and increased free time and energy) are identified and assessed for their possible effects on the behaviour of the Late Pleistocene hominin Homo floresiensis . The captivity bias concept provides one way to uncouple hominin tool use from cognition, by considering hominins as subject to the same adaptive influences as other tool-using animals.

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Tenfold Population Increase in Western Europe at the Neandertal–to–Modern Human Transition

Cited by 152 publications

References 68 publications

Late Pleistocene climate change and the global expansion of anatomically modern humans

Late Pleistocene climate change and the global expansion of anatomically modern humans

Mosaic evolution and the pattern of transitions in the hominin lineage

‘Captivity bias’ in animal tool use and its implications for the evolution of hominin technology

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