Journal ArticleDOI
Pleistocene Homo sapiens from Middle Awash, Ethiopia
Tim D. White,Berhane Asfaw,David DeGusta,Henry Gilbert,Gary D. Richards,Gen Suwa,F. Clark Howell +6 more
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Fossilized hominid crania from Herto, Middle Awash, Ethiopia are described and provide crucial evidence on the location, timing and contextual circumstances of the emergence of Homo sapiens.Abstract:
The origin of anatomically modern Homo sapiens and the fate of Neanderthals have been fundamental questions in human evolutionary studies for over a century. A key barrier to the resolution of these questions has been the lack of substantial and accurately dated African hominid fossils from between 100,000 and 300,000 years ago. Here we describe fossilized hominid crania from Herto, Middle Awash, Ethiopia, that fill this gap and provide crucial evidence on the location, timing and contextual circumstances of the emergence of Homo sapiens. Radioisotopically dated to between 160,000 and 154,000 years ago, these new fossils predate classic Neanderthals and lack their derived features. The Herto hominids are morphologically and chronologically intermediate between archaic African fossils and later anatomically modern Late Pleistocene humans. They therefore represent the probable immediate ancestors of anatomically modern humans. Their anatomy and antiquity constitute strong evidence of modern-human emergence in Africa.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Brain Size Growth and Life History in Human Evolution
TL;DR: Comparative analyses of endocranial volume size growth illustrate that distinctions between humans and other primates are consequences of differences in rates of brain size growth, with little evidence for differences in growth duration.
Journal ArticleDOI
Palaeoclimates, plasticity, and the early dispersal of Homo sapiens
TL;DR: It is shown that certain climatic and environmental conditions are expected to lead to the evolution of plastic strategies, and that such strategies are characteristic of successfully dispersing species.
Journal ArticleDOI
The ‘Solarization’ of the Moon: Manipulated Knowledge at Stonehenge
TL;DR: In this article, the sarsen monument at Stonehenge is treated as one among a number of monuments with lunar-solar alignments which privileged night over day, winter over summer, dark moon over full.
Book ChapterDOI
Radiocarbon Dating the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic Transition: The Demise of the Last Neanderthals and the First Appearance of Anatomically Modern Humans in Europe
TL;DR: This article examined the European radiocarbon-based chronometric record for the period between ca. 40.0 and 30.0 ka 14C BP with reference to the stratigraphic evidence.
Journal ArticleDOI
“Contextual areas” of early Homo sapiens and their significance for human dispersal from Africa into Eurasia between 200 ka and 70 ka
Jürgen Richter,Thomas Hauck,Ralf Vogelsang,Thomas Widlok,Jean-Marie Le Tensorer,Peter Schmid +5 more
TL;DR: Compared to their archaic neighbors (particularly early Neanderthals), earliest modern humans currently seem to lack any specific “cultural fingerprint” and their demographic success may not be explained by behavioral superiority alone.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Mitochondrial genome variation and the origin of modern humans
TL;DR: The global mtDNA diversity in humans is described based on analyses of the complete mtDNA sequence of 53 humans of diverse origins, providing a concurrent view on human evolution with respect to the age of modern humans.
Journal ArticleDOI
The phylogeography of Y chromosome binary haplotypes and the origins of modern human populations
Peter A. Underhill,Giuseppe Passarino,A. A. Lin,Peidong Shen,Marta Mirazón Lahr,Marta Mirazón Lahr,Robert Foley,Peter J. Oefner,Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza +8 more
TL;DR: A set of unique event polymorphisms associated with the non‐recombining portion of the Y‐chromosome (NRY) addresses this issue by providing evidence concerning successful migrations originating from Africa, which can be interpreted as subsequent colonizations, differentiations and migrations overlaid upon previous population ranges.
Journal ArticleDOI
Australopithecus ramidus, a new species of early hominid from Aramis, Ethiopia
TL;DR: The antiquity and primitive morphology of A. ramidus suggests that it represents a long-sought potential root species for the Hominidae.
Journal ArticleDOI
Out of Africa again and again.
TL;DR: A coherent picture of recent human evolution emerges with two major themes: first is the dominant role that Africa has played in shaping the modern human gene pool through at least two—not one—major expansions after the original range extension of Homo erectus out of Africa, and second is the ubiquity of genetic interchange between human populations.
Book ChapterDOI
Progress and Prospects
TL;DR: Improvement in understanding has led in some cases to better management with improved outcome for the patient, whereas in other areas the way is now clear towards a better prospect for the future.
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