mirrored file at http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ For complete access to all the files of this collection see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php ========================================================== Recent Developments in Paleoanthropology These pages use a fairly conservative naming system. In recent years a number of changes have been suggested in the classification of hominid fossils. Many people are now using the genus name _Paranthropus_, originally given to _robustus_, to refer to the robust australopithecines (_robustus_, _boisei_, and _aethiopicus_). This change makes sense if all these species form a clade (all of the species descended from a common ancestor) but it is not yet known if this is the case. Homo habilis is a controversial species, with much disagreement over which specimens belong in _habilis_, and which do not. A number of scientists now use the name _H. rudolfensis_ to refer to ER 1470 and some similar fossils. The smaller _habilis_-like specimens such as ER 1813 and ER 1805 are variously assigned to _habilis_, _H. ergaster_, or to another as yet unnamed species. The name _H. microcranous_ has been proposed for ER 1813, but does not seem to be widely used. Wood and Collard (1999) have argued on theoretical grounds that _H. habilis_ and _H. rudolfensis_ should be moved into the genus _Australopithecus_. It has been proposed that the names _Homo heidelbergensis_ and _Homo neanderthalensis_ should be restored as species names for archaic _Homo sapiens_ and the Neandertals. Recent claims of genetic and anatomical differences between modern humans and Neandertals have added support to a species status for _Homo neanderthalensis_. (Krings et al. 1997; Hublin et al. 1996; Tattersall and Schwartz 1996) There are a number of other recent discoveries which may change current thinking when they have been fully analyzed (newest items are at the top of the list): * [1]A number of fragmentary fossils discovered between 1997 and 2001, and dating from 5.2 to 5.8 million years old, have been assigned to a new subspecies, _Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba_. (Haile-Selassie Y. 2001) * [2]A 3.6 million year old fossil from Kenya, [3]WT 40000, has been assigned to a new species and genus, _Kenyanthropus platyops_. (Leakey et al 2001, Lieberman 2001). * [4]A French-Kenyan team has found a fossil claimed to be both considerably older than any other hominid (at 6 million years) and more advanced than the australopithecines. The fossil, originally nicknamed "Millennium Man", has been named _Orrorin tugenensis_, and is claimed to be a direct ancestor of humans, relegating the australopithecines to a side branch (Senut et al. 2001). These claims are being treated with caution so far (Aiello and Collard 2001). * [5]A fossil of a 3.4 million year old hominid, probably belonging to a child, has been discovered in Ethiopia. * [6]A new study has sequenced mitochondrial DNA from the anatomically modern [7]Mungo Man fossil from Australia and found it to be outside the range of modern human mtDNA. The authors have claimed this is strong evidence for the multiregional model of human evolution, as opposed to the currently dominant Out Of Africa model (Adcock et al. 2001). However, other [8]other experts have challenged this. * [9]Mitochondrial DNA from a second Neandertal specimen (a baby from [10]Mezmaiskaya Cave in Russia) has been successfully sequenced. Like the first specimen, it is well outside the range of variation of modern humans ([11]Ovchinnikov et al. 2000, [12]Höss 2000). Analysis of the [13]mtDNA of a third Neandertal from Vindija in Croatia also confirms the earlier findings. (Krings et al. 2000) * [14]Two Homo erectus crania and a mandible have been discovered at Dmanisi in the Republic of Georgia. They have been dated at about 1.7 million years. (Gabunia et al. 2000, Balter and Gibbons 2000) * [15]The complete skull of a female Australopithecus robustus has been discovered at Drimolen in South Africa, along with the lower jaw of a male _robustus_ found only a few inches away. ([16]Keyser 2000) * [17]A new species, Australopithecus garhi, has been named from fossils found near Bouri in Ethiopia, by a joint Ethiopian, American and Japanese team. This small-brained, large-toothed hominid was found near antelope bones which had been butchered by stone tools (Asfaw et al. 1999). * According to Neandertal expert Erik Trinkaus, [18]the 24500-year-old skeleton of a young boy found in Portugal contains characteristics of both modern human and Neandertals, and is evidence that the two groups interbred (Duarte et al. 1999). * Although it has not yet been fully excavated, it seems that virtually [19]an entire australopithecine skeleton has been discovered by Ronald Clarke at Sterkfontein in South Africa. This skeleton belongs to the same individual as the "Little Foot" set of four foot bones discovered by Clarke in 1994 (see below). * An article by geographer Jerome Dobson (1998) suggests that Neandertal features are caused by an iodine deficiency, or by a genetic difference in the thyroid. (Diseases associated with low-iodine diets are goiter and cretinism.) Expect this controversial claim to receive skeptical scrutiny from anthropologists. * [20]Analysis of new A. africanus fossils from Sterkfontein in South Africa suggests that the forelimb and hindlimb proportions of _africanus_ were more ape-like than in the earlier _A. afarensis_. (McHenry and Berger 1998) * [21]A well-preserved Homo cranium discovered in Eritrea is about 1 million years old, and contains a mixture of _erectus_ and _sapiens_ characteristics. (Abbate et al. 1998) * [22]A new A. boisei skull is one of the most complete known, and the first known with an associated cranium and lower jaw. It also has a surprising amount of variability from other _boisei_ skulls, which may have implications for how hominid fossils are classified. (Suwa et al. 1997; Delson 1997) * In a stunning technical achievement, it appears that a portion of [23]Neandertal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been successfully extracted for the first time. It differs by a surprising amount from equivalent modern human DNA, suggesting that Neandertals were not particularly closely related to any modern humans, and supporting (but certainly not proving) claims that they were a different species. (Krings et al. 1997; Kahn and Gibbons 1997) * [24]Some Homo fossils found recently in Spain, and dated at over 780,000 years, are the oldest confirmed European hominids. It is not yet clear what species they belong to, although the discoverers have named them [25]Homo antecessor. (Bermudez de Castro et al. 1997; Kunzig R. 1997) * [26]The oldest known stone tools have been found at Gona, Ethiopia, in sediments dated at between 2.5 and 2.6 million years old. The makers are unknown, but may be early _Homo_. (Semaw et al. 1997) * [27]An upper jaw belonging to the genus Homo and dated at over 2.3 million years old has been found in Ethiopia, associated with stone tools. (Kimbel et al. 1996) * Recent studies claim that some Javan skulls are between 51,000 and 27,000 years old, far more recent than previously thought. If confirmed, it means that _Homo erectus_ and _sapiens_ co-existed in this region for some time. (Swisher et al. 1996) * A partial jaw found in Chad (Central Africa) greatly extends the geographical range in which australopithecines are known to have lived. The specimen, which has been nicknamed Abel, has since been named _Australopithecus bahrelghazali_. (Brunet et al. 1995) * Four australopithecine foot bones dated at around 3.5 million years are the oldest hominid fossils yet found in South Africa. They seem to be adapted to bipedalism, but have an intriguing mixture of ape and human features (Clarke and Tobias 1995). Since then, 8 more foot and leg bones have been found from the same individual, who has been nicknamed [28]Little Foot. * Recent finds at Zafarraya in Spain suggest that Neandertals may have survived longer than previously thought, perhaps as recently as 27,000 years ago. * Two hominid teeth in a small jaw fragment found in China and dated at around 1.9 million years are claimed as evidence that _Homo_ arrived in Asia earlier than currently thought. (Huang et al. 1995) (However [29]other researchers have suggested this is a fossil ape.) * Recent research suggests that the some australopithecines were capable of a precision grip, like that of humans but unlike apes, which would have meant they were capable of making stone tools. (Susman 1994) References Abbate E., Albianelli A., Azzaroli A., Benvenuti M., Tesfamariam B., Bruni P. et al. (1998): A one-million-year-old _Homo_ cranium from the Danakil (Afar) depression of Eritrea. Nature, 393:458. Adcock G.J., Dennis E.S., Easteal S., Huttley G.A., Jermiin L.S., Peacock W.J. et al. (2001): Mitochondrial DNA sequences in ancient Australians: implications for modern human origins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 98:537-42. Aiello L. and Collard M. (2001): Our newest oldest ancestor? Nature, 410:526-7. (a skeptical look at _Orrorin tugenensis_) Asfaw B., White T.D., Lovejoy C.O., Suwa G., and Simpson S. (1999): _Australopithecus garhi_: a new species of early hominid from Ethiopia. Science, 284:629-35. Balter M. and Gibbons A. (2000): A glimpse of humans first journey out of Africa. Science, 288:948-50. Bermudez de Castro J.M., Arsuaga J., Carbonell E., Rosas A., Martinez I., and Mosquera M. (1997): A hominid from the lower Pleistocene of Atapuerca, Spain: possible ancestor to Neandertals and modern humans. Science, 276:1392-5. Brunet M., Beauvilain A., Coppens Y., Heintz E., Moutaye A.H.E., and Pilbeam D. (1995): The first australopithecine 2,500 kilometres west of the rift valley (Chad). Nature, 378:273-5. Burenhult G. (1993): The first humans: human origins and history to 10,000 BC. New York: HarperCollins. Clarke R.J. and Tobias P.V. (1995): Sterkfontein member 2 foot bones of the oldest South African hominid. Science, 269:521-4. Delson E. (1997): One skull does not a species make. Nature, 389:445-6. Dobson J.E. (1998): The iodine factor in health and evolution. The Geographical Review, 88:1-28. Duarte C., Mauricio J., Pettitt P.B., Souto P., Trinkaus E., van der Plicht H. et al. (1999): The early upper Paleolithic human skeleton from the Abrigo do Lagar Velho (Portugal) and modern human emergence in Iberia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 96:7604-9. Gabunia L., Vekua A., Swisher C.C., III, Ferring R., Justus A., Nioradze N. et al. (2000): Earliest Pleistocene hominid cranial remains from Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia: taxonomy, geological setting, and age. Science, 288:1019-25. Haile-Selassie Y. (2001): Late Miocene hominids from the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. Nature, 412:178-81. (_Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba_) Höss M. (2000): [30]Neanderthal population genetics. Nature, 404:453-4. Huang W., Ciochon R., Gu Y., Larick R., Fang Q., Schwarcz H.P. et al. (1995): Early _Homo_ and associated artefacts from Asia. Nature, 378:275-40. Hublin J., Spoor F., Braun M., Zonneveld F., and Condemi S. (1996): A late neanderthal associated with upper palaeolithic artefacts. Nature, 381:224-6. Kahn P. and Gibbons A. (1997): DNA from an extinct human. Science, 277:176-8. Keyser A.W. (2000): [31]The Drimolen skull: the most complete australopithecine cranium and mandible to date. South African Journal of Science, 96:189-93. Kimbel W.H., Walter R.C., Johanson D.C., Reed K.E., Aronson J.L., Assefa Z. et al. (1996): Late pliocene _Homo_ and oldowan tools from the Hadar formation (kada hadar member), Ethiopia. Journal of Human Evolution, 31:549-61. Krings M., Stone A., Schmitz R.W., Krainitzki H., Stoneking M., and Paabo S. (1997): Neandertal DNA sequences and the origin of modern humans. Cell, 90:19-30. Krings M., Capelli C., Tschentscher F., Geisert H., Meyer S., von Haeseler A. et al. (2000): A view of Neandertal genetic diversity. Nature Genetics, 26:144-6. Kunzig R. (1997): The face of an ancestral child. Discover, 18, 88-101. Leakey M.G., Spoor F., Brown F., Gathogo P.N., Kiarie C., Leakey L.N. et al. (2001): New hominin genus from eastern Africa shows diverse middle Pliocene lineages. Nature, 410:433-40. (announcement of the discovery of _Kenyanthropus platyops_) Lieberman D.E. (2001): Another face in our family tree. Nature, 410:419-20. (commentary on K. platyops) Lontcho F. (2000): Georgia _Homo erectus_ crania. Archaeology 53(1) McHenry H.M., Berger L.R. (1998): Body proportions in _Australopithecus afarensis_ and _A. africanus_ and the origin of the genus _Homo_. Journal of Human Evolution, 35:1-22. Ovchinnikov I.V., Götherström A., Romanova G.P., Kharitonov V.M., Liden K., and Goodwin W. (2000): [32]Molecular analysis of Neanderthal DNA from the northern Caucasus. Nature, 404:490-3. Semaw S., Renne P., Harris J.W.K., Feibel C.S., Bernor R.L., Fesseka N. et al. (1997): 2.5-million-year-old stone tools from Gona, Ethiopia. Nature, 385:333-6. Senut B., Gommery D., Mein P., Cheboi C., and Coppens Y. (2001): First hominid from the Miocene (Lukeino Formation, Kenya). Comptes rendus des seances de l'academie des sciences, 332:137-44. (discovery of _Orrorin tugenensis_) Susman R.L. (1994): Fossil evidence for early hominid tool use. Science, 265:1570-3. Suwa G., Asfaw B., Beyene Y., White T.D., Katoh S., Nagaoka S. et al. (1997): The first skull of _Australopithecus boisei_. Nature, 389:489-92. Swisher C.C. III, Rink W.J., Anton S.C., Schwarcz H.P., Curtis G., Supryo A., and Widiasmoro (1996): Latest _Homo erectus_ of Java: potential contemporaneity with _Homo sapiens_ in southeast Asia. Science 274:1870-1874. Tattersall I. (1993): The human odyssey: four million years of human evolution. New York: Prentice Hall. Tattersall I. and Schwartz J.H. (1996): Significance of some previously unrecognized apomorphies in the nasal region of _Homo neanderthalensis_. Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.USA 93:10852-10854 Wood B.A. and Collard M. (1999): The human genus. Science, 284:65-71. Wood B.A. and Collard M. (1999): The changing face of genus _Homo_. Evolutionary Anthropology, 8:195-207. _________________________________________________________________ This page is part of the Fossil Hominids FAQ at the [33]talk.origins Archive. [34]Home Page | [35]Species | [36]Fossils | [37]Creationism | [38]Reading | [39]References [40]Illustrations | [41]What's New | [42]Feedback | [43]Search | [44]Links | [45]Fiction http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/recent.html, 07/31/2001 Copyright © Jim Foley ([46]habilis at talkorigins.org) References 1. http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/hominid_ethiopia010711.html 2. http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/hominid010321.html 3. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/wt40000.html 4. http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/hominid_kenya001204.html 5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1118000/1118455.stm 6. http://www.cnn.com/2001/NATURE/01/09/australia.dna.reut/ 7. http://www-personal.une.edu.au/~pbrown3/LM3.html 8. http://www.cnn.com/2001/NATURE/01/15/neanderthal.humans.reut/index.html 9. http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/neanderthal000328.html 10. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/mezmaiskaya.gif 11. http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v404/n6777/full/404490a0_fs.html 12. http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v404/n6777/full/404453a0_fs.html 13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_967000/967119.stm 14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_745000/745080.stm 15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_726000/726597.stm 16. http://www.frd.ac.za/sajs/spapr001.stm 17. http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/hominid990422.html 18. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/lagarvelho.html 19. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/littlefoot.html 20. http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/072898sci-fossil.html 21. http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/skull980603.html 22. http://www.he.net/~archaeol/9801/newsbriefs/boisei.html 23. http://www.psu.edu/ur/NEWS/news/Neandertal.html 24. http://www.he.net/~archaeol/9709/newsbriefs/gran.dolina.html 25. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/species.html#antecessor 26. http://uc.rutgers.edu/medrel/viewArticle.phtml?ArticleID=215 27. http://www.asu.edu/clas/iho/1996jaw.html 28. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/littlefoot.html 29. http://www.cruzio.com/~cscp/art1.htm 30. http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v404/n6777/full/404453a0_fs.html 31. http://www.frd.ac.za/sajs/spapr001.stm 32. http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v404/n6777/full/404490a0_fs.html 33. http://www.talkorigins.org/ 34. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/index.html 35. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/species.html 36. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/specimen.html 37. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/cre_args.html 38. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/reading.html 39. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/referenc.html 40. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/illustr.html 41. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/whatsnew.html 42. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/feedback.html 43. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/search.html 44. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/links.html 45. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/fiction.html 46. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/contact.html