A unique hominin menu dated to 1.95 million years ago

Steele, Teresa E.

doi:10.1073/pnas.1005992107

Cited by 32 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Turtles and tortoises were an excellent dietary source of protein and were an important component of the subsistence diet of many early hominins (Steele 2010;Thompson and Henshilwood 2014). Bigger tortoises and larger-bodied species were more visible in the landscape and were probably preferentially collected, yielding more food for consumption, and probably gradually extirpated more rapidly as a result, leaving smaller tortoise species and the more elusive freshwater turtles to survive longer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Turtles and Tortoises of the World During the Rise and Global Spread of Humanity: First Checklist and Review of Extinct Pleistocene and Holocene Chelonians.

Rhodin¹,

Thomson²,

Georgalis³

et al. 2015

Chelonian Research Monographs

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ABsTrAcT. -We provide a first checklist and review of all recognized taxa of the world's extinct Pleistocene and Holocene (Quaternary) turtles and tortoises that existed during the early rise and global expansion of humanity, and most likely went extinct through a combination of earlier hominin (e.g., Homo erectus, H. neanderthalensis) and later human (H. sapiens) exploitation, as well as being affected by concurrent global or regional climatic and habitat changes. This checklist complements the broader listing of all modern and extant turtles and tortoises by the Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (2014). We provide a comprehensive listing of taxonomy, names, synonymies, and stratigraphic distribution of all chelonian taxa that have gone extinct from approximately the boundary between the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene, ca. 2.6 million years ago, up through 1500 AD, at the beginning of modern times. We also provide details on modern turtle and tortoise taxa that have gone extinct since 1500 AD. This checklist currently includes 100 fossil turtle and tortoise taxa, including 84 named and apparently distinct species, and 16 additional taxa that appear to represent additional valid species, but are only identified to genus or family. Modern extinct turtles and tortoises include 8 species, 3 subspecies, and 1 unnamed taxon, for 12 taxa. Of the extinct fossil taxa, terrestrial tortoises of the family Testudinidae (including many large-bodied island forms) are the most numerous, with 60 taxa. When the numbers for fossil tortoises are combined with the 61 modern (living and extinct) species of tortoises, of the 121 tortoise species that have existed at some point since the beginning of the Pleistocene, 69 (57.0%) have gone extinct. This likely reflects the high vulnerability of these large and slow terrestrial (often insular) species primarily to human exploitation. The other large-bodied terrestrial turtles, the 000e.2 Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises • Chelonian Research Monographs, No. 5As an addition to the annual checklist of extant modern turtle taxa (Turtle Taxonomy Working Group [TTWG] 2014), we here present an annotated checklist of extinct Pleistocene and Holocene turtle and tortoise species that existed in relatively recent times, prior to 1500 AD, during the history of the rise and global spread of humanity and concurrent global climatic and habitat changes. These species, recorded from archaeological and paleontological sites from the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs (Quaternary period), approximately the last 2.6 million years, are currently considered to be valid, and not synonymous with modern (post-1500 AD) taxa.These fossil species, including some unnamed taxa of indeterminate or undescribed generic or specific allocation, represent the majority of the chelonian diversity that has gone extinct relatively recently. Many of these taxa were likely extirpated by anthropogenic exploitation over the relatively long prehistory of earlier hominin (e.g., Homo erectus, H. neanderthalensi...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Turtles and Tortoises of the World During the Rise and Global Spread of Humanity: First Checklist and Review of Extinct Pleistocene and Holocene Chelonians.

Rhodin¹,

Thomson²,

Georgalis³

et al. 2015

Chelonian Research Monographs

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“…Like macaques, prehistoric modern humans (H. sapiens sapiens) used stones in coastal environments for processing gastropods and colonial bivalves (Verhaegen, 1985;Erlandson, 2001;Marean et al, 2007;Jerardino, 2010a). The types of coastal food sources used by humans have varied widely, as would be expected given their opportunistic and eclectic dietary patterns (Steele, 2010). The types of coastal food sources used by humans have varied widely, as would be expected given their opportunistic and eclectic dietary patterns (Steele, 2010).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine prey processed with stone tools by burmese long‐tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis aurea) in intertidal habitats

Gumert

Malaivijitnond

2012

American J Phys Anthropol

147

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Long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) feed opportunistically in many habitats. The Burmese subspecies (M. f. aurea) inhabits coastal areas in southwestern Thailand and Myanmar, and some of their populations have adapted lithic customs for processing encased foods in intertidal habitats. We investigated the diet of such macaques in Laemson National Park, Thailand, and identified the variety of foods they processed with stones. We conducted 36 shore surveys to study tool sites following feeding activity, during which we counted the minimum number of individual (MNI) food items found at each site. We identified 47 food species (43 animals and four plants), from 37 genera. We counted 1,991 food items during surveys. Nearly all were mollusks (n = 1,924), with the small remainder primarily consisting of crustaceans and nuts. The two most common foods, rock oysters (Saccostrea cucullata; n = 1,062) and nerite snails (Nerita spp.; n = 538), composed 80.2% of our sample. Four prey species comprised 83.2% of the sample (MNI = 1,656), S. cucullata (n = 1,062), Nerita chamaeleon (n = 419), Thais bitubercularis (n = 95), and Monodonta labio (n = 80). Macaques selected a wide variety of foods. However, they heavily concentrated on those that were abundant, easy to access, and sufficiently sized. The Burmese long-tailed macaque stone-processed diet, which focuses on intertidal marine prey, differs from Sapajus and Pan, who use stones primarily for encased nuts and fruits. In terms of diversity of foods exploited, coastal stone-based predation by macaques resembles the diet of coastal-foraging humans (Homo sapiens sapiens).

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“…Fuente: elaboración propia a partir de Harris et al, (1987: 723) Asimismo, la tecnología empleada para la realización del forrajeo oportunista y ribereño se puede calificar de rudimentaria, escasa o nula (golpeo, artefacto puntiagudo ¿madera? ), incluyendo la posibilidad, en su defecto, de la simple utilización de las manos (Stewart, 1994: 243;Joordens et al, 2009: 669;Steele, 2010: 10771 y 10772), lo cual hace más factible su puesta en práctica por parte de los primeros homínidos.…”

Section: Universidad De Cádizunclassified

“…Partiendo de la base de las enormes dificultades que plantean los estudios tafonómicos derivados de la ictiofauna lacustre, fluvial o costera (Lyman, 1994: 39) y de las insuficiente identificación de marcas de corte de origen antrópico en los conjuntos óseos de ictiofauna, como consecuencia del tamaño, distribución y morfología del cuerpo de los peces, unido a los fenómenos tafonómicos inherentes al proceso de preservación (Willis, Eren y Rick, 2008: 1442, se podría concluir que los recursos acuáticos, sobre todo los que requieren nula o escasa tecnología (véase Stewart, 1994;Broadhurst, Cunnane y Crawford, 1998;Broadhurst et al, 2002;Joordens et al, 2009;Braun et al, 2010;Steele, 2010), pudieron ser parte integrante y regular de la dieta omnívo-ra y oportunista homínida cada vez que el contexto medioambiental era propicio para la captación de estos recursos alimenticios de alta calidad (Steele, 2010: 10772). Asimismo, los datos ecológicos, alimenticios y etnográficos demuestran que el pescado es un alimento de fácil disponibilidad estacional (Stewart, 1994: 243;2010: 155).…”

Section: Conclusionesunclassified

Uso Y Explotaciãn De Los Recursos Acuãticos Por El Hombre Pre-Moderno: El Caso De Ãfrica

Martín

2016

Rev. atl.-mediterr. prehist. arqueol. soc.

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Resumen. En el presente trabajo se plantea la posibilidad de uso y explotación de recursos acuáticos de malacofauna e ictiofauna por el hombre pre anatómicamente moderno en África. Para ello se presentan pruebas tafonómicas de ictiofauna y también se realiza un análisis de los sistemas dinámicos y condicionantes paleoecológicos lacustres de Olduvai y fluviolacustres de la Formación Koobi Fora, como hábitats propicios para el consumo de alimentos de origen acuático. Asimismo, se exponen los posibles modelos de captación como el forrajeo oportunista tipo "R" y "T" y el forrajeo ribereño. Estrategias que pudieron ser empleadas para la captura de ictiofauna, perteneciente a las familias Clariidae y Cichlidae, como alimentos de alta calidad que tuvieron que ser esenciales para el mantenimiento y el crecimiento del cerebro de los primeros homínidos.Palabras Clave: Adaptaciones acuáticas, pruebas tafonómicas, condicionantes paleoecológicos, modelos de captación, nutrición y evolución.Abstract. The present work considers the possibility of the use and exploitation of aquatic resources of malacofauna and icthyofauna by premodern hominids in Africa. We analyse the dynamic and determining lake paleocological systems of the Olduvai Gorge and Koobi Fora Ridge, as favourable habitats for the consumption of aquatic food products, and we give taphonomic evidence of icthyofauna. We also show possible models of capture such as opportunistic foraging types "R" and "T" and riverside foraging. These are strategies which might have been used for capturing icthyofauna of the Claridae and Cichlidae families; such high quality food must have been essential for brain maintenance and development in the first hominids.Keywords: Aquatic adaptations; taphonomic evidence; determining paleoecologycal systems; models for capturing; nutrition and evolution Sumario. 1. Introducción. 2. Material y métodos. 3. África: ¿cuna de las adaptaciones acuáticas? 3.1. Senga 5A. 3.2. Garganta de Olduvai: yacimientos y taxones representados. 3.2.1. Planteamientos tafonómicos de la ictiofauna lacustre de Lecho I y II. 3.2.2. Paleoecología lacustre. 3.2.3. Condicionantes ecológicos y sistemas de captación. 3.3. Formación Koobi Fora: FwJj20. 3.3.1. Caracterización de sistema dinámico fluviolacustre. 4. Discusión: un proceso que solamente se ha iniciado. 5. Conclusiones. 6. Bibliografía IntroducciónConsidero necesario indicar que un sector importante de la comunidad científica defiende que el fenómeno de las adaptaciones acuáticas y el uso y explotación de los recursos marinos se encuentra estrechamente relacionado con el hombre anatómicamente moderno y con el surgimiento del comportamiento moderno (e.g. McBrearty y Brooks, 2000: 453 y 491; Marean et al., 2007: 905 y 907; Cuadrado-Martín, 2016: 198). Este planteamiento deriva del paradigma de la "revolución cultural", el cual ha imposibilitado cualquier interpretación evolucionista (Cuadrado-Martín, 2016: 200) dentro de un escenario gradualista o saltacionista (véase d´Errico y Stringer, 2011). Pero actualment...

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A unique hominin menu dated to 1.95 million years ago

Cited by 32 publications

References 25 publications

Turtles and Tortoises of the World During the Rise and Global Spread of Humanity: First Checklist and Review of Extinct Pleistocene and Holocene Chelonians.

Turtles and Tortoises of the World During the Rise and Global Spread of Humanity: First Checklist and Review of Extinct Pleistocene and Holocene Chelonians.

Marine prey processed with stone tools by burmese long‐tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis aurea) in intertidal habitats

Uso Y Explotaciãn De Los Recursos Acuãticos Por El Hombre Pre-Moderno: El Caso De Ãfrica

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A unique hominin menu dated to 1.95 million years ago

Cited by 32 publications

References 25 publications

Turtles and Tortoises of the World During the Rise and Global Spread of Humanity: First Checklist and Review of Extinct Pleistocene and Holocene Chelonians.

Turtles and Tortoises of the World During the Rise and Global Spread of Humanity: First Checklist and Review of Extinct Pleistocene and Holocene Chelonians.

Marine prey processed with stone tools by burmese long‐tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis aurea) in intertidal habitats

Uso Y Explotaciãn De Los Recursos Acuãticos Por El Hombre Pre-Moderno: El Caso De Ãfrica

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Uso Y Explotaciãn De Los Recursos Acuãticos Por El Hombre Pre-Moderno: El Caso De Ãfrica