Homo cepranensis sp. nov. and the evolution of African-European Middle Pleistocene hominids

Mallegni, Francesco; Carnieri, Emiliano; Bisconti, Michelangelo; Tartarelli, Giandonato; Ricci, Stefano; Biddittu, Italo; Segre, Aldo

doi:10.1016/s1631-0683(03)00015-0

Cited by 59 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…By about 1 Ma, they had penetrated into higher northern latitudes including those of China and Europe (Dennell 2003). European evidence for earliest occupation is primarily based on lithic assemblages from Orce in southeastern Spain at c. 1 Ma (Ores et al 2000) and Monte Poggiolo in Italy at 900 ka (Milliken 1999), and from Atapuerca in northern Spain where the 850-800 ka Homo antecessor has been found (Falgu~res 2003;Cuenca-Besc6s et al, this volume), and Ceprano in Italy where the 900-800 ka Homo cepranensis has been recovered (Ascenzi et al 2000;Manzi et al 2001;Mallegni et al 2003). Manzi (2004) considered Homo antecessor (from Atapuerca) and H. cepranensis (from Ceprano) to be closely related to each other, and puzzlingly more similar to later African lineages than European ones.…”

Section: Homininsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Manzi (2004) considered Homo antecessor (from Atapuerca) and H. cepranensis (from Ceprano) to be closely related to each other, and puzzlingly more similar to later African lineages than European ones. Alternatively, whereas H. cepranensis (from Ceprano) has uncontested African affinities (Mallegni et al 2003;Manzi 2004), the suggestion has been advanced that Homo antecessor has Asiatic affinities (Carbonell et al 2005). Either scenario invokes a complex history of evolution and early migration into Europe, and elsewhere, during the mid-Pleistocene transition.…”

Section: Homininsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Early-Middle Pleistocene transitions: an overview and recommendation for the defining boundary

Head

Gibbard²

2005

216

171

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The Early-Middle Pleistocene transition (c. 1.2-0.5 Ma), sometimes known as the 'midPleistocene revolution', represents a major episode in Earth history. Low-amplitude 41-ka obliquity-forced climate cycles of the earlier Pleistocene were replaced progressively in the later Pleistocene by high-amplitude 100-ka cycles. These later cycles are indicative of slow ice build-up and subsequent rapid melting, and imply a transition to a strongly non-linear forced climate system. Changes were accompanied by substantially increased global ice volume at 940 ka. These climate transformations, particularly the increasing severity and duration of cold stages, have had a profound effect on the biota and the physical landscape, especially in the northern hemisphere. This review assesses and integrates the marine and terrestrial evidence for change across this transition, based on the literature and especially the following 17 chapters in the present volume. Orbital and non-orbital climate forcing, palaeoceanography, stable isotopes, organic geochemistry, marine micropalaeontology, glacial history, loess-palaeosol sequences, pollen analysis, large and small mammal palaeoecology and stratigraphy, and human evolution and dispersal are all considered, and a series of discrete events is identified from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 36 (c. 1.2 Ma) to MIS 13 (c. 540-460 Ma). Of these, the cold MIS 22 (c. 880-870 ka) is perhaps the most profound. However, we here endorse earlier views that on practical grounds the Matuyama-Brunhes palaeomagnetic Chron boundary (mid-point at 773 ka, with an estimated duration of 7 ka) would serve as the best overall guide for establishing the Early-Middle Pleistocene Subseries boundary.

show abstract

Section: Homininsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Homininsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early-Middle Pleistocene transitions: an overview and recommendation for the defining boundary

Head

Gibbard²

2005

216

171

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The specimen has already been evaluated in some detail and compared to the pertinent fossil record by means of different heuristic approaches (Ascenzi et al, 1996(Ascenzi et al, , 2000Clarke, 2000;Manzi et al, 2001;Mallegni et al, 2003;Bruner and Manzi, 2005). At present, despite the taxonomic position of Ceprano remains controversial, a consensus has been reached regarding the phylogenetic significance of this calvarium.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Landmark‐based shape analysis of the archaic Homo calvarium from Ceprano (Italy)

Bruner

Manzi

2006

American J Phys Anthropol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Ceprano calvarium represents one of the most important sources of information about both the dynamics of the earliest hominid dispersal toward Europe and the evolution of the genus Homo in the early-to-middle Pleistocene. In this paper, the midsagittal vault profile and the 3D frontal bone morphology of Ceprano are investigated comparatively, using landmark coordinates and Procrustes superimposition. In fact, despite the fact that the skull appears partially distorted by diagenetic pressures (thus precluding a comprehensive landmark-based analysis), some aspects of the overall morphology are suitable for consideration in terms of geometric morphometrics. The midsagittal profile shows an archaic shape, comparable with the H. ergaster/erectus range of variation because of the fronto-parietal flattening, the development of the supraorbital and nuchal structures, and the occurrence of a slightly larger occipital bone. By contrast, the frontal bone displays a derived 3D shape that, mostly because of the widening of the frontal squama, appears comparable with the Afro-European variation of the Middle Pleistocene (i.e., H. heidelbergensis/rhodesiensis). Taking into account the unique morphological pattern displayed by Ceprano, its role as a link between early Homo and the Middle Pleistocene populations of Europe and Africa is not falsified. Thus, when aspects of the Ceprano's morphology are described within the analytical framework provided by geometric morphometrics, the relationships between Ceprano and the subsequent Afro-European fossil record are emphasized, suggesting the occurrence of an ancestral stock of H. heidelbergensis/rhodesiensis that is properly represented by the Italian specimen.

show abstract

“…The fossil from Ceprano was even designated as a new species (Homo cepranensis) when it was thought to be contemporaneous with the fossils from the Gran Dolina (57). It is now considered to be a possible contemporary of the Sima de los Huesos population (58).…”

Section: Paleontological Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Terrestrial apes and phylogenetic trees

Arsuaga

2010

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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The image that best expresses Darwin's thinking is the tree of life. However, Darwin's human evolutionary tree lacked almost everything because only the Neanderthals were known at the time and they were considered one extreme expression of our own species. Darwin believed that the root of the human tree was very deep and in Africa. It was not until 1962 that the root was shown to be much more recent in time and definitively in Africa. On the other hand, some neo-Darwinians believed that our family tree was not a tree, because there were no branches, but, rather, a straight stem. The recent years have witnessed spectacular discoveries in Africa that take us close to the origin of the human tree and in Spain at Atapuerca that help us better understand the origin of the Neanderthals as well as our own species. The final form of the tree, and the number of branches, remains an object of passionate debate.Darwin | modes of evolution | body size and shape | taxonomy of Homo | Atapuerca

show abstract

Homo cepranensis sp. nov. and the evolution of African-European Middle Pleistocene hominids

Cited by 59 publications

References 18 publications

Early-Middle Pleistocene transitions: an overview and recommendation for the defining boundary

Early-Middle Pleistocene transitions: an overview and recommendation for the defining boundary

Landmark‐based shape analysis of the archaic Homo calvarium from Ceprano (Italy)

Terrestrial apes and phylogenetic trees

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About