Reflections on Pleistocene Island Occupation

Phoca-Cosmetatou, Nellie; Rabett, Ryan

doi:10.1558/jmea.v27.i2.255

Cited by 21 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The unambiguous evidence for human presence on Mediterranean islands still dates to no more than c . 16,000 ya [ 47 ]. Thus, maritime contact between the two continents could have begun before 10,000 ya, the time depth for which the most frequent H Hgs can be used to detect migrations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The distribution of mitochondrial DNA haplogroup H in southern Iberia indicates ancient human genetic exchanges along the western edge of the Mediterranean

et al. 2017

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BackgroundThe structure of haplogroup H reveals significant differences between the western and eastern edges of the Mediterranean, as well as between the northern and southern regions. Human populations along the westernmost Mediterranean coasts, which were settled by individuals from two continents separated by a relatively narrow body of water, show the highest frequencies of mitochondrial haplogroup H. These characteristics permit the analysis of ancient migrations between both shores, which may have occurred via primitive sea crafts and early seafaring. We collected a sample of 750 autochthonous people from the southern Iberian Peninsula (Andalusians from Huelva and Granada provinces). We performed a high-resolution analysis of haplogroup H by control region sequencing and coding SNP screening of the 337 individuals harboring this maternal marker. Our results were compared with those of a wide panel of populations, including individuals from Iberia, the Maghreb, and other regions around the Mediterranean, collected from the literature.ResultsBoth Andalusian subpopulations showed a typical western European profile for the internal composition of clade H, but eastern Andalusians from Granada also revealed interesting traces from the eastern Mediterranean. The basal nodes of the most frequent H sub-haplogroups, H1 and H3, harbored many individuals of Iberian and Maghrebian origins. Derived haplotypes were found in both regions; haplotypes were shared far more frequently between Andalusia and Morocco than between Andalusia and the rest of the Maghreb. These and previous results indicate intense, ancient and sustained contact among populations on both sides of the Mediterranean.ConclusionsOur genetic data on mtDNA diversity, combined with corresponding archaeological similarities, provide support for arguments favoring prehistoric bonds with a genetic legacy traceable in extant populations. Furthermore, the results presented here indicate that the Strait of Gibraltar and the adjacent Alboran Sea, which have often been assumed to be an insurmountable geographic barrier in prehistory, served as a frequently traveled route between continents.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12863-017-0514-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The distribution of mitochondrial DNA haplogroup H in southern Iberia indicates ancient human genetic exchanges along the western edge of the Mediterranean

et al. 2017

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“…Several studies have addressed the importance of small islands in human prehistory that were regularly and easily inhabited and/or accessible to terrestrial and marine resources [ 31 ], as well as the early evidence of maritime traffic and trade in this area of the Mediterranean Sea. Although many scientists believe that maritime travel probably developed after the LGM, lower sea levels would have connected many of the present-day islands and reduced the distance between other islands, making them accessible via short crossings [ 32 ]. The first (14-10 kyrs BP) reliable evidence of human settlement in Sicily derive from palaeoanthropological remains from the Grotta di San Teodoro, a site near Messina [ 33 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two enigmatic ridges in the Pantelleria Vecchia Bank (NW Sicilian Channel)

Lodolo

Nannini

Baradello

et al. 2023

Heliyon

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“…This contrasts with Runnels (2014) and Bednarik (2003) who assert that many of these species were able to deliberately, and perhaps strategically, make water crossings. As Phoca-Cosmetatou and Rabett (2014) keenly point out, the major disjuncture in this debate relates to a priori expectations of hominin cognitive abilities. Instead of comparing hominin decision Journal of Archaeological Research (2021) 29:255-326 making against strict criteria of our own abilities for controlled and strategic action, we can use the global data to rethink each regional population and associated watercrossing behaviors in their own right.…”

Section: Water-crossing Behaviors Within the Genus Homomentioning

confidence: 99%

Pleistocene Water Crossings and Adaptive Flexibility Within the Homo Genus

Gaffney

2020

J Archaeol Res

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Pleistocene water crossings, long thought to be an innovation of Homo sapiens, may extend beyond our species to encompass Middle and Early Pleistocene Homo. However, it remains unclear how water crossings differed among hominin populations, the extent to which Homo sapiens are uniquely flexible in these adaptive behaviors, and how the tempo and scale of water crossings played out in different regions. I apply the adaptive flexibility hypothesis, derived from cognitive ecology, to model the global data and address these questions. Water-crossing behaviors appear to have emerged among different regional hominin populations in similar ecologies, initially representing nonstrategic range expansion. However, an increasing readiness to form connections with novel environments allowed some H. sapiens populations to eventually push water crossings to new extremes, moving out of sight of land, making return crossings to maintain social ties and build viable founder populations, and dramatically shifting subsistence and lithic provisioning strategies to meet the challenges of variable ecological settings.

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Reflections on Pleistocene Island Occupation

Cited by 21 publications

References 5 publications

The distribution of mitochondrial DNA haplogroup H in southern Iberia indicates ancient human genetic exchanges along the western edge of the Mediterranean

The distribution of mitochondrial DNA haplogroup H in southern Iberia indicates ancient human genetic exchanges along the western edge of the Mediterranean

Two enigmatic ridges in the Pantelleria Vecchia Bank (NW Sicilian Channel)

Pleistocene Water Crossings and Adaptive Flexibility Within the Homo Genus

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