The early Middle Pleistocene archeopaleontological site of Wadi Sarrat (Tunisia) and the earliest record of Bos primigenius

Martı́nez-Navarro, Bienvenido; Karoui-Yaakoub, Narjess; Oms, Oriol; Amri, Lamjed; López‐García, Juan Manuel; Zerai, Kamel; Blain, Hugues‐Alexandre; Mtimet, Moncef Saïd; Espigares, M. Patrocinio; Ali, Nebiha Ben Haj; Ros-Montoya, Sergio; Boughdiri, Mabrouk; Agustı́, Jordi; Khayati-Ammar, Hayet; Maâlaoui, Kamel; Khir, Maahmoudi Om El; Sala, Robert; Othmani, Abdelhak; Hawas, Ramla; Gómez-Merino, Gala; Solé, Albert; Carbonell, Eudald; Palmqvist, Paul

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.02.016

Cited by 33 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…2; Marra et al, 2014a). The early aurochs appear smaller and more slender than those from the late Middle Pleistocene (Pandolfi et al, 2011) and they probably originated from African species of the genus Bos (see Martínez-Navarro et al, 2014). The parallel diffusion of Bos and the Acheulean culture (Mode II tools) has been established by Martínez-Navarro et al (2010).…”

Section: Palaeontological Datamentioning

confidence: 97%

Chronostratigraphic constraints on Middle Pleistocene faunal assemblages and Acheulian industries from the Cretone lacustrine basin, central Italy

Marra

Ceruleo

Jicha

et al. 2016

J Quaternary Science

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Integrated 40Ar/39Ar, trace‐element, stratigraphic, palaeontological and palaethnological data provide geochronological and biochronological constraints for the sedimentary and tectonic history of a Middle Pleistocene fluvial–lacustrine basin near Rome (Cretone Basin, central Italy), which has yielded a significant record of mammal fossil remains and Palaeolithic industry. This work is a case study of the interplay between tectonics and glacio‐eustacy, which strongly influenced the evolution of the Tyrrhenian Sea margin of central Italy. Dating of tephra layers interbedded within the Cretone Basin lacustrine succession and reconstruction of relict terraced surfaces allow correlation with similar, geochronologically constrained, marine isotopic stages (MIS) 15–5 terraced deposits along the coast. Coupled extensional tectonics and regional uplift over the last 600 ka caused the progressive uplifting and westward migration of the main fluvial–lacustrine basin and the formation of a smaller satellite basin at its eastern margin. Here, stable environmental conditions during MIS 13–5 indicated continuous human and large mammal frequentation, as testified by lithic industry and fossil remains ascribable to the Acheulean and later early Middle Palaeolithic technocomplexes and Galerian–Aurelian mammal faunas, respectively. In addition to providing independent age constraints to glacial sea‐level oscillations of this region, the reconstructed chronostratigraphic setting for the Cretone Basin provides evidence for one of the oldest Acheulean lithic assemblage of central Italy, as well as new biochronological and palaeobiogeographical data for some Middle Pleistocene mammal species of Italy.

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Section: Palaeontological Datamentioning

confidence: 97%

Chronostratigraphic constraints on Middle Pleistocene faunal assemblages and Acheulian industries from the Cretone lacustrine basin, central Italy

Marra

Ceruleo

Jicha

et al. 2016

J Quaternary Science

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“…22: Aïn Boucherit (2.4-1.9; Sahnouni et al, 2018b) and Aïn Hanech, Argelia (∼1.7 Ma; Parés et al, 2014), which preserve Oldowan tools similar to those known at eastern African sites, as well as evidence of cutmarks and use-wear traces that indicate the exploitation by early Homo of animal tissues and marrow. 23: Oued Sarrat, Tunisia (∼0.7 Ma; Martínez-Navarro et al, 2014b), which has yielded the oldest known cranium of Bos primigenius, associated with other small and large vertebrates, and six Acheulian tools. (B) Chronostratigraphic chart of Early Pleistocene to early Middle Pleistocene sites with evidence of hominin presence in Europe, North Africa, the Levantine Corridor, and the Caucasus.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights on the Early Pleistocene Hominin Population of the Guadix-Baza Depression (SE Spain) and a Review on the Ecology of the First Peopling of Europe

Palmqvist

Rodríguez-Gómez²,

Castro³

et al. 2022

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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The chronology and environmental context of the first hominin dispersal in Europe have been subject to debate and controversy. The oldest settlements in Eurasia (e.g., Dmanisi, ∼1.8 Ma) suggest a scenario in which the Caucasus and southern Asia were occupied ∼0.4 Ma before the first peopling of Europe. Barranco León (BL) and Fuente Nueva 3 (FN3), two Early Pleistocene archeological localities dated to ∼1.4 Ma in Orce (Guadix-Baza Depression, SE Spain), provide the oldest evidence of hominin presence in Western Europe. At these sites, huge assemblages of large mammals with evidence of butchery and marrow processing have been unearthed associated to abundant Oldowan tools and a deciduous tooth of Homo sp. in the case of BL. Here, we: (i) review the Early Pleistocene archeological sites of Europe; (ii) discuss on the subsistence strategies of these hominins, including new estimates of resource abundance for the populations of Atapuerca and Orce; (iii) use cartographic data of the sedimentary deposits for reconstructing the landscape habitable in Guadix-Baza; and (iv) calculate the size of the hominin population using an estimate of population density based on resource abundance. Our results indicate that Guadix-Baza could be home for a small hominin population of 350–280 individuals. This basin is surrounded by the highest mountainous reliefs of the Alpine-Betic orogen and shows a limited number of connecting corridors with the surrounding areas, which could have limited gene flow with other hominin populations. Isolation would eventually lead to bottlenecks, genetic drift and inbreeding depression, conditions documented in the wild dog population of the basin, which probably compromised the viability of the hominin population in the medium to long term. This explains the discontinuous nature of the archeological record in Guadix-Baza, a situation that can also be extrapolated to the scarcity of hominin settlements for these ancient chronologies in Europe.

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“…Bos primigenius is known to have occurred in North Africa since the early Middle Pleistocene (Martinez-Navarro et al 2014) and is from then on continuously documented until the late Pleisto-cene (Churcher 1972, Uerpmann 1987, Gautier 1988, Kowalski and Rzebik-Kowalska 1991 and during the Holocene (Faith 2014). The most southern Pleistocene bone finds range as far south as Kashm el Girba in eastern Sudan, close to Eritrea (14°51' N, 33°25' E), and Erg Tihodaine in the Ahaggar Mountains, which is today in the centre of the Sahara (approx.…”

Section: Historical Evidence Of Aurochs Distribution and Regional CLImentioning

confidence: 99%

<i>Bos primigenius</i> in Ancient Egyptian art – historical evidence for the continuity of occurrence and ecology of an extinct key species

Beierkuhnlein¹

2015

Frontiers of Biogeography

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Knowledge of the habitat requirements and temporal stability of populations of extinct aurochs (Bos primigenius) is surprisingly scarce. Reliable reports of this species, which by its domestication remains tremendously important for humans, are rare. As the species became extinct about 400 years ago and regionally disappeared much earlier, its behaviour and morphology are also under debate. Aurochs is a crucial component of the mega-herbivore theory in nature conservation, but in fact its natural habitat and behaviour are unknown. Here, I report records of aurochs for the time period of Ancient Egypt. They are found in archaeological sites and literature, and in collections. Records of the species continue through all the periods of Ancient Egypt. In particular, hunting scenes illustrating the merits of highranking persons, in their graves (mastabas) and temples, provide insights into the behaviour and ecology of the depicted game. Here, special attention is given to one outstanding hunting scene that is documented in a relief at the mortuary temple of Ramesses III (1175 BC, Medinet Habu, Egypt). Assisted by a group of hunters, the pharaoh kills three specimens of aurochs. The whole scene is stunningly realistic. The adult specimen is fleeing towards the reed belt of the River Nile, suggesting that the species' habitat was probably in large valley bottoms, where open grassland is regularly created by flooding. Endemic species of fish and game confirm that this scene took place in Lower Egypt. The regional populations of the North-African subspecies of aurochs probably went extinct shortly after this piece of art was produced. Records of species in ancient art can be very informative in terms of ecology and behaviour of species, especially when extinct species are addressed. In addition, the dating of old pieces of art containing biological information can be very precise, for instance when these refer to a historic personage.

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The early Middle Pleistocene archeopaleontological site of Wadi Sarrat (Tunisia) and the earliest record of Bos primigenius

Cited by 33 publications

References 25 publications

Chronostratigraphic constraints on Middle Pleistocene faunal assemblages and Acheulian industries from the Cretone lacustrine basin, central Italy

Chronostratigraphic constraints on Middle Pleistocene faunal assemblages and Acheulian industries from the Cretone lacustrine basin, central Italy

Insights on the Early Pleistocene Hominin Population of the Guadix-Baza Depression (SE Spain) and a Review on the Ecology of the First Peopling of Europe

<i>Bos primigenius</i> in Ancient Egyptian art – historical evidence for the continuity of occurrence and ecology of an extinct key species

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