The Liang Bua faunal remains: a 95k.yr. sequence from Flores, East Indonesia

Bergh, Gerrit D. van den; Meijer, Hanneke J. M.; Awe, Rokhus Due; Morwood, Michael J; Szabó, Katherine; Ostende, Lars W. van den Hoek; Sutikna, Thomas; Saptomo, E. Wahyu; Piper, Philip J.; Dobney, Keith

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.08.015

Cited by 137 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 42 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The similarly dwarfed prey species Stegodon florensis insularis is found throughout the Pleistocene Liang Bua sequence, only disappearing when H. floresiensis does, giving one indication perhaps that over-hunting owing to resource pressures did not occur on the island. Further, Late Pleistocene Stegodon do not decrease in size through the Liang Bua sequence [85], and despite overall low species richness on Flores, other endemic fauna, including the Komodo dragon, a smaller varanid, and three species of giant rat also survive throughout the Liang Bua Pleistocene record [85,104].…”

Section: Homo Floresiensis and Captivity Bias In Hominin Tool Usementioning

confidence: 92%

“…Neither of those two putative hominins are presently associated with evidence for tool use. Archaeological material found with H. floresiensis skeletal elements at Liang Bua includes evidence for plant-working and consumption of Stegodon and Komodo dragons, as well as possible evidence for fire [85,86]. The site's excavators considered this as a whole to be support for complex cognition [68].…”

Section: Homo Floresiensis and Captivity Bias In Hominin Tool Usementioning

confidence: 97%

“…Interactions with other tool-using species may have been non-existent, based on lithic continuity evidence and the body size changes seen in both the hominins and other Flores fauna [85], which suggest isolation from outside influences. The long-term stability in stone tool forms suggests stable social groups, but at population densities too low to sustain cumulative changes in the technology.…”

Section: Homo Floresiensis and Captivity Bias In Hominin Tool Usementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

‘Captivity bias’ in animal tool use and its implications for the evolution of hominin technology

Haslam

2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Animals in captive or laboratory settings may outperform wild animals of the same species in both frequency and diversity of tool use, a phenomenon here termed ‘captivity bias’. Although speculative at this stage, a logical conclusion from this concept is that animals whose tool-use behaviour is observed solely under natural conditions may be judged cognitively or physically inferior than if they had also been tested or observed under controlled captive conditions. In turn, this situation creates a potential problem for studies of the behaviour of extinct members of the human family tree—the hominins—as hominin cognitive abilities are often judged on material evidence of tool-use behaviour left in the archaeological record. In this review, potential factors contributing to captivity bias in primates (including increased contact between individuals engaged in tool use, guidance or shaping of tool-use behaviour by other tool-users and increased free time and energy) are identified and assessed for their possible effects on the behaviour of the Late Pleistocene hominin Homo floresiensis . The captivity bias concept provides one way to uncouple hominin tool use from cognition, by considering hominins as subject to the same adaptive influences as other tool-using animals.

show abstract

Section: Homo Floresiensis and Captivity Bias In Hominin Tool Usementioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Homo Floresiensis and Captivity Bias In Hominin Tool Usementioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Homo Floresiensis and Captivity Bias In Hominin Tool Usementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

‘Captivity bias’ in animal tool use and its implications for the evolution of hominin technology

Haslam

2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Some of the comparative samples need to be enlarged, and fossil specimens of the genus Homo should be included. Even though third metatarsals are scarce in the hominin fossil record, including the Liang Bua specimens (Jungers et al 2009a;Jungers et al 2009b) appears to be particularly recommended since common characteristics are shared by the sites of Callao and Liang Bua: the age of the fossils, and the positions of Flores and Luzon Islands across the Wallace line and thus the highly endemic faunas of the two islands (Heaney 1998;van den Bergh 1999;de Vos et al 2007;van den Bergh et al 2009;Heaney et al 2011). …”

Section: Callao Cave (Peñablanca Cagayan Region Luzon)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“Small Size” in the Philippine Human Fossil Record: Is it Meaningful for a Better Understanding of the Evolutionary History of the Negritos?

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract"Pygmy populations" are recognized in several places over the world, especially in Western Africa and in Southeast Asia (Philippine "negritos," for instance). Broadly defined as "small-bodied Homo sapiens" (compared with neighboring populations), their origins and the nature of the processes involved in the maintenance of their phenotype over time are highly debated. Major results have been recently obtained from population genetics on present-day negrito populations, but their evolutionary history remains largely unresolved. We present and discuss the Upper Pleistocene human remains recovered from Tabon Cave and Callao Cave in the Philippines, which are potentially highly relevant to these research questions. Human fossils have been recovered in large numbers from Tabon Cave (Palawan Island) but mainly from reworked and mixed sediments from several archaeological layers. We review and synthesize the long and meticulous collaborative work done on the archives left from the 1960s excavations and on the field. The results demonstrate the long history of human occupations in the cave, since at least ~30,000 BP. The examination of the Tabon human remains shows a large variability: large and robust for one part of the sample, and small and gracile for the other part. The latter would fit quite comfortably within the range of variation of Philippine negritos. Farther north, on Luzon Island, the human third metatarsal recently recovered from Callao Cave and dated to ~66,000 BP is now the oldest direct evidence of human presence in the Philippines. Previous data show that, compared with H. sapiens (including Philippine negritos), this bone presents a very small size and several unusual morphological characteristics. We present a new analytical approach using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics for comparing the Callao fossil to a wide array of extant Asian mammals, including nonhuman primates and H. sapiens. The results demonstrate that the shape of the Callao metatarsal is definitely closer to humans than to any other groups. The fossil clearly belongs to the genus Homo; however, it remains at the margin of the variation range of H. sapiens. Because of its great antiquity and the presence of another diminutive species of the genus Homo in the Wallace area during this time period (H. floresiensis), we discuss here in detail the affinities and potential relatedness of the Callao fossil with negritos that are found today on Luzon Island. Abstract "Pygmy populations" are recognized in several places over the world, especially in Western Africa and in Southeast Asia (Philippine "negritos," for instance). Broadly defined as "small-bodied Homo sapiens" (compared with neighboring populations), their origins and the nature of the processes involved in the maintenance of their phenotype over time are highly debated. Major results have been recently obtained from population genetics on present-day negrito populations, but their evolutionary history remains largely unresolved. We present and discuss the Upper Pleisto...

show abstract

“…Østbye et al (2006, p. 148) mentioned that one Gulo gulo (10-25 kg) survived a 40 m fall at a cave entrance, although fractured its hind limbs. Kos (2003, p. 773-775) comments that eight animals from five species (all smaller than Mazama america or M. guazoubira which weigh between 11-48 kg; Trolle and Emmons, 2004) survived a 15 m fall in a cave and four (belonging to Rattus fucipes and Cercatetus nanus) had some bone breakage, although none in long bones. It appears that small animals tend to deal well with such falls, but the behaviour of a much larger animal such as deer that has relatively delicate long bones is difficult to infer.…”

Section: Bone Emplacementmentioning

confidence: 99%

A large Cervidae Holocene accumulation in Eastern Brazil: an example of extreme taphonomical control in a cave environment

Hubbe¹,

Auler²

2012

IJS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A remarkable cervid bone accumulation occurs at a single passage (named Cervid Passage; CP) at Lapa Nova, a maze cave in eastern Brazil. CP lies away from cave entrances, is a typical pitfall passage and contains bone remains of at least 121 cervids, besides few bats, peccaries and rodents remains. There is no evidence of water (or sediment) flow at the site and in general bones lack post depositional alterations and display anatomical proximity, suggesting that the majority of the remains found inside CP (mainly cervids) are due to animals that after entering the cave got trapped in the site. Observations suggest that two entrances could have provided access to cervids (and the few other animals, besides bats), either by falling inside the cave or by entering by their own free will. Once inside the cave, the maze pattern would make route finding difficult, and of all passage intersections, only the one leading to CP would result in a non-return situation, starving the animal to death. Radiocarbon dates suggest that animal entrapment occurred during at least 5 thousand years, during the Holocene. The reasons why mainly cervids were found are unknown but they are probably related to the biology of this group coupled with the fact that caves provide several specific taphonomic processes that may account for a strong bias in bone accumulation. Indeed, the frequent occurrence of Cervidae in both the fossil and sub-fossil record in Brazilian caves may be related to an overall high faunal abundance or may suggest that these animals were especially prone to enter caves, perhaps in search of nutrients (as cave saltpetre) or water.

show abstract

The Liang Bua faunal remains: a 95k.yr. sequence from Flores, East Indonesia

Cited by 137 publications

References 42 publications

‘Captivity bias’ in animal tool use and its implications for the evolution of hominin technology

‘Captivity bias’ in animal tool use and its implications for the evolution of hominin technology

“Small Size” in the Philippine Human Fossil Record: Is it Meaningful for a Better Understanding of the Evolutionary History of the Negritos?

A large Cervidae Holocene accumulation in Eastern Brazil: an example of extreme taphonomical control in a cave environment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About