The Paleobiology of Modern Human Emergence

Trinkaus, Erik

doi:10.1002/9781118659991.ch12

Cited by 27 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 245 publications

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“…The oldest secure evidence for representational and abstract depictions has been reviewed recently (27). Engraved geometric designs earlier than the Early Upper Paleolithic have been reported in both Africa and Eurasia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar

Rodriguez‐Vidal

d’Errico

Pacheco

et al. 2014

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

240

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The production of purposely made painted or engraved designs on cave walls-a means of recording and transmitting symbolic codes in a durable manner-is recognized as a major cognitive step in human evolution. Considered exclusive to modern humans, this behavior has been used to argue in favor of significant cognitive differences between our direct ancestors and contemporary archaic hominins, including the Neanderthals. Here we present the first known example of an abstract pattern engraved by Neanderthals, from Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar. It consists of a deeply impressed cross-hatching carved into the bedrock of the cave that has remained covered by an undisturbed archaeological level containing Mousterian artifacts made by Neanderthals and is older than 39 cal kyr BP. Geochemical analysis of the epigenetic coating over the engravings and experimental replication show that the engraving was made before accumulation of the archaeological layers, and that most of the lines composing the design were made by repeatedly and carefully passing a pointed lithic tool into the grooves, excluding the possibility of an unintentional or utilitarian origin (e.g., food or fur processing). This discovery demonstrates the capacity of the Neanderthals for abstract thought and expression through the use of geometric forms.Middle Paleolithic | symbolism | art | Iberia | cognition

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other factors contributing to the difficulty in testing the foregoing hypotheses include persistent uncertainties in the chronology of archaeological sites at the so called Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in Europe (23)(24)(25) and in the taxonomic affiliation of their inhabitants during this period (26)(27)(28).…”

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confidence: 99%

A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar

Rodriguez‐Vidal

d’Errico

Pacheco

et al. 2014

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

240

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“…To contrast cranial trauma prevalence of pre‐ and post‐LGM UP humans to investigate possible differences through time. This comparison provides additional data to scrutinize the earlier suggestions of increasing stress and declining health in the late UP (Brennan, 1991; Formicola & Holt, 2007; Holt & Formicola, 2008; Trinkaus, 2013). To examine the distribution of traumatic lesions across the skull to assess whether remains of the cranial vault (neurocranium) or the face (viscerocranium) were more likely to exhibit traumatic lesions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Another line of evidence derives directly from human fossil remains. For example, a variety of dental and skeletal stress markers (e.g., dental hypoplasia, Harris lines, periostitis, arthritis, and trauma) indicate some support for health deterioration from pre‐LGM to post‐LGM populations (Brennan, 1991; Formicola & Holt, 2007; Holt & Formicola, 2008; Trinkaus, 2013). Human groups before and after the LGM differ markedly in their morphology in terms of body height, robusticity, and craniofacial and dental dimensions (Brennan, 1991; Brewster, Meiklejohn, et al, 2014; Brewster, Pinhasi, & Meiklejohn, 2014; Cox, Ruff, Maier, & Mathieson, 2019; Formicola & Giannecchini, 1999; Formicola & Holt, 2007; Holt, 2018; Holt et al, 2018; Holt & Formicola, 2008; Meiklejohn & Babb, 2011; Niskanen, Ruff, Holt, Sládek, & Berner, 2018; Ruff, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of cranial trauma in Eurasian Upper Paleolithic humans

Beier

Anthes

Wahl

et al. 2020

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objectives: This study characterizes patterns of cranial trauma prevalence in a large sample of Upper Paleolithic (UP) fossil specimens (40,000-10,000 BP). Materials and Methods: Our sample comprised 234 individual crania (specimens), representing 1,285 cranial bones (skeletal elements), from 101 Eurasian UP sites. We used generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) to assess trauma prevalence in relation to age-at-death, sex, anatomical distribution, and between pre-and post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) samples, while accounting for skeletal preservation. Results: Models predicted a mean cranial trauma prevalence of 0.07 (95% CI 0.003-0.19) at the level of skeletal elements, and of 0.26 (95% CI 0.08-0.48) at the level of specimens, each when 76-100% complete. Trauma prevalence increased with skeletal preservation. Across specimen and skeletal element datasets, trauma prevalence tended to be higher for males, and was consistently higher in the old age group. We found no time-specific trauma prevalence patterns for the two sexes or age cohorts when comparing samples from before and after the LGM. Samples showed higher trauma prevalence in the vault than in the face, with vault remains being affected predominantly in males. Discussion: Cranial trauma prevalence in UP humans falls within the variation described for Mesolithic and Neolithic samples. According to our current dataset, UP males and females were exposed to slightly different injury risks and trauma distributions, potentially due to different activities or behaviors, yet both sexes exhibit more trauma among the old. Environmental stressors associated with climatic changes of the LGM are not reflected in cranial trauma prevalence. To analyze trauma in incomplete skeletal remains we propose GLMMs as an informative alternative to crude frequency calculations.

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“…Since that time, methods have been developed to more appropriately scale the hypertrophy of human postcrania, taking into account both body size and proportions (Ruff, Trinkaus, Walker, & Larsen, ; Trinkaus and Ruff, ). Reassessments of Neandertal robustness and other aspects of their biology with respect to their Late Pleistocene neighbors in time and space have reduced the behaviorally relevant biological contrasts to degrees of anterior dental wear, some upper limb muscularity, and lateral pedal phalanges (Trinkaus, ; Willman, ). In other words, the Neandertal successors had better scrapers, spears and shoes.…”

Section: The 1980smentioning

confidence: 99%

One hundred years of paleoanthropology: An American perspective

Trinkaus

2018

American J Phys Anthropol

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1 | I N TR ODU C TI ON With the exception of the terminal Pleistocene peopling of the Americas and the modestly earlier occupation of Australia, the course of human evolution (both biological and cultural) took place within the greater land masses of Africa and Eurasia. Yet, American paleoanthropologists have played an increasingly important role in our understanding of the patterns and processes of human emergence. With rare exceptions (e.g., Hrdlička and MacCurdy), Americans were consumers rather than producers of paleoanthropological knowledge until the middle of the 20th century. Since then, however, American scholars have become increasingly evident, in the field, in curating institutions, and in international collaborative research. As a result Americans, and especially American perspectives on human emergence, have become a substantial presence in the efforts to enrich the paleoanthropological record and our understanding of what it means to be "human."Given the centenary of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology (AJPA), a distinctly North American journal that has also become international, it is appropriate to discuss the patterns and processes of this academic evolution. Perspectives and approaches have changed markedly over this time period, and the human fossil record and its Paleolithic, paleoenvironmental and chronological contexts have expanded massively.Many of the advances in the field have been driven by paleoanthropological discoveries. Yet, the frameworks and methodologies for integrating those remains into scenarios of human emergence have also changed, even though many of the concerns that confronted paleoanthropologists a century ago persist. This review is therefore concerned with the past century of paleoanthropological research, the concerns that arose during that time, and the issues that remain with us in the 21st century.

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The Paleobiology of Modern Human Emergence

Cited by 27 publications

References 245 publications

A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar

A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar

Prevalence of cranial trauma in Eurasian Upper Paleolithic humans

One hundred years of paleoanthropology: An American perspective

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