Verena Foerster, Asfawossen Asrat, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Erik T. Brown, Melissa S. Chapot, Alan Deino, Walter Düsing, Matthew Grove, Annette Hahn, Annett Junginger, Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr, Christine S. Lane, Stephan Opitz, Anders Noren, Helen M. Roberts, Mona Stockhecke, Ralph Tiedemann, Celine M. Vidal, Ralf Vogelsang, Andrew S. Cohen, Henry F. Lamb, Frank Schaebitz, Martin H. Trauth
- Despite more than half a century of hominin fossil discoveries in eastern Africa, the regional environmental context of hominin evolution and dispersal is not well established due to the lack of continuous palaeoenvironmental records from one of the proven habitats of early human populations, particularly for the Pleistocene epoch. Here we present a 620,000-year environmental record from Chew Bahir, southern Ethiopia, which is proximal to key fossil sites. Our record documents the potential influence of different episodes of climatic variability on hominin biological and cultural transformation. The appearance of high anatomical diversity in hominin groups coincides with long-lasting and relatively stable humid conditions from similar to 620,000 to 275,000 years bp (episodes 1-6), interrupted by several abrupt and extreme hydroclimate perturbations. A pattern of pronounced climatic cyclicity transformed habitats during episodes 7-9 (similar to 275,000-60,000 years bp), a crucial phase encompassing the gradual transition from AcheuleanDespite more than half a century of hominin fossil discoveries in eastern Africa, the regional environmental context of hominin evolution and dispersal is not well established due to the lack of continuous palaeoenvironmental records from one of the proven habitats of early human populations, particularly for the Pleistocene epoch. Here we present a 620,000-year environmental record from Chew Bahir, southern Ethiopia, which is proximal to key fossil sites. Our record documents the potential influence of different episodes of climatic variability on hominin biological and cultural transformation. The appearance of high anatomical diversity in hominin groups coincides with long-lasting and relatively stable humid conditions from similar to 620,000 to 275,000 years bp (episodes 1-6), interrupted by several abrupt and extreme hydroclimate perturbations. A pattern of pronounced climatic cyclicity transformed habitats during episodes 7-9 (similar to 275,000-60,000 years bp), a crucial phase encompassing the gradual transition from Acheulean to Middle Stone Age technologies, the emergence of Homo sapiens in eastern Africa and key human social and cultural innovations. Those accumulative innovations plus the alignment of humid pulses between northeastern Africa and the eastern Mediterranean during high-frequency climate oscillations of episodes 10-12 (similar to 60,000-10,000 years bp) could have facilitated the global dispersal of H. sapiens.…
MetadatenAuthor details: | Verena FoersterORCiD, Asfawossen AsratORCiD, Christopher Bronk RamseyORCiD, Erik T. BrownORCiD, Melissa S. ChapotORCiD, Alan Deino, Walter DüsingORCiDGND, Matthew Grove, Annette Hahn, Annett JungingerORCiD, Stefanie Kaboth-BahrORCiDGND, Christine S. LaneORCiD, Stephan Opitz, Anders NorenORCiD, Helen M. RobertsORCiD, Mona Stockhecke, Ralph TiedemannORCiDGND, Celine M. VidalORCiD, Ralf VogelsangORCiD, Andrew S. Cohen, Henry F. LambORCiD, Frank SchaebitzORCiD, Martin H. TrauthORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-01032-y |
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ISSN: | 1752-0894 |
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ISSN: | 1752-0908 |
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Pubmed ID: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36254302 |
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Title of parent work (English): | Nature geoscience |
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Publisher: | Nature Publ. Group |
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Place of publishing: | London |
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Publication type: | Article |
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Language: | English |
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Date of first publication: | 2022/09/26 |
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Publication year: | 2022 |
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Release date: | 2024/01/11 |
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Tag: | Evolutionary ecology; Limnology; Palaeoclimate |
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Volume: | 15 |
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Issue: | 10 |
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Number of pages: | 17 |
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First page: | 805 |
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Last Page: | 811 |
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Funding institution: | National Science Foundation (NSF) [EAR-1338553]; International; Continental Drilling Program (ICDP); German Research Foundation (DFG); [SPP 1006 ICDP, SCHA 472/13, SCHA 472/18, TR 419/8, TR 419/10, TR; 419/16, FO 734/2, CRC 806, 57444011]; UK Natural Environment Research; Council (NERC) [NE/K014560/1]; University of Potsdam Open Topic Postdoc; Program; Swiss National Science Foundation [P300P2 158501]; NSF [EAR; 1322017]; Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) [P300P2_158501]; Funding Source: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) |
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Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Biochemie und Biologie |
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| Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Geowissenschaften |
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DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 55 Geowissenschaften, Geologie / 550 Geowissenschaften |
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Peer review: | Referiert |
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Publishing method: | Open Access / Hybrid Open-Access |
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License (German): | CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |
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