Paleoanthropology. Late Pliocene fossiliferous sedimentary record and the environmental context of early Homo from Afar, Ethiopia

Science
Erin N DiMaggioJ Ramón Arrowsmith

Abstract

Sedimentary basins in eastern Africa preserve a record of continental rifting and contain important fossil assemblages for interpreting hominin evolution. However, the record of hominin evolution between 3 and 2.5 million years ago (Ma) is poorly documented in surface outcrops, particularly in Afar, Ethiopia. Here we present the discovery of a 2.84- to 2.58-million-year-old fossil and hominin-bearing sediments in the Ledi-Geraru research area of Afar, Ethiopia, that have produced the earliest record of the genus Homo. Vertebrate fossils record a faunal turnover indicative of more open and probably arid habitats than those reconstructed earlier in this region, which is in broad agreement with hypotheses addressing the role of environmental forcing in hominin evolution at this time. Geological analyses constrain depositional and structural models of Afar and date the LD 350-1 Homo mandible to 2.80 to 2.75 Ma.

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Citations

May 15, 2016·Journal of Human Evolution·Emma MbuaMasato Nakatsukasa
Jun 4, 2015·Current Biology : CB·Jean-Jacques Hublin
Jan 31, 2018·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Brian Villmoare
Sep 19, 2019·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·David R BraunKaye E Reed
Aug 30, 2019·Nature·Beverly Z SaylorYohannes Haile-Selassie
Jun 5, 2019·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·David R BraunKaye E Reed
May 16, 2019·Science Advances·Andrew Du, Zeresenay Alemseged
Aug 26, 2020·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Enquye W NegashJonathan G Wynn
Aug 16, 2017·Nature Ecology & Evolution·Joshua R RobinsonKaye E Reed
Dec 26, 2018·Journal of Human Evolution·René Bobe, Susana Carvalho

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