Dataset Information

Pleistocene footprints show intensive use of lake margin habitats by Homo erectus groups.

ABSTRACT: Reconstructing hominin paleoecology is critical for understanding our ancestors' diets, social organizations and interactions with other animals. Most paleoecological models lack fine-scale resolution due to fossil hominin scarcity and the time-averaged accumulation of faunal assemblages. Here we present data from 481 fossil tracks from northwestern Kenya, including 97 hominin footprints attributed to Homo erectus. These tracks are found in multiple sedimentary layers spanning approximately 20 thousand years. Taphonomic experiments show that each of these trackways represents minutes to no more than a few days in the lives of the individuals moving across these paleolandscapes. The geology and associated vertebrate fauna place these tracks in a deltaic setting, near a lakeshore bordered by open grasslands. Hominin footprints are disproportionately abundant in this lake margin environment, relative to hominin skeletal fossil frequency in the same deposits. Accounting for preservation bias, this abundance of hominin footprints indicates repeated use of lakeshore habitats by Homo erectus. Clusters of very large prints moving in the same direction further suggest these hominins traversed this lakeshore in multi-male groups. Such reliance on near water environments, and possibly aquatic-linked foods, may have influenced hominin foraging behavior and migratory routes across and out of Africa.

SUBMITTER: Roach NT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4873780 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Pleistocene footprints show intensive use of lake margin habitats by Homo erectus groups.

Roach Neil T NT Hatala Kevin G KG Ostrofsky Kelly R KR Villmoare Brian B Reeves Jonathan S JS Du Andrew A Braun David R DR Harris John W K JW Behrensmeyer Anna K AK Richmond Brian G BG

Scientific reports 20160520

Reconstructing hominin paleoecology is critical for understanding our ancestors' diets, social organizations and interactions with other animals. Most paleoecological models lack fine-scale resolution due to fossil hominin scarcity and the time-averaged accumulation of faunal assemblages. Here we present data from 481 fossil tracks from northwestern Kenya, including 97 hominin footprints attributed to Homo erectus. These tracks are found in multiple sedimentary layers spanning approximately 20 t ...[more]

PMID: 27199261

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Project description:Background:Regional diversity in the morphology of the H. erectus postcranium is not broadly documented, in part, because of the paucity of Asian sites preserving postcranial fossils. Yet, such an understanding of the initial hominin taxon to spread throughout multiple regions of the world is fundamental to documenting the adaptive responses to selective forces operating during this period of human evolution. Methods:The current study reports the first humeral rigidity and strength properties of East Asian H. erectus and places its diaphyseal robusticity into broader regional and temporal contexts. We estimate true cross-sectional properties of Zhoukoudian Humerus II and quantify new diaphyseal properties of Humerus III using high resolution computed tomography. Comparative data for African H. erectus and Eurasian Late Pleistocene H. sapiens were assembled, and new data were generated from two modern Chinese populations. Results:Differences between East Asian and African H. erectus were inconsistently expressed in humeral cortical thickness. In contrast, East Asian H. erectus appears to exhibit greater humeral robusticity compared to African H. erectus when standardizing diaphyseal properties by the product of estimated body mass and humeral length. East Asian H. erectus humeri typically differed less in standardized properties from those of side-matched Late Pleistocene hominins (e.g., Neanderthals and more recent Upper Paleolithic modern humans) than did African H. erectus, and often fell in the lower range of Late Pleistocene humeral rigidity or strength properties. Discussion:Quantitative comparisons indicate that regional variability in humeral midshaft robusticity may characterize H. erectus to a greater extent than presently recognized. This may suggest a temporal difference within H. erectus, or possibly different ecogeographical trends and/or upper limb loading patterns across the taxon. Both discovery and analysis of more adult H. erectus humeri are critical to further evaluating and potentially distinguishing between these possibilities.

Dataset Information

Pleistocene footprints show intensive use of lake margin habitats by Homo erectus groups.

Publications

Pleistocene footprints show intensive use of lake margin habitats by Homo erectus groups.

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