Venturing out safely: The biogeography of Homo erectus dispersal out of Africa
The dispersal of Homo erectus out of Africa at some 1.9 million years ago is one of the most important, crucial, and yet controversial events in human evolution. Current opinions about this episode expose the contrast between those who see H. erectus as a highly social, cooperative species seeking o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2016
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/82274 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/41176 |
| _version_ | 1811696930397356032 |
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| author | Carotenuto, F. Tsikaridze, N. Rook, L. Lordkipanidze, D. Longo, Laura Condemi, Silvana Raia, P. |
| author2 | School of Art, Design and Media |
| author_facet | School of Art, Design and Media Carotenuto, F. Tsikaridze, N. Rook, L. Lordkipanidze, D. Longo, Laura Condemi, Silvana Raia, P. |
| author_sort | Carotenuto, F. |
| collection | NTU |
| description | The dispersal of Homo erectus out of Africa at some 1.9 million years ago is one of the most important, crucial, and yet controversial events in human evolution. Current opinions about this episode expose the contrast between those who see H. erectus as a highly social, cooperative species seeking out new ecological opportunities to exploit, and those preferring a passive, climate driven explanation for such an event. By using geostatistics techniques and probabilistic models, we characterised the ecological context of H. erectus dispersal, from its East African origin to the colonization of Eurasia, taking into account both the presence of other large mammals and the physical characteristics of the landscape as potential factors. Our model indicated that H. erectus followed almost passively the large herbivore fauna during its dispersal. In Africa, the dispersal was statistically associated with the presence of large freshwater bodies (Rift Valley Lakes). In Eurasia, the presence of H. erectus was associated with the occurrence of geological outcrops likely yielding unconsolidated flint. During the early phase of dispersal, our model indicated that H. erectus actively avoided areas densely populated by large carnivores. This pattern weakened as H. erectus dispersed over Europe, possibly because of the decreasing presence of carnivores there plus the later acquisition of Acheulean technology. During this later phase, H. erectus was associated with limestone and shaley marl, and seems to have been selecting for high-elevation sites. While our results do not directly contradict the idea that H. erectus may have been an active hunter, they clearly point to the fact that predator avoidance may have conditioned its long-distance diffusion as it moved outside Africa. The modelled dispersal route suggests that H. erectus remained preferentially associated with low/middle latitude (i.e., comparatively warm) sites throughout its colonization history. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T07:47:11Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/82274 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T07:47:11Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/822742020-02-26T14:40:56Z Venturing out safely: The biogeography of Homo erectus dispersal out of Africa Carotenuto, F. Tsikaridze, N. Rook, L. Lordkipanidze, D. Longo, Laura Condemi, Silvana Raia, P. School of Art, Design and Media Homo erectus Dispersal The dispersal of Homo erectus out of Africa at some 1.9 million years ago is one of the most important, crucial, and yet controversial events in human evolution. Current opinions about this episode expose the contrast between those who see H. erectus as a highly social, cooperative species seeking out new ecological opportunities to exploit, and those preferring a passive, climate driven explanation for such an event. By using geostatistics techniques and probabilistic models, we characterised the ecological context of H. erectus dispersal, from its East African origin to the colonization of Eurasia, taking into account both the presence of other large mammals and the physical characteristics of the landscape as potential factors. Our model indicated that H. erectus followed almost passively the large herbivore fauna during its dispersal. In Africa, the dispersal was statistically associated with the presence of large freshwater bodies (Rift Valley Lakes). In Eurasia, the presence of H. erectus was associated with the occurrence of geological outcrops likely yielding unconsolidated flint. During the early phase of dispersal, our model indicated that H. erectus actively avoided areas densely populated by large carnivores. This pattern weakened as H. erectus dispersed over Europe, possibly because of the decreasing presence of carnivores there plus the later acquisition of Acheulean technology. During this later phase, H. erectus was associated with limestone and shaley marl, and seems to have been selecting for high-elevation sites. While our results do not directly contradict the idea that H. erectus may have been an active hunter, they clearly point to the fact that predator avoidance may have conditioned its long-distance diffusion as it moved outside Africa. The modelled dispersal route suggests that H. erectus remained preferentially associated with low/middle latitude (i.e., comparatively warm) sites throughout its colonization history. Accepted version 2016-08-25T09:10:11Z 2019-12-06T14:52:16Z 2016-08-25T09:10:11Z 2019-12-06T14:52:16Z 2016 Journal Article Carotenuto, F., Tsikaridze, N., Rook, L., Lordkipanidze, D., Longo, L., Condemi, S., et al. (2016). Venturing out safely: The biogeography of Homo erectus dispersal out of Africa. Journal of Human Evolution, 95, 1-12. 0047-2484 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/82274 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/41176 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.02.005 en Journal of Human Evolution © 2016 Elsevier. This is the author created version of a work that has been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by Journal of Human Evolution, Elsevier. It incorporates referee’s comments but changes resulting from the publishing process, such as copyediting, structural formatting, may not be reflected in this document. The published version is available at: [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.02.005]. 49 p. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Homo erectus Dispersal Carotenuto, F. Tsikaridze, N. Rook, L. Lordkipanidze, D. Longo, Laura Condemi, Silvana Raia, P. Venturing out safely: The biogeography of Homo erectus dispersal out of Africa |
| title | Venturing out safely: The biogeography of Homo erectus dispersal out of Africa |
| title_full | Venturing out safely: The biogeography of Homo erectus dispersal out of Africa |
| title_fullStr | Venturing out safely: The biogeography of Homo erectus dispersal out of Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Venturing out safely: The biogeography of Homo erectus dispersal out of Africa |
| title_short | Venturing out safely: The biogeography of Homo erectus dispersal out of Africa |
| title_sort | venturing out safely the biogeography of homo erectus dispersal out of africa |
| topic | Homo erectus Dispersal |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/82274 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/41176 |
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