Scientific References
97 peer-reviewed publications and books. Citation data from CrossRef.
(2024). "Making sense of eastern Asian Late Quaternary hominin variability". Nature Communications 15:9479. DOI:10.1038/s41467-024-53918-7
(2022). "Resolving the muddle in the middle: The case for Homo bodoensis sp. nov.". Evolutionary Anthropology 31:20-29. DOI:10.1002/evan.21929
Abstract
Recent developments in the field of palaeoanthropology necessitate the suppression of two hominin taxa and the introduction of a new species of hominins to help resolve the current nebulous state of Middle Pleistocene (Chibanian) hominin taxonomy. In particular, the poorly defined and variably understood hominin taxa Homo heidelbergensis (both sensu stricto and sensu lato) and Homo rhodesiensis need to be abandoned as they fail to reflect the full range of hominin variability in the Middle Pleistocene. Instead, we propose: (1) introduction of a new taxon, Homo bodoensis sp. nov., as an early Middle Pleistocene ancestor of the Homo sapiens lineage, with a pan‐African distribution that extends into the eastern Mediterranean (Southeast Europe and the Levant); (2) that many of the fossils from Western Europe (e.g. Sima de los Huesos) currently assigned to H. heidelbergensis s.s. be reassigned to Homo neanderthalensis to reflect the early appearance of Neanderthal derived traits in the Middle Pleistocene in the region; and (3) that the Middle Pleistocene Asian fossils, particularly from China, likely represent a different lineage altogether.
(2021). "Fossil apes and human evolution". Science 372:eabb4363. DOI:10.1126/science.abb4363
Abstract
A distinctive ancestor There has been much focus on the evolution of primates and especially where and how humans diverged in this process. It has often been suggested that the last common ancestor between humans and other apes, especially our closest relative, the chimpanzee, was ape- or chimp-like. Almécija et al. review this area and conclude that the morphology of fossil apes was varied and that it is likely that the last shared ape ancestor had its own set of traits, different from those of modern humans and modern apes, both of which have been undergoing separate suites of selection pressures. Science , this issue p. eabb4363
(2021). "A Middle Pleistocene Homo from Nesher Ramla, Israel". Science 372:1424-1428. DOI:10.1126/science.abh3169
(2021). "Massive cranium from Harbin establishes a new Middle Pleistocene human lineage". The Innovation 2:100132
(2021). "Middle Pleistocene Homo behavior and culture at 140,000-120,000 years ago and interactions with Homo sapiens". Science 372:1429-1432. DOI:10.1126/science.abh3020
(2020). "Contemporaneity of Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and early Homo erectus in South Africa". Science 368:eaaw7293. DOI:10.1126/science.aaw7293
(2020). "Middle Pleistocene human skull from Broken Hill (Kabwe), Zambia: reassessment". Nature 580:372-375. DOI:10.1038/s41586-020-2165-4
(2019). "A new species of Homo from the Late Pleistocene of the Philippines". Nature 568:181-186. DOI:10.1038/s41586-019-1067-9
(2019). "A 3.8-million-year-old hominin cranium from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia". Nature 573:214-219. DOI:10.1038/s41586-019-1513-8
(2019). "Australopithecus prometheus is a nomen nudum". Journal of Human Evolution 137:102655. DOI:10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102655
(2018). "Chronology of the Acheulean to Middle Stone Age transition in eastern Africa". Science 360:95-98. DOI:10.1126/science.aao2216
(2018). "Lower limb articular scaling and body mass estimation in Pliocene and Pleistocene hominins". Journal of Human Evolution 115:85-111. DOI:10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.10.014
(2018). "U-Th dating of carbonate crusts reveals Neandertal origin of Iberian cave art". Science 359:912-915. DOI:10.1126/science.aap7778
Abstract
Neandertal cave art It has been suggested that Neandertals, as well as modern humans, may have painted caves. Hoffmann et al. used uranium-thorium dating of carbonate crusts to show that cave paintings from three different sites in Spain must be older than 64,000 years. These paintings are the oldest dated cave paintings in the world. Importantly, they predate the arrival of modern humans in Europe by at least 20,000 years, which suggests that they must be of Neandertal origin. The cave art comprises mainly red and black paintings and includes representations of various animals, linear signs, geometric shapes, hand stencils, and handprints. Thus, Neandertals possessed a much richer symbolic behavior than previously assumed. Science , this issue p. 912
(2018). "The evolution of modern human brain shape". Science Advances 4:eaao5961. DOI:10.1126/sciadv.aao5961
Abstract
The evolutionary process leading to human brain globularity was gradual and paralleled the emergence of behavioral modernity.
(2018). "The genome of the offspring of a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father". Nature 561:113-116. DOI:10.1038/s41586-018-0455-x
(2018). "Calculated or caring? Neanderthal healthcare in social context". World Archaeology 50:384-403. DOI:10.1080/00438243.2018.1433060
(2018). "Symbolic use of marine shells and mineral pigments by Iberian Neandertals 115,000 years ago". Science Advances 4:eaar5255. DOI:10.1126/sciadv.aar5255
Abstract
U-Th dating of archaeological deposits of Cueva de los Aviones provides evidence for Neandertal symbolism 115,000 years ago.
(2017). "The age of Homo naledi and associated sediments in the Rising Star Cave". eLife 6:e24231
(2017). "New fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco and the pan-African origin of Homo sapiens". Nature 546:289-292. DOI:10.1038/nature22336
(2017). "The age of Homo naledi and associated sediments in the Rising Star Cave, South Africa". eLife 6:e24231. DOI:10.7554/eLife.24231
(2017). "Reconstructing Prehistoric African Population Structure". Cell 171:59-71. DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2017.08.049
(2016). "A simple rule governs the evolution and development of hominin tooth size". Nature 530:477-480. DOI:10.1038/nature16972
(2016). "Early Neanderthal constructions deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France". Nature 534:111-114. DOI:10.1038/nature18291
(2016). "Cranial base topology and basic trends in the facial evolution of Homo". Journal of Human Evolution 91:26-35. DOI:10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.11.001
(2016). "Nuclear DNA sequences from the Middle Pleistocene Sima de los Huesos hominins". Nature 531:504-507. DOI:10.1038/nature17405
(2016). "Hominin taxic diversity: Fact or fantasy?". Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 159:S37-S78
(2015). "Homo naledi, a new species of the genus Homo from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa". eLife 4:e09560. DOI:10.7554/eLife.09560
Abstract
Homo naledi is a previously-unknown species of extinct hominin discovered within the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. This species is characterized by body mass and stature similar to small-bodied human populations but a small endocranial volume similar to australopiths. Cranial morphology of H. naledi is unique, but most similar to early Homo species including Homo erectus, Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. While primitive, the dentition is generally small and simple in occlusal morphology. H. naledi has humanlike manipulatory adaptations of the hand and wrist. It also exhibits a humanlike foot and lower limb. These humanlike aspects are contrasted in the postcrania with a more primitive or australopith-like trunk, shoulder, pelvis and proximal femur. Representing at least 15 individuals with most skeletal elements repeated multiple times, this is the largest assemblage of a single species of hominins yet discovered in Africa.
(2015). "The first archaic Homo from Taiwan". Nature Communications 6:6037. DOI:10.1038/ncomms7037
(2015). "The Little Foot Australopithecus dated to 3.67 million years". Nature 522:85-88. DOI:10.1038/nature14268
(2015). "New species from Ethiopia further expands Middle Pliocene hominin diversity". Nature 521:483-488. DOI:10.1038/nature14448
(2015). "3.3-million-year-old stone tools from Lomekwi 3, West Turkana, Kenya". Nature 521:310-315. DOI:10.1038/nature14464
(2014). "Interpreting sulci on hominin endocasts: old hypotheses and new findings". Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 8:134. DOI:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00134
(2014). "The complete genome sequence of a Neanderthal from the Altai Mountains". Nature 505:43-49. DOI:10.1038/nature12886
(2014). "The genomic landscape of Neanderthal ancestry in present-day humans". Nature 507:354-357. DOI:10.1038/nature12961
(2013). "A complete skull from Dmanisi, Georgia, and the evolutionary biology of early Homo". Science 342:326-331. DOI:10.1126/science.1238484
Abstract
A Heady Find In the past two decades, excavations at the archaeological site at Dmanisi, Georgia, have revealed hominin fossils from the earliest Pleistocene, soon after the genus Homo first dispersed beyond Africa. Lordkipanidze et al. (p. 326 ; see the cover) now describe a fossil cranium from the site. Combined with mandibular remains that had been found earlier, this find completes the first entire hominin skull from this period.
(2013). "A mitochondrial genome sequence of a hominin from Sima de los Huesos". Nature 505:403-406. DOI:10.1038/nature12788
(2013). "Isotopic evidence of early hominin diets". PNAS 110:10513-10518
(2012). "Microstratigraphic evidence of in situ fire in the Acheulean strata of Wonderwerk Cave". PNAS 109:E1215-E1220. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1117620109
Abstract
The ability to control fire was a crucial turning point in human evolution, but the question when hominins first developed this ability still remains. Here we show that micromorphological and Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (mFTIR) analyses of intact sediments at the site of Wonderwerk Cave, Northern Cape province, South Africa, provide unambiguous evidence—in the form of burned bone and ashed plant remains—that burning took place in the cave during the early Acheulean occupation, approximately 1.0 Ma. To the best of our knowledge, this is the earliest secure evidence for burning in an archaeological context.
(2012). "Life-History Inference in the Early Hominins Australopithecus and Paranthropus". International Journal of Primatology 33:1332-1363. DOI:10.1007/s10764-012-9607-2
(2012). "A High-Coverage Genome Sequence from an Archaic Denisovan Individual". Science 338:222-226. DOI:10.1126/science.1224344
(2012). "Dental microwear texture analysis of hominins from Olduvai". Journal of Human Evolution 63:429-437. DOI:10.1016/j.jhevol.2011.04.006
(2012). "The Complete World of Human Evolution"
(2012). "Dental evidence for the reconstruction of diet in African early Homo". Current Anthropology 53:S318-S329
(2011). "An earlier origin for the Acheulian". Nature 477:82-85. DOI:10.1038/nature10372
(2011). "Survival against the odds: Modeling the social implications of care provision to seriously disabled individuals". International Journal of Paleopathology 1:35-42. DOI:10.1016/j.ijpp.2011.02.003
(2010). "Australopithecus sediba: a new species of Homo-like australopith from South Africa". Science 328:195-204. DOI:10.1126/science.1184944
Abstract
From Australopithecus to Homo Our genus Homo is thought to have evolved a little more than 2 million years ago from the earlier hominid Australopithecus . But there are few fossils that provide detailed information on this transition. Berger et al. (p. 195 ; see the cover) now describe two partial skeletons, including most of the skull, pelvis, and ankle, of a new species of Australopithecus that are informative. The skeletons were found in a cave in South Africa encased in sediments dated by Dirks et al. (p. 205 ) to about 1.8 to 1.9 million years ago. The fossils share many derived features with the earliest Homo species, including in its pelvis and smaller teeth, and imply that the transition to Homo was in stages.
(2010). "A draft sequence of the Neandertal genome". Science 328:710-722. DOI:10.1126/science.1188021
(2010). "The complete mitochondrial DNA genome of an unknown hominin from southern Siberia". Nature 464:894-897. DOI:10.1038/nature08976
(2010). "Geological Setting and Age of Australopithecus sediba from Southern Africa". Science 328:205-208. DOI:10.1126/science.1184950
(2010). "Genetic history of an archaic hominin group from Denisova Cave in Siberia". Nature 468:1053-1060. DOI:10.1038/nature09710
(2009). "A female figurine from the basal Aurignacian of Hohle Fels Cave". Nature 459:248-252. DOI:10.1038/nature07995
(2009). "New flutes document the earliest musical tradition in southwestern Germany". Nature 460:737-740. DOI:10.1038/nature08169
(2009). "Engraved ochres from the Middle Stone Age levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa". Journal of Human Evolution 57:27-47. DOI:10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.01.005
(2009). "Optimal running speed and the evolution of hominin hunting strategies". Journal of Human Evolution 56:355-360. DOI:10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.11.002
(2009). "Ardipithecus ramidus and the paleobiology of early hominids". Science 326:75-86. DOI:10.1126/science.1175802
Abstract
Hominid fossils predating the emergence of Australopithecus have been sparse and fragmentary. The evolution of our lineage after the last common ancestor we shared with chimpanzees has therefore remained unclear. Ardipithecus ramidus , recovered in ecologically and temporally resolved contexts in Ethiopia’s Afar Rift, now illuminates earlier hominid paleobiology and aspects of extant African ape evolution. More than 110 specimens recovered from 4.4-million-year-old sediments include a partial skeleton with much of the skull, hands, feet, limbs, and pelvis. This hominid combined arboreal palmigrade clambering and careful climbing with a form of terrestrial bipedality more primitive than that of Australopithecus . Ar. ramidus had a reduced canine/premolar complex and a little-derived cranial morphology and consumed a predominantly C 3 plant–based diet (plants using the C 3 photosynthetic pathway). Its ecological habitat appears to have been largely woodland-focused. Ar. ramidus lacks any characters typical of suspension, vertical climbing, or knuckle-walking. Ar. ramidus indicates that despite the genetic similarities of living humans and chimpanzees, the ancestor we last shared probably differed substantially from any extant African ape. Hominids and extant African apes have each become highly specialized through very different evolutionary pathways. This evidence also illuminates the origins of orthogrady, bipedality, ecology, diet, and social behavior in earliest Hominidae and helps to define the basal hominid adaptation, thereby accentuating the derived nature of Australopithecus .
(2009). "Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human"
(2007). "Postcranial evidence from early Homo from Dmanisi, Georgia". Nature 449:305-310. DOI:10.1038/nature06134
(2006). "What's a Mother to Do? Division of Labor among Neandertals and Modern Humans". Current Anthropology 47:953-981
(2006). "Isotopic Evidence for Dietary Variability in the Early Hominin Paranthropus robustus". Science 314:980-982. DOI:10.1126/science.1133827
(2005). "The brain of LB1, Homo floresiensis". Science 308:242-245. DOI:10.1126/science.1109727
Abstract
The brain of Homo floresiensis was assessed by comparing a virtual endocast from the type specimen (LB1) with endocasts from great apes, Homo erectus, Homo sapiens , a human pygmy, a human microcephalic, specimen number Sts 5 ( Australopithecus africanus ), and specimen number WT 17000 ( Paranthropus aethiopicus ). Morphometric, allometric, and shape data indicate that LB1 is not a microcephalic or pygmy. LB1's brain/body size ratio scales like that of an australopithecine, but its endocast shape resembles that of Homo erectus . LB1 has derived frontal and temporal lobes and a lunate sulcus in a derived position, which are consistent with capabilities for higher cognitive processing.
(2005). "Stratigraphic placement and age of modern humans from Kibish, Ethiopia". Nature 433:733-736. DOI:10.1038/nature03258
(2005). "The earliest toothless hominin skull". Nature 434:717-718
(2005). "Virtual cranial reconstruction of Sahelanthropus tchadensis". Nature 434:755-759. DOI:10.1038/nature03397
(2004). "A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia". Nature 431:1055-1061. DOI:10.1038/nature02999
(2004). "Evidence of hominin control of fire at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel". Science 304:725-727. DOI:10.1126/science.1095443
Abstract
The presence of burned seeds, wood, and flint at the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya`aqov in Israel is suggestive of the control of fire by humans nearly 790,000 years ago. The distribution of the site's small burned flint fragments suggests that burning occurred in specific spots, possibly indicating hearth locations. Wood of six taxa was burned at the site, at least three of which are edible—olive, wild barley, and wild grape.
(2004). "Dental topography and diets of Australopithecus afarensis and early Homo". Journal of Human Evolution 46:605-622. DOI:10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.03.004
(2003). "A new skull of early Homo from Ceprano, Italy". Journal of Human Evolution 44:319-333. DOI:10.1016/S0047-2484(02)00213-0
(2003). "Pleistocene Homo sapiens from Middle Awash, Ethiopia". Nature 423:742-747. DOI:10.1038/nature01669
(2002). "A new hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa". Nature 418:145-151. DOI:10.1038/nature00879
(2002). "Molecular evolution of FOXP2, a gene involved in speech and language". Nature 418:869-872. DOI:10.1038/nature01025
(2001). "Growth processes in teeth distinguish modern humans from Homo erectus and earlier hominins". Nature 414:628-631. DOI:10.1038/414628a
(2001). "Late Miocene hominids from the Middle Awash, Ethiopia". Nature 412:178-181. DOI:10.1038/35084063
(2001). "New hominin genus from eastern Africa shows diverse middle Pliocene lineages". Nature 410:433-440
(2001). "First hominid from the Miocene (Lukeino Formation, Kenya)". Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences 332:137-144
(2000). "Progress in understanding hominoid dental development". Journal of Anatomy 197:77-101. DOI:10.1046/j.1469-7580.2000.19710077.x
(1999). "Australopithecus garhi: a new species of early hominid from Ethiopia". Science 284:629-635
(1999). "The Human Genus". Science 284:65-71. DOI:10.1126/science.284.5411.65
(1999). "Isotopic Evidence for the Diet of an Early Hominid, Australopithecus africanus". Science 283:368-370. DOI:10.1126/science.283.5400.368
(1998). "First ever complete adult Australopithecus fossil found". South African Journal of Science 94:460-463
(1997). "A hominid from the Lower Pleistocene of Atapuerca, Spain". Science 276:1392-1395
(1997). "Body mass and encephalization in Pleistocene Homo". Nature 387:173-176. DOI:10.1038/387173a0
(1997). "2.5-million-year-old stone tools from Gona, Ethiopia". Nature 385:333-336. DOI:10.1038/385333a0
(1997). "Lower Palaeolithic hunting spears from Germany". Nature 385:807-810
(1995). "New four-million-year-old hominid species from Kanapoi and Allia Bay, Kenya". Nature 376:565-571
(1994). "Australopithecus ramidus, a new species of hominid from Aramis, Ethiopia". Nature 371:306-312
(1993). "Coevolution of neocortical size, group size and language in humans". Behavioral and Brain Sciences 16:681-735
(1992). "Origin and evolution of the genus Homo". Nature 355:783-790
(1989). "A Middle Palaeolithic human hyoid bone". Nature 338:758-760
(1988). "Early hominid diets from quantitative image analysis of dental microwear". Nature 333:765-768. DOI:10.1038/333765a0
(1987). "The brain of Homo habilis: A new level of organization in cerebral evolution". Journal of Human Evolution 16:741-761. DOI:10.1016/0047-2484(87)90022-4
(1985). "Pathology and the posture of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neandertal". American Journal of Physical Anthropology 67:19-41. DOI:10.1002/ajpa.1330670105
(1979). "A systematic assessment of early African hominids". Science 203:321-330. DOI:10.1126/science.104384
Abstract
A large sample of Pliocene fossil hominid remains has been recovered from the African sites of Hadar in Ethiopia and Laetolil in Tanzania. These collections, dating approximately between 2.9 and 3.8 million years ago, constitute the earliest substantial record of the family Hominidae. This article assesses the phylogenetic relationships of the newly discovered fossil hominids and provides a taxonomy consistent with that assessment. A new taxon, Australopithecus afarensis , has been created to accommodate these Pliocene hominid fossils.
(1971). "Shanidar: The First Flower People"
(1964). "A new species of the genus Homo from Olduvai Gorge". Nature 202:7-9
(1935). "The Florisbad skull and its place among hominid crania". Soölogiese Navorsing van die Nasionale Museum 1:103-114
(1925). "Australopithecus africanus: The Man-Ape of South Africa". Nature 115:195-199