Paleolithic Papers #33

Genus Homo:

Were the other hominins the first victims of the Sixth Mass Extinction?

45,000 year old projectiles have been found in Europe.

45,000 year old microlith tools have been found in Sri Lanka.

How long range endurance evolutionary pressure shaped the modern human heart.

Teeth from modern humans and possibly Neandertals have been found in the Manot Cave in Israel.

Foot bones from the Manot Cave appear to be both Neandertal and modern human.

What was the environment of the Manot Cave in?

Analysis of premolar teeth roots suggest a very complex demographic situation in China during the Pleistocene.

Modern Melanesians have introgressed genes associated from Denisovans and Neandertals.

There are genetic traces of paleolithic populations in North Africa.

There are potential adaptations to bipedalism in H. sapiens in the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae.

John Hawks questions whether or not the 3 root teeth found in east asians is really an introgression from Denisovans.

H sapiens:

What would a truly modern human look like?

The coastal paleoecology of modern humans in Easter Africa from the Pleistocene to Holocene.

Humans have been harvesting clams along the coast of British Columbia since at least the Terminal Pleistocene.

Was modern humanity's original home the wetlands of Botswana?

Modern humans may have followed the monsoons out of Africa.

These Yana Culture (modern humans) lived above the arctic circle 30,000 years ago.

H. neanderthalensis:

A spat over Upper Paleothic tech has begun.

Some dispute Neandertals were the source of cave art in Spain.

However, an eagle talon necklace was found in for the first time in Spain and has been ascribed to the Neandertals.

The Neandertal teeth of Marillac get examined.

H. erectus:

Hamadryas baboons are used as a proxy to understand H erectus behavioral evolution.

H. erectus could have been a persistence hunter based on estimated water loss.

Genus Australopithecus:

How Australopithecus changed how we thought humanity evolved.

Cerebral blood flow rates in Australopithecines was lower than in modern great apes for similar brain sizes.

Studying the origination and extinction of hominin species using A. anamesis, A afarensis, and Aridopithecus ramidus.

Genus Orrorin:

The environment of the site where Orrorin died was swampy.

Genus Danuvius:

A new bipedal brachiator ape from the Miocene recently found from Germany may usurp the Dryopithecus from the ancestral position for hominins.

META:

The hominiod to hominid difference in third molar enamel.

How human brains develop differently than great ape.

How scientists know human ancestors ate bugs.

Differences between human and other primate saliva might be because of diet.

The brain was considerably reorganized during hominin evolution.

When did hominins become behaviorally and psychologically modern?

Studying stone flakes can tell a lot about hunter gatherer behavior.

Paleolithic Papers #32

Genus Homo:

H. sapiens (modern humans):

Stone tools have been recovered from Cooper's Ferry, Idaho (USA) dating from 16,000 years ago.

Was the basal most H. sapiens surprisingly modern 500,000 years ago?

Human hearts evolved for endurance.

Foot prints have been found on Calvert Island, British Columbia dating from over 10,000 years ago.

H. neanderthalensis (Neandertals):

There was a shift at a single site of how stone tools were made during Late Acheulian the at Caune de l’Arago.

Did modern humans and Neandertals keep interbreeding over a long period?

Did the Neandertal Eustachian tube contribute to their extinction?

Neandertals were more innovative with their tools than normally credited.

The Neandertals footprints give insight into their social lives.

How Neandertals used birds, including their feathers, in the Qesem Cave, Israel.

Denisovans:

Denisovans seem to have had fingers more like modern humans than Neandertals.

Using genetics and epigenetics, researchers have reconstructed the shape of the face of at least one Denisovan.  The facial features are distinct from Neandertals and modern humans.

The introgression of Denisovan genetics into modern humans gave us an immunity boost.

Sima de los Huesos Hominin

At least one of the Simea de los Huesos proto Neandertals seems to have been murdered.

One of the hominins at Sima de los Huesos had a pathological growth for its ears.  It might not have made the individual deaf after all.

The cochlea evolution of the Simea de los Huesos Hominins gets examined.

H. naledi:

H. naledi's baby teeth were unique.

Genus Paranthropus:

P. robustus:

The femural neck of P. robustus gets examined.

Genus Australopithecus:

What were the Australopithecines?

Australopithecines seem to have breast fed longer than their contemporaries.

A. anamensis:

A nearly complete skull of A. anamensis gives a face to the species and shows evolution is messy showing even in hominins species often overlap in time.

META:

The trabecular boot gets examined in 4 different hominins.

Humans are unique in how they digest fatty foods.

Did a single gene mutation 3.3 million years ago make hominins prone to heart attacks?

Paleolithic Papers #28

Genus Homo:

How did ancient Homo choose places to do its cave paintings?

H. sapiens (modern humans):

Apparently, Late Pleistocene hunter gatherers survived in Iberian ancestry.

Modern humans originated in South Africa and spread through Africa just before migrating out of the continent.

Researchers have found a narrative piece of art from Paleolithic Europe.

A very bold paper claims Australian Aboriginals arrived in Australia 120,000 years ago.

Neandertals:

A commentary is made on the dating of La Quina Amont.

Neandertals might have had adaptations to the cold like wooly mammoths.

Denisovans:

The first pieces of Denisovan skulls have been verified.

Tongzi Hominin:

The Tongzi hominin's teeth are not like H. erectus teeth like had been previously thought.

H. floresiensis (Hobbits):

The environment of Flores at the time of the Hobbit was explored: it was a grassland!  Or so sayeth the rats.

H. erectus:

How big were the groups in Paleolithic India?

H. erectus purposefully started fires on grasslands.  Time to rethink the anthropocene start, folks.

H. naledi:

The root and pulp morphology of a molar for H. naledi gets examined.

Genus Australopithecus:

The brain sizes of A. afarensis and A. africanus are examined.  Did they grow large from eating bone marrow?

Genus Paranthropus:

Dental caries were found in a molar from a P. robustus.

Comparing the metatarsal of Paranthropus to extent hominoids.

META:

The ability to miniaturize stone tools sets hominins apart from other primates.

Did the slowing of the Antarctic current regulate the glaciation cycle?

Green corridors in the Sahara might have facilitated hominin dispersal.

The grandmother hypothesis might explain why women live longer than men.

Why do humans have wisdom teeth that need to be removed?

Unravelling ancient signals of DNA introgression in modern humans.

Paleolithic Papers #25

Genus Homo:

Stone tools found in China from the Pleistocene of the Levallois tradition hint at a potential local development of the technology.

A cave painting in Borneo in Indonesia dates from 40,000 years ago.

Inbreeding was common in hominins.

Crossing out of Africa was not difficult because the Arabian peninsula was green.

Hominins were not the cause the megafaunal extinctions in Africa, rather climate and the expansion of the grasslands were.  Unless, of course, the evidence for H. erectus purposefully expanding the grasslands with fire are accurate.

How did human language arise?  We don't really know.

How did members of the genus Homo survive in east Africa from paleolithic to mesolithic?

Analyzing Aurignacian tools using morphometrics.

A Russian site and its dating from the Upper Paleolithic is discussed and explored more.

H. sapiens:

The Lago Santa people had African-like features and were possibly Clovis culture descendants.  The peopling of South and Central America turned out to be fairly complicated.

The peopling of the Americas is getting a lot of interest once more with genetic studies.

Multiple types of projectiles found in Texas hint at potentially multiple migrations into the Americas.  Note: this could also be an example of a transition from one projectile point technology to another.

It seems the dispersals into the AMericas were more complex and hint at an Australasian component.

How did people cross the Wallace Line?

How the environment of northwestern Argentina changed across the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary.

People appear to have inhabited Tibet at least as early as 30,000 years ago.  This is much earlier than previously thought.

Star watching to understand the seasons may have very early origins.  Cave paintings from 40,000 years ago definitely suggest this.

Why do modern humans have round heads?

H. neanderthalensis:

Neandertals were just as violent as modern humans.

Neandertal children suffered from extreme stress during the winter.  Lead exposure was noted.

Neanderthals in the Caucasus transported obsidian over 250 km to make tools with.

Neandertal genes associated with neurogenesis in modern humans have been found.

H. erectus:

Are stone tools of the Acheulean style from 190k to 240k years ago a sign Homo erectus survived in Saudi Arabia until a late date?

H. erectus social behavior is discussed wrt an animal carcass. 

H. habilis:

Oldowon stone tools, the style associated with Homo habilis, have been found in Algeria dating from 2.4 million years ago.

Genus Australopithecus:

Little Foot, a likely A. africanus, is emerging from the stone matrix it was preserved in.

Little Foot's brain endocast suggests a more basal, chimpanzee like brain.

The original studies of A. africanus when it was known as A. prometheus are discussed.

Genus Paranthropus:

The scapular anatomy of P. bosei gets studied.

KNM-ER 47000 appears to be from P. bosei.

META:

U-Pb dating of flowstones from South Africa constrains the dates hominins were evolving there and shows they were living in dry climate conditions.

Trabecular Bone Fraction gets compared between modern humans, hominins and other primates.

The stone tool gripping abilities of modern humans, hominins and apes are compared.

3d analysis of bone tools sheds some light on how they were made and used.

Three plus different hominins coexisted in the early Pleistocene ~2 million years ago in the Omo-Turkana Basin (P. bosei, H.habilis and H. erectus. possibly H. rudolfensis as well).

What was the dietary diversity of early Pleistocene hominins?

The trabecular structure of the distal femur is compared between humans, apes and baboons is compared.

Paleolithic Papers #17

Genus Homo:

The brains of modern humans are different than other primates in particular ways.

Modern Humans (H. sapiens):

Ancient DNA from South Africa pushes back the origins of modern humans.

How did ancient humans organize themselves?  Check their genomes.

Did the first Americans come via the Kelp Highway?  More evidence.

Ancient mitochondrial DNA studies have shown three different groups swept into Labrador and Newfoundland at different times.

Hobbits (H. floresiensis):

How the Hobbit, LB1, was found.

Did Hobbits eat rats?

Denisovans:

John Hawks disagrees when the Denisovans and Neandertals split.

Neandertals (H. neanderthalensis):

New wrist bones from the Neandertals of El Sidron, Spain have been found and studied.

The Mousterian Neandertals of China are discussed.

A high coverage DNA Neandertal genome has been recovered from Vindijia, Croatia.

The interbreeding between modern humans and Neandertals reintroduced older, lost DNA from ancient, older hominins to the modern human genome.

The interaction between Neandertals and modern humans has been modeled.

A paper suggested modern humans replaced Neandertals through immigration.  A response has been posted.

H. heidelbergensis:

Did the sinuses of H. heidelbergensis have a special role or placement? 

H. naledi:

Reviewing the September excavations at the Rising Star Caves.

An H. naledi pelvis is examined and found to have characteristics of Homo and Australopithecus pelvises.

Genus Paranthropus:

P. robustus:

Isotopic analysis of P robustus teeth show the environments and even movements of individuals lived in.

META:

Crocodiles may make similar marks on bones when feeding like those interpreted to be done by stone tools and flakes used for butchery by hominins.

The jaws of hominins and their variation give important clues as to whether or not they belong to a specific species.

There are deep concerns some of the fossils from Europe of hominins were stolen and used in a study.  Even the journal has grown concerned.

Stone tools from late Oldowon from the Olduvai are investigated with new digs.

Pounding tools from the Oldowon to Acheulen transition are examined as well.

Paleolithic Papers #5

General:

Discover Magazine has placed online an article about the hominin sites of South Africa.

Why humans are the higher energy ape. 

Genus Homo:

Modern Humans (Homo sapiens):

Here's a paper on the technology behind early cave painting.

How durable were the jewelry made by stone age humans from marine resources?

What influenced the collagen isotopic content in the Neolithic?

The oldest known hafted axe was found in Australia from 45,000 years ago during the Pleistocene.

Evidence was found of pre Clovis Native Americans in Florida from 14,5000 years ago.

Neandertals (Homo neanderthalensis):

Could diseases brought by modern humans helped bring about the demise of the Neandertals similar, but not as extreme, as what happened to the Native Americans when Europeans came?

Was the Châtelperronian stone tool assemblage evidence of interaction between Neandertals and modern humans?

Modern humans and Neandertals had different food gathering strategies.

Climate changes seem to have impacted diet for Neandertals.

Here are investigations of the Neandertal clavical.

Homo erectus:

Some Chinese hominin teeth might have been attributed to H. erectus, but really belong to another species.

John Hawks writes about the Dmanisi hominins  and the dispersal of genus Homo out of africa.

Homo naledi: 

A symposium on H. naledi was held in Atlanta.

Genus Australopitchecus:

Australopithecus sediba:

The fossils for A. sediba are now on Morphospace.

How old are the caves A. sediba were found in?

Wait! What?! 2.6 Million Year Old Stone Tools From Pliocene Neogene India

The first Indo-French Prehistorical Mission in Siwaliks and the discovery of anthropic activities at 2.6 million years

Author:

Malassé

Abstract:

This paper presents the first Indo-French Prehistorical Mission in the Himalayan foothills, northwestern India, and introduces the results of the multidisciplinary research program “Siwaliks” under the patronage of Professor Yves Coppens, from the Collège de France and Académie des Sciences, France. This program is dedicated to the discovery of cut marks on mineralized bovid bones collected among vertebrate fossils in a fluviatile formation named “Quranwala zone” in the Chandigarh anticline, near the village Masol, and located just below the Gauss–Matuyama polarity reversal (2.58 Ma). Artefacts (simple choppers, flakes) have been collected in and on the colluviums. This important discovery questions the origins of the hominins which made the marks.

Evidence of Early Regionalization in Pleistocene Quaternary North American Cultures

Lithic networks reveal early regionalization in late Pleistocene North America

Authors:

Buchanan et al

Abstract:

North America was colonized by hunter–gatherer populations during the late Pleistocene, and the Clovis culture is the earliest well-documented evidence of this event. Long-standing questions about the colonization process persist, including the extent to which low-density populations maintained contact across the continent and if foraging territories overlapped or were spatially-discrete. Here, we use a network approach to examine the spatial structure of land use associated with the earliest hunter–gatherer populations in North America. In particular, we examine the co-occurrence of raw materials used for stone tool manufacture at archaeological sites across the continent. Using a database of 84 Clovis assemblages we show that there are three large isolated, mostly spatially-discrete, lithic exploitation networks across the continent. These regions closely correspond to previously identified differences in Clovis point form, suggesting that Clovis populations were becoming regionally distinct. This process of cultural diversification that begins in the late Pleistocene, continues to develop into the Holocene.

The Chimpanzee Stone Age has Begun

In the rainforests of west Africa, the woodlands of Brazil and the beaches of Thailand, archaeologists have unearthed some truly remarkable stone tools.

It's not the workmanship that makes them special. If anything, a casual observer might struggle to even identify them as ancient tools. It's not their antiquity that's exceptional either: they're only about the same age as the Egyptian pyramids.

What makes these tools noteworthy is that the hands that held them weren't human.

These stone tools were wielded by chimpanzees, capuchins and macaques. The sites where they have been unearthed are the basis of a brand new field of science: primate archaeology.

The tools are crude. A chimpanzee or monkey stone hammer is hardly a work of art to rival the beauty of an ancient human hand axe. But that's not the point. These primates have developed a culture that makes routine use of a stone-based technology. That means they have entered the Stone Age.

link.

The question is whether or not the stone tools have been worked or if they just stones picked up to be used.

Ma'anshan cave and the Origin of Bone Tool Technology in China

Ma'anshan cave and the origin of bone tool technology in China

Authors:

Zhang et al

Abstract:

Here we present the results of a techno-functional analysis of 17 bone tools recovered from strata 6, 5 and 3 of the Palaeolithic site of Ma'anshan Cave, Guizhou Province, southern China. Stratum 6, dated to c. 35 cal kyr BP, has yielded three sharp awls. From Stratum 5, dated to c. 34 cal kyr BP, come six probable spear points, awls and a cutting tool. Separated from these layers by a sterile horizon, Stratum 3, dated 23 cal kyr BP to 18 cal kyr BP, has yielded barbed points of two types. Bone tools were shaped by scraping, grinding, and in strata 5 and 3, finished by polishing. Ma'anshan Cave records the oldest formal bone tools from China, and amongst the oldest known evidence of indisputable barbed point manufacture outside Africa. Change in the hunting toolkit between strata 5 and 3 may indicate a shift in prey preference from medium to small size mammals and fish, which needs to be verified by supplementary analyses. The significance of this evidence is discussed in the context of what is known about the origin of bone tool technology in Africa and Eurasia.

A Pleistocene Quaternary Petrified Forest From Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

In situ ∼2.0 Ma trees discovered as fossil rooted stumps, lowermost Bed I, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Authors:

Habermann et al

Abstract:

The discovery of fossil rooted tree stumps in lowermost Lower Bed I from the western Olduvai Basin, Tanzania, age-bracketed by the Naabi Ignimbrite (2.038 ± 0.005 Ma) and Tuff IA (1.88 ± 0.05 Ma), provides the first direct, in situ, and to date oldest evidence of living trees at Olduvai Gorge. The tree relicts occur in an interval dominated by low-viscosity mass flow and braided fluvial sediments, deposited at the toe of a largely Ngorongoro Volcano-sourced volcaniclastic fan apron that comprised a widely spaced network of ephemeral braided streams draining northward into the Olduvai Basin. Preservation of the trees occurred through their engulfment by mass flows, post-mortem mold formation resulting from differential decay of woody tissues, and subsequent fluvially-related sediment infill, calcite precipitation, and cast formation. Rhizolith preservation was triggered by the interaction of root-induced organic and inorganic processes to form rhizocretionary calcareous root casts. Phytolith analyses were carried out to complete the paleoenvironmental reconstruction. They imply a pronounced seasonality and indicate a wooded landscape with grasses, shrubs, and sedges growing nearby, comparable to the low, open riverine woodland (unit 4c) along the Garusi River and tributaries in the Laetoli area. Among the tree stump cluster were found outsized lithic clasts and those consisting of quartzite were identified as Oldowan stone tool artifacts. In the context of hominin activity, the identification of wooded grassland in association with nearby freshwater drainages and Oldowan artifacts significantly extends our paleoenvironmental purview on the basal parts of Lower Bed I, and highlights the hitherto underrated role of the yet poorly explored western Olduvai Gorge area as a potential ecologically attractive setting and habitat for early hominins.

Modern Humans Were in Europe by 41,000 Years Ago During Pleistocene Quaternary

The makers of the Protoaurignacian and implications for Neandertal extinction

Authors:

Benazzi et al

Abstract:

The Protoaurignacian culture is pivotal to the debate about the timing of the arrival of modern humans in western Europe and the demise of Neandertals. However, which group is responsible for this culture remains uncertain. We investigated dental remains associated with the Protoaurignacian. The lower deciduous incisor from Riparo Bombrini is modern human, based on its morphology. The upper deciduous incisor from Grotta di Fumane contains ancient mitochondrial DNA of a modern human type. These teeth are the oldest human remains in an Aurignacian-related archaeological context, confirming that by 41,000 calendar years before the present, modern humans bearing Protoaurignacian culture spread into southern Europe. Because the last Neandertals date to 41,030 to 39,260 calendar years before the present, we suggest that the Protoaurignacian triggered the demise of Neandertals in this area.

Implications of Recycled Bifaces and Shifting Hunting Strategies at Le Moustier by Neandertals

MTA-B or not to be? Recycled bifaces and shifting hunting strategies at Le Moustier and their implication for the late Middle Palaeolithic in southwestern France

Authors:

Gravina et al

Abstract:

Explaining late Middle Palaeolithic industrial variability remains a topic of great interest for researchers focusing on aspects of Neanderthal behavioural complexity and the so-called Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic ‘transition.’ Several sites in southwestern France figure prominently in these discussions, including the eponymous site of Le Moustier (Dordogne, France), one of the ‘key’ sequences used in larger anthropological models. Here we present a re-assessment of this important site based on a technological and taphonomic re-evaluation of previously studied collections combined with an analysis of unpublished archaeological material, which includes both lithic and faunal components. Our study produces a very different interpretation of the 'classic' Le Moustier sequence, challenging previous cultural attributions in a way that significantly impacts current debates surrounding the proposed Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition (MTA) – Châtelperronian affiliation. This new interpretation highlights independent changes in lithic technology and subsistence strategies that were previously undetected as well as a novel aspect of Neanderthal raw material use. Finally, we discuss how this new vision has important ramifications for broader issues connected to the definition of late Mousterian techno-complexes, such as the MTA, and the identification of relationships between technology, subsistence, and mobility strategies.

Lomekwian Stone Age: Stone Tools Predate The Genus Homo by 800 Thousand Years

3.3-million-year-old stone tools from Lomekwi 3, West Turkana, Kenya

Authors:

Harmand et al

Abstract:

Human evolutionary scholars have long supposed that the earliest stone tools were made by the genus Homo and that this technological development was directly linked to climate change and the spread of savannah grasslands. New fieldwork in West Turkana, Kenya, has identified evidence of much earlier hominin technological behaviour. We report the discovery of Lomekwi 3, a 3.3-million-year-old archaeological site where in situ stone artefacts occur in spatiotemporal association with Pliocene hominin fossils in a wooded palaeoenvironment. The Lomekwi 3 knappers, with a developing understanding of stone’s fracture properties, combined core reduction with battering activities. Given the implications of the Lomekwi 3 assemblage for models aiming to converge environmental change, hominin evolution and technological origins, we propose for it the name ‘Lomekwian’, which predates the Oldowan by 700,000 years and marks a new beginning to the known archaeological record.

Madjedbebe: a Pleistocene Quaternary Site Older Than 50k Years Old in Australia Suggesting Different Culture

The archaeology, chronology and stratigraphy of Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II): A site in northern Australia with early occupation

Authors:

Clarkson et al

Abstract:

Published ages of greater than 50 ka for occupation at Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II) in Australia's north have kept the site prominent in discussions about the colonisation of Sahul. The site also contains one of the largest stone artefact assemblages in Sahul for this early period. However, the stone artefacts and other important archaeological components of the site have never been described in detail, leading to persistent doubts about its stratigraphic integrity. We report on our analysis of the stone artefacts and faunal and other materials recovered during the 1989 excavations, as well as the stratigraphy and depositional history recorded by the original excavators. We demonstrate that the technology and raw materials of the early assemblage are distinctive from those in the overlying layers. Silcrete and quartzite artefacts are common in the early assemblage, which also includes edge-ground axe fragments and ground haematite. The lower flaked stone assemblage is distinctive, comprising a mix of long convergent flakes, some radial flakes with faceted platforms, and many small thin silcrete flakes that we interpret as thinning flakes. Residue and use-wear analysis indicate occasional grinding of haematite and woodworking, as well as frequent abrading of platform edges on thinning flakes. We conclude that previous claims of extensive displacement of artefacts and post-depositional disturbance may have been overstated. The stone artefacts and stratigraphic details support previous claims for human occupation 50–60 ka and show that human occupation during this time differed from later periods. We discuss the implications of these new data for understanding the first human colonisation of Sahul.

Evidence of Butchered Elephant on Stone Tools From Pleistocene Quaternary Israel

Fat Residue and Use-Wear Found on Acheulian Biface and Scraper Associated with Butchered Elephant Remains at the Site of Revadim, Israel

Authors:

Solodenko et al

Abstract:

The archaeological record indicates that elephants must have played a significant role in early human diet and culture during Palaeolithic times in the Old World. However, the nature of interactions between early humans and elephants is still under discussion. Elephant remains are found in Palaeolithic sites, both open-air and cave sites, in Europe, Asia, the Levant, and Africa. In some cases elephant and mammoth remains indicate evidence for butchering and marrow extraction performed by humans. Revadim Quarry (Israel) is a Late Acheulian site where elephant remains were found in association with characteristic Lower Palaeolithic flint tools. In this paper we present results regarding the use of Palaeolithic tools in processing animal carcasses and rare identification of fat residue preserved on Lower Palaeolithic tools. Our results shed new light on the use of Palaeolithic stone tools and provide, for the first time, direct evidence (residue) of animal exploitation through the use of an Acheulian biface and a scraper. The association of an elephant rib bearing cut marks with these tools may reinforce the view suggesting the use of Palaeolithic stone tools in the consumption of large game.

Humans Have Less Retrovirus Remnants in Genome, may be Linked to Developing Tool Use

Humans have fewer remnants of viral DNA in their genes compared to other mammals, a new study has found. This decrease could be because of reduced exposure to blood-borne viruses as humans evolved to use tools rather than biting during violent conflict and the hunting of animals.

Despite natural defence systems, a retrovirus occasionally infects a mammal's egg or sperm, and the virus's genetic code gets incorporated into the animal's own genome. This viral 'fossil' then passes down from generation to generation: we all carry remnants of DNA from viruses that infected our ancestors millions of years ago. These 'endogenous retroviruses' (ERVs) appear not to cause us any harm, even though they are known to result in diseases such as cancer in other animals.

A team of researchers from the University of Oxford and Plymouth University, UK, and the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, USA, wondered if there was a combination of factors unique to humans that explained why these viral fossils in our genomes remain benign. They counted the number of times that retroviruses appear to have been integrated into an animal's genome in humans, comparing humans with 39 other mammalian species, including chimpanzees, dolphins and giant pandas.

Reporting their results in the journal Retrovirology, the researchers compared the genetic signature of the two edges of the virus. These edges are identical when the virus first invades the genome, but as they acquire random mutations over time, they slowly begin to diverge. By tracking this divergence, the research team could measure how long the retrovirus had spent in an animal's genome.

Using this measure, they found that, compared to other animals, far fewer retroviruses were incorporated into the genome for humans and other apes over the last 10 million years. Even compared to animals very similar to us, humans are unusual in not having acquired any new types of retroviruses into their DNA over the last 30 million years.

link.

Did Stone Tools Help Drive Human/Hominin Evolution?

Two and a half million years ago, our hominin ancestors in the African savanna crafted rocks into shards that could slice apart a dead gazelle, zebra or other game animal. Over the next 700,000 years, this butchering technology spread throughout the continent and, it turns out, came to be a major evolutionary force, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Liverpool and the University of St. Andrews, both in the UK.

Combining the tools of psychology, evolutionary biology and archaeology, scientists have found compelling evidence for the co-evolution of early Stone Age slaughtering tools and our ability to communicate and teach, shedding new light on the power of human culture to shape evolution.

To be reported Jan. 13 in the journal Nature Communications, the study is the largest to date to look at gene-culture co-evolution in the context of prehistoric Oldowan tools, the oldest-known cutting devices. It suggests communication among our earliest ancestors may be more complex than previously thought, with teaching and perhaps even a primitive proto-language occurring some 1.8 million years ago.

"Our findings suggest that stone tools weren't just a product of human evolution, but actually drove it as well, creating the evolutionary advantage necessary for the development of modern human communication and teaching," said Thomas Morgan, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in psychology at UC Berkeley.

"Our data show this process was ongoing two and a half million years ago, which allows us to consider a very drawn-out and gradual evolution of the modern human capacity for language and suggests simple 'proto-languages' might be older than we previously thought," Morgan added.

link.

Stone Tools Found From Calabrian Pleistocene Quaternary Turkey

Scientists have discovered the oldest recorded stone tool ever to be found in Turkey, revealing that humans passed through the gateway from Asia to Europe much earlier than previously thought, approximately 1.2 million years ago.

According to research published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews, the chance find of a humanly-worked quartzite flake, in ancient deposits of the river Gediz, in western Turkey, provides a major new insight into when and how early humans dispersed out of Africa and Asia.

Researchers from Royal Holloway, University of London, together with an international team from the UK, Turkey and the Netherlands, used high-precision equipment to date the deposits of the ancient river meander, giving the first accurate timeframe for when humans occupied the area.

Professor Danielle Schreve, from the Department of Geography at Royal Holloway, said: "This discovery is critical for establishing the timing and route of early human dispersal into Europe. Our research suggests that the flake is the earliest securely-dated artefact from Turkey ever recorded and was dropped on the floodplain by an early hominin well over a million years ago."

The researchers used high-precision radioisotopic dating and palaeomagnetic measurements from lava flows, which both pre-date and post-date the meander, to establish that early humans were present in the area between approximately 1.24 million and 1.17 million years ago. Previously, the oldest hominin fossils in western Turkey were recovered in 2007 at Koçabas, but the dating of these and other stone tool finds were uncertain.

link.

Evidence from Paleolithic (Pleistocene Quaternary) Manot Cave, Israel of Heat Treating Stone Tools

Heating of flint debitage from Upper Palaeolithic contexts at Manot Cave, Israel: changes in atomic organization due to heating using infrared spectroscopy

Authors:

Weiner et al

Abstract:

The heat treatment of flint is known to change its mechanical properties and improve its fracture behaviour during knapping. Here we examine 20 flint artifacts from Upper Paleolithic contexts from Manot Cave, Israel, using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and compare them to geogenic flint beds from the walls inside the cave and from outcrops just above the cave. We show that the 512 and 467 cm−1 peaks are broader in most of the flint debitage pieces as compared to the geogenic flint, and that broadening of these peaks occurs when geogenic flint from the cave wall is heated. We also present an empirical simple method to monitor these changes.