EVOLUTION OF THE LOWER PALEOLITHIC IN EAST AND NORTH AFRICA (2.6-0.2 MA): IMPLICATIONS FOR THE COMPORTEMENTAL, COGNITIVE AND BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OF THE FIRST HOMO AND H ERECTUS (Q3146544)
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Project Q3146544 in Spain
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | EVOLUTION OF THE LOWER PALEOLITHIC IN EAST AND NORTH AFRICA (2.6-0.2 MA): IMPLICATIONS FOR THE COMPORTEMENTAL, COGNITIVE AND BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OF THE FIRST HOMO AND H ERECTUS |
Project Q3146544 in Spain |
Statements
60,500.0 Euro
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121,000.0 Euro
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50.0 percent
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1 January 2019
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31 December 2021
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CONSORCIO PARA CONSTRUCCION EQUIPAMIENTO Y EXPLOT DEL CENTRO NAC INVESTIGAC SOBRE EVOLUCION HUMANA
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42°20'38.15"N, 3°41'49.13"W
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09059
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LOS YACIMIENTOS DE GONA (E. AFRICA), Y DE AIN HANECH, TIGHENNIF Y TABELBALA-TACHENGHIT (N. AFRICA) SON CLAVES PARA COMPRENDER LA EVOLUCION BIOLOGICA, COMPORTAMENTAL Y COGNITIVA DE LOS ANCESTROS HUMANOS DEL PLEISTOCENO INFERIOR. LAS EXCAVACIONES DESARROLLADAS EN AMBOS YACIMIENTOS HAN PROPORCIONADO LAS EVIDENCIAS MAS ANTIGUAS DE INDUSTRIA LITICA OLDUVAYENSE, 2.6 MILLONES DE AÑOS (MA) EN GONA Y ~2.4 MA EN AIN HANECH. LOS DEPOSITOS FOSILIFEROS DE GONA SE REMONTAN HASTA ~6.0 MA, CON UN GRAN NUMERO DE RESTOS DE HOMININOS (ARDIPITHECUS KADABBA ~6.0 MA, AR. RAMIDUS ~4.5 MA). LOS DEPOSITOS ARQUEOLOGICOS MAS ANTIGUOS EN GONA (~2.6-1.5 MA) AUN NO HAN PROPORCIONADO RESTOS HUMANOS, PERO SI SE HAN ENCONTRADO CRANEOS DE HOMO ERECTUS ANTIGUO Y RECIENTE ASOCIADOS AL ACHELENSE (~1.5-0.2 MA). DE IGUAL MANERA, LOS DEPOSITOS FOSILIFEROS DE AIN HANECH SE REMONTAN HASTA HACE 3.0 MA, PERO NO HAN PROPORCIONADO POR EL MOMENTO RESTOS HUMANOS EN LOS CONTEXTOS OLDUVAYENSES Y ACHELENSES (~2.4-1.6 MA). NO OBSTANTE, EN EL YACIMIENTO DE TIGHENNIF SE RECUPERO EN LA DECADA DE 1950 RESTOS DE MANDIBULAS Y UN PARIETAL DE H. ERECTUS ASOCIADO AL ACHELENSE ~1.0-0.8 MA. _x000D_ PARA COMPLETAR ESTOS VACIOS QUE LASTRAN NUESTRA COMPRENSION ACERCA DE LA EVOLUCION BIOLOGICA Y COMPORTAMENTAL DE NUESTROS ANCESTROS, ES NECESARIO DESARROLLAR NUEVOS TRABAJOS DE CAMPO. LA PARTICULARIDAD DE GONA Y DE AIN HANECH DERIVA DE QUE EN AMBOS SITIOS SE DOCUMENTAN ARTEFACTOS LITICOS QUE MUESTRAN AVANCES TECNOLOGICOS ENTRE 2.6-2.0 MA, AVANCES QUE NO ESTAN PRESENTES HASTA ~ 1.8 MA EN OTROS PUNTOS DE AFRICA (P. EJ. OLDUVAI O KOOBI FORA). POR OTRO LADO, NUESTRO CONOCIMIENTO DE LA EVOLUCION BIOLOGICA DE LOS PRIMEROS REPRESENTANTES DEL GENERO HOMO ESTA BASADO EN UNA EXIGUA EVIDENCIA PROVENIENTE DEL E. DE AFRICA. EL PRIMER HOMO EN AFRICA DATA DE ~2.8 MA, POSTERIORMENTE SE CONOCE OTRO CONJUNTO DE RESTOS ENTRE ~2.5-2.3 MA, PERO NO HAY NINGUN RESTO FOSIL EN EL PERIODO CRITICO ENTRE ~2.3-2.0 MA. CURIOSAMENTE PARA ESTE INTERVALO DE TIEMPO APENAS HAY EVIDENCIAS ARQUEOLOGICAS FUERA DE GONA, LO QUE DIFICULTA LA CARACTERIZACION DE LOS AVANCES COGNITIVOS DE ESTOS PRIMEROS HOMO. ADEMAS, TENIENDO EN CUENTA, TRAS EL DESCUBRIMIENTO DE RESTOS DE INDUSTRIA OLDUVAYENSE EN DMANISI (REPUBLICA DE GEORGIA) HACE 1.85 MA, QUE EL ANCESTRO INMEDIATO A H. ERECTUS DEBIO ABANDONAR AFRICA HACE UNOS 2 MA O INCLUSO ANTES, Y QUE ESTA PRIMERA MIGRACION SE DIO ANTES DEL SURGIMIENTO DEL ACHELENSE, ESTA AUN POR DETERMINAR SI LOS PRIMEROS HOMO (H. RUDOLFENSIS/H. HABILIS) PRECEDEN A H. ERECTUS/ERGASTER O SI AMBOS GRUPOS CONVIVIERON ENTRE 2.0-1.5 MA._x000D_ ES POR ELLO QUE GONA Y DE AIN HANECH PROPORCIONAN UNA OPORTUNIDAD UNICA PARA COMPRENDER LA EVOLUCION BIOLOGICA Y COMPORTAMENTAL DE NUESTROS ANCESTROS ENTRE ~3.0 Y 0.2 MA. MAS AUN, A PESAR DEL GRAN NUMERO DE CONJUNTOS ACHELENSES DOCUMENTADOS EN AFRICA (~1.75-0.2 MA), NUESTRO CONOCIMIENTO ACERCA DE LA FUNCION DE ESTA INDUSTRIA SIGUE SIENDO LIMITADA, EN PARTE POR LA ESCASEZ DE ARQUEOFAUNA BIEN CONSERVADA. POR EJEMPLO DESCONOCEMOS PORQUE LOS BIFACES ACHELENSES SE REFINAN PROGRESIVAMENTE MIENTRAS QUE OTROS UTILES COMO LOS PICOS SE MANTIENEN MUY SEMEJANTES. LOS TRABAJOS DE CAMPO DE GONA Y DE AIN HANECH NOS PROPORCIONARAN EVIDENCIAS PARA COMPRENDER LOS DESARROLLOS COGNITIVOS DE H. ERECTUS Y DESMADEJAR LA COMPLEJIDAD DE LOS AVANCES EVOLUTIVOS DE NUESTROS ANCESTROS EN LOS ULTIMOS 3 MILLONES DE AÑOS. (Spanish)
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GONA IN EAST AFRICA AND AIN HANECH (WITH TIGHENNIF AND TABELBALA-TACHENGHIT) IN NORTH AFRICA ARE TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PALAEOANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH AREAS FOR INVESTIGATING THE BIOLOGICAL, BEHAVIOURAL AND COGNITIVE EVOLUTION OF EARLY PLEISTOCENE HUMAN ANCESTORS. CONTINUED EXCAVATIONS AT BOTH SITES HAVE PRODUCED THE EARLIEST OLDOWAN STONE ARTEFACTS. THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIALS AT GONA, DATED TO 2.6 MILLION YEARS AGO (MA) REPRESENT THE EARLIEST OLDOWAN, AND THOSE AT AIN HANECH DATED TO ~2.4 MA, ARE CURRENTLY THE EARLIEST IN NORTH AFRICA. THE FOSSIL-BEARING DEPOSITS AT GONA STRETCH BACK TO ~6.0 MA, WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF HOMININS (ARDIPITHECUS KADABBA ~6.0 MA, AR. RAMIDUS ~4.5 MA). THE GONA DEPOSITS (~2.6-1.5 MA) HAVE YET TO PRODUCE HOMININS, BUT EARLY AND LATE HOMO ERECTUS CRANIA ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACHEULIAN HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED ~1.5-0.2 MA. SIMILARLY, THE FOSSIL-BEARING DEPOSITS AT AIN HANECH DATE BACK TO 3.0 MA, BUT HOMININS HAVE YET TO BE FOUND IN THE OLDOWAN AND ACHEULIAN-BEARING LAYERS (~2.4-1.6 MA), ALTHOUGH IN THE 1950S TIGHENNIF HAS PRODUCED H. ERECTUS MANDIBLES AND A PARIETAL ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACHEULIAN ~1.0-0.8 MA. _x000D_ FIELD EXCAVATIONS ARE NEEDED FOR FILLING IN MISSING GAPS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE BEHAVIOURAL AND BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OUR ANCESTORS. UNIQUE TO BOTH GONA AND AIN HANECH IS THE FACT THAT BOTH SITES CONTAIN STONE ARTEFACTS SHOWING TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN THE 2.6-2.0 MA TIME INTERVAL, WHICH IS SEEN ~ 1.8 MA OR LATER ELSEWHERE IN AFRICA (E.G., OLDUVAI IN TANZANIA AND KOOBI FORA IN KENYA). MOREOVER, OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OF EARLY HOMO IS BASED ON MEAGER EVIDENCE, MAINLY GATHERED IN EAST AFRICA. THE EARLIEST HOMO IN AFRICA IS DATED TO ~2.8 MA, WITH THE NEXT SET OF EARLY HOMO FOSSILS KNOWN ONLY ~2.5-2.3 MA, LEAVING THE CRITICAL TIME INTERVAL ~2.3-2.0 MA VOID IN TERMS OF HOMININ FOSSIL RECORD. INTERESTINGLY, VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ARCHAEOLOGICALLY ~2.3-2.0 MA, AND ONLY A FEW LOCALITIES FROM GONA HAVE YIELDED STONE ARTEFACTS TO CHARACTERIZE HOMININ COGNITIVE ADVANCES. THIS REMARKABLE, BUT TOTALLY UNKNOWN TIME INTERVAL NEEDS FOCUSED MULTI-DISCIPLINARY FIELD INVESTIGATIONS, AS IT IS CLEAR NOW (I.E. BASED ON THE 1.85 MA OLDOWAN ARTEFACTS DOCUMENTED AT DMANISI, IN THE REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA) THAT THE IMMEDIATE ANCESTOR OF H. ERECTUS MUST HAVE LEFT THE AFRICAN CONTINENT ~2.0 MA OR EARLIER, AND PRIOR TO THE EMERGENCE OF THE ACHEULIAN. AS A RESULT, IT REMAINS UNCLEAR WHETHER OR NOT EARLY HOMO (H. RUDOLFENSIS/H. HABILIS) AND H. ERECTUS/ERGASTER ARE TIME-SUCCESSIVE OR LIVED SIDE-BY-SIDE (I.E. 2.0-1.5 MA). _x000D_ THUS, THE GONA AND AIN HANECH DEPOSITS COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER, AND WITH PROVEN RECORD FOR PROVIDING UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR INVESTIGATING THE BEHAVIOURAL AND BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OF OUR ANCESTORS ~3.0-0.2 MA. FURTHER, DESPITE THE LARGE NUMBER OF ACHEULIAN ASSEMBLAGES (WITH HANDAXES, PICKS AND CLEAVERS) DOCUMENTED ACROSS MUCH OF AFRICA (~1.75-0.2 MA), OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE FUNCTION OF THESE ARTEFACTS IS VERY LIMITED, MAINLY DUE TO LACK OF ASSOCIATED WELL-PRESERVED ARCHAEOFAUNA. AS A RESULT, VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN REGARDING WHY ACHEULIAN BIFACES WERE PROGRESSIVELY REFINED THROUGH TIME, WHILE THE PICKS REMAINED THE SAME. THE GONA AND AIN HANECH FIELD EXCAVATIONS CAN PROVIDE IMPORTANT CLUES FOR UNDERSTANDING OF THE COGNITIVE ADVANCES MADE BY H. ERECTUS. THUS, A MULTI-COMPONENT FIELD INVESTIGATION IS WARRANTED AT GONA AND AIN HANECH TO UNRAVEL THE 3.0 MILLION-YEAR EVOLUTIONARY ADVANCES MADE BY OUR ANCESTORS. (English)
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Burgos
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Identifiers
PGC2018-095489-B-I00
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