Contemporaneity of australopithecus, paranthropus, and early homo erectus in South Africa

Andy I.R. Herries; Jesse M. Martin; A. B. Leece; Justin W. Adams; Giovanni Boschian; Renaud Joannes-Boyau; Tara R. Edwards; Tom Mallett; Jason Massey; Ashleigh Murszewski; Simon Neubauer; Robyn Pickering; David S. Strait; Brian J. Armstrong; Stephanie Baker; Matthew V. Caruana; Tim Denham; John Hellstrom; Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi; Simon Mokobane; Paul Penzo-Kajewski; Douglass S. Rovinsky; Gary T. Schwartz; Rhiannon C. Stammers; Coen Wilson; Jon Woodhead; Colin Menter

doi:10.1126/science.aaw7293

Contemporaneity of australopithecus, paranthropus, and early homo erectus in South Africa

Andy I.R. Herries, Jesse M. Martin, A. B. Leece, Justin W. Adams, Giovanni Boschian, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Tara R. Edwards, Tom Mallett, Jason Massey, Ashleigh Murszewski, Simon Neubauer, Robyn Pickering, David S. Strait, Brian J. Armstrong, Stephanie Baker, Matthew V. Caruana, Tim Denham, John Hellstrom, Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi, Simon MokobanePaul Penzo-Kajewski, Douglass S. Rovinsky, Gary T. Schwartz, Rhiannon C. Stammers, Coen Wilson, Jon Woodhead, Colin Menter

Paleo Research Institute

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

97 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Understanding the extinction of Australopithecus and origins of Paranthropus and Homo in South Africa has been hampered by the perceived complex geological context of hominin fossils, poor chronological resolution, and a lack of well-preserved early Homo specimens. We describe, date, and contextualize the discovery of two hominin crania from Drimolen Main Quarry in South Africa. At ~2.04 million to 1.95 million years old, DNH 152 represents the earliest definitive occurrence of Paranthropus robustus, and DNH 134 represents the earliest occurrence of a cranium with clear affinities to Homo erectus. These crania also show that Homo, Paranthropus, and Australopithecus were contemporaneous at ~2 million years ago. This high taxonomic diversity is also reflected in non-hominin species and provides evidence of endemic evolution and dispersal during a period of climatic variability.

Original language	English
Article number	eaaw7293
Journal	Science
Volume	368
Issue number	6486
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw7293
Publication status	Published - 3 Apr 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Multidisciplinary

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Herries, A. I. R., Martin, J. M., Leece, A. B., Adams, J. W., Boschian, G., Joannes-Boyau, R., Edwards, T. R., Mallett, T., Massey, J., Murszewski, A., Neubauer, S., Pickering, R., Strait, D. S., Armstrong, B. J., Baker, S., Caruana, M. V., Denham, T., Hellstrom, J., Moggi-Cecchi, J., ... Menter, C. (2020). Contemporaneity of australopithecus, paranthropus, and early homo erectus in South Africa. Science, 368(6486), Article eaaw7293. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw7293

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title = "Contemporaneity of australopithecus, paranthropus, and early homo erectus in South Africa",

abstract = "Understanding the extinction of Australopithecus and origins of Paranthropus and Homo in South Africa has been hampered by the perceived complex geological context of hominin fossils, poor chronological resolution, and a lack of well-preserved early Homo specimens. We describe, date, and contextualize the discovery of two hominin crania from Drimolen Main Quarry in South Africa. At ~2.04 million to 1.95 million years old, DNH 152 represents the earliest definitive occurrence of Paranthropus robustus, and DNH 134 represents the earliest occurrence of a cranium with clear affinities to Homo erectus. These crania also show that Homo, Paranthropus, and Australopithecus were contemporaneous at ~2 million years ago. This high taxonomic diversity is also reflected in non-hominin species and provides evidence of endemic evolution and dispersal during a period of climatic variability.",

author = "Herries, {Andy I.R.} and Martin, {Jesse M.} and Leece, {A. B.} and Adams, {Justin W.} and Giovanni Boschian and Renaud Joannes-Boyau and Edwards, {Tara R.} and Tom Mallett and Jason Massey and Ashleigh Murszewski and Simon Neubauer and Robyn Pickering and Strait, {David S.} and Armstrong, {Brian J.} and Stephanie Baker and Caruana, {Matthew V.} and Tim Denham and John Hellstrom and Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi and Simon Mokobane and Paul Penzo-Kajewski and Rovinsky, {Douglass S.} and Schwartz, {Gary T.} and Stammers, {Rhiannon C.} and Coen Wilson and Jon Woodhead and Colin Menter",

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doi = "10.1126/science.aaw7293",

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Herries, AIR, Martin, JM, Leece, AB, Adams, JW, Boschian, G, Joannes-Boyau, R, Edwards, TR, Mallett, T, Massey, J, Murszewski, A, Neubauer, S, Pickering, R, Strait, DS, Armstrong, BJ, Baker, S, Caruana, MV, Denham, T, Hellstrom, J, Moggi-Cecchi, J, Mokobane, S, Penzo-Kajewski, P, Rovinsky, DS, Schwartz, GT, Stammers, RC, Wilson, C, Woodhead, J & Menter, C 2020, 'Contemporaneity of australopithecus, paranthropus, and early homo erectus in South Africa', Science, vol. 368, no. 6486, eaaw7293. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw7293

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AU - Herries, Andy I.R.

AU - Martin, Jesse M.

AU - Leece, A. B.

AU - Adams, Justin W.

AU - Boschian, Giovanni

AU - Joannes-Boyau, Renaud

AU - Edwards, Tara R.

AU - Mallett, Tom

AU - Massey, Jason

AU - Murszewski, Ashleigh

AU - Neubauer, Simon

AU - Pickering, Robyn

AU - Strait, David S.

AU - Armstrong, Brian J.

AU - Baker, Stephanie

AU - Caruana, Matthew V.

AU - Denham, Tim

AU - Hellstrom, John

AU - Moggi-Cecchi, Jacopo

AU - Mokobane, Simon

AU - Penzo-Kajewski, Paul

AU - Rovinsky, Douglass S.

AU - Schwartz, Gary T.

AU - Stammers, Rhiannon C.

AU - Wilson, Coen

AU - Woodhead, Jon

AU - Menter, Colin

PY - 2020/4/3

Y1 - 2020/4/3

N2 - Understanding the extinction of Australopithecus and origins of Paranthropus and Homo in South Africa has been hampered by the perceived complex geological context of hominin fossils, poor chronological resolution, and a lack of well-preserved early Homo specimens. We describe, date, and contextualize the discovery of two hominin crania from Drimolen Main Quarry in South Africa. At ~2.04 million to 1.95 million years old, DNH 152 represents the earliest definitive occurrence of Paranthropus robustus, and DNH 134 represents the earliest occurrence of a cranium with clear affinities to Homo erectus. These crania also show that Homo, Paranthropus, and Australopithecus were contemporaneous at ~2 million years ago. This high taxonomic diversity is also reflected in non-hominin species and provides evidence of endemic evolution and dispersal during a period of climatic variability.

AB - Understanding the extinction of Australopithecus and origins of Paranthropus and Homo in South Africa has been hampered by the perceived complex geological context of hominin fossils, poor chronological resolution, and a lack of well-preserved early Homo specimens. We describe, date, and contextualize the discovery of two hominin crania from Drimolen Main Quarry in South Africa. At ~2.04 million to 1.95 million years old, DNH 152 represents the earliest definitive occurrence of Paranthropus robustus, and DNH 134 represents the earliest occurrence of a cranium with clear affinities to Homo erectus. These crania also show that Homo, Paranthropus, and Australopithecus were contemporaneous at ~2 million years ago. This high taxonomic diversity is also reflected in non-hominin species and provides evidence of endemic evolution and dispersal during a period of climatic variability.

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U2 - 10.1126/science.aaw7293

DO - 10.1126/science.aaw7293

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85082923168

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 368

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 6486

M1 - eaaw7293

ER -

Contemporaneity of australopithecus, paranthropus, and early homo erectus in South Africa

Abstract

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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