Human Remains from the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition of Southwest China Suggest a Complex Evolutionary History for East Asians

BACKGROUND: Later Pleistocene human evolution in East Asia remains poorly understood owing to a scarcity of well described, reliably classified and accurately dated fossils. Southwest China has been identified from genetic research as a hotspot of human diversity, containing ancient mtDNA and Y-DNA lineages, and has yielded a number of human remains thought to derive from Pleistocene deposits. We have prepared, reconstructed, described and dated a new partial skull from a consolidated sediment block collected in 1979 from the site of Longlin Cave (Guangxi Province). We also undertook new excavations at Maludong (Yunnan Province) to clarify the stratigraphy and dating of a large sample of mostly undescribed human remains from the site. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We undertook a detailed comparison of cranial, including a virtual endocast for the Maludong calotte, mandibular and dental remains from these two localities. Both samples probably derive from the same population, exhibiting an unusual mixture of modern human traits, characters probably plesiomorphic for later Homo, and some unusual features. We dated charcoal with AMS radiocarbon dating and speleothem with the Uranium-series technique and the results show both samples to be from the Pleistocene-Holocene transition: ∼14.3-11.5 ka. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our analysis suggests two plausible explanations for the morphology sampled at Longlin Cave and Maludong. First, it may represent a late-surviving archaic population, perhaps paralleling the situation seen in North Africa as indicated by remains from Dar-es-Soltane and Temara, and maybe also in southern China at Zhirendong. Alternatively, East Asia may have been colonised during multiple waves during the Pleistocene, with the Longlin-Maludong morphology possibly reflecting deep population substructure in Africa prior to modern humans dispersing into Eurasia

A contribution to the question of early Homo in southern Africa : researches into dating, taxonomy and phylogeny reconstruction

The origin of genus Homo is a core problem in contemporary palaeoanthropology. Most research in early hominid studies has hitherto focussed on the bearing of East African hominids on this problem. This dissertation examines the importance of southern African early Homo to this question, and provides a comprehensive assessment of the age, morphology, taxonomic status and evolutionary relationships of these fossils. This study establishes the reliability of electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of tooth enamel for samples from South African early hominid cave sites. These sites are characterised by a number of geological and geochemical factors, including low sample uranium concentrations, which allow for the dating of Upper Pliocene and Lower Pleistocene samples with this method. Given sufficient understanding o f the depositional history and provenance of fossil teeth, age estimates can be derived which are consistent with established views of the antiquity of early hominids from these deposits. This study marks the first comprehensive numerical dating of the sites of Sterkfontein and Swartkrans, and experimental dating of Kromdraai and Gladysvale. It also combines the first direct dating of australopithecine remains to provide the first chronological framework for early hominid evolution in southern Africa based on numerical dating. Remains from Sterkfontein previously attributed to A. africanus, but H. africanus in this study, are dated from around 3.0 to 2.0 Ma. Homo habilis from Sterkfontein, or Homo sp. nov. in this study, is dated around 1.6-1.7 Ma. Paranthropus robustus (SKW 11) from the “Hanging Remnant” of Member 1 of the Swartkrans Formation has been directly dated in this study to around 2.0-2.1 Ma. The estimated age of SKW 11, and faunal samples from this unit, provide an inferential age for early Homo from the “Hanging Remnant” of around 2.0 Ma. ESR dating of the hominid bearing unit of the Kromdraai B cave site suggests P. robustus survived well into the Middle Pleistocene. If the single tooth dated in this study is representative of the stratigraphic unit as a whole, then Paranthropus may have gone extinct after 1.0 Ma, and possibly as late as 800 ka. ESR dates for Kromdraai A suggest an age of around 1.6 to 2.0 Ma, which is consistent with faunal estimates for this site (Vrba, 1985a; Delson, 1984, 1988). A ‘blind’ ESR dating study of the Gladysvale cave site provides an internally consistent chronology, suggesting an age range of around 320 ka to 2.2 Ma. Considerable support has been found in this study for the inclusion of fossils previously assigned to the taxon A. africanus to Homo. This has a number of important implications for contemporary views of hominid evolution, including a Southern African origin for genus Homo, an origin of Homo greater than 3.0 Ma, and invalidity of genus Australopithecus. Early Homo from southern Africa appears to be very distinct from taxa sampled in East Africa during the same time period. The southern African sample appears to be taxonomically heterogenous, containing separate Homo taxa at Sterkfontein and Swartkrans. It also appears to contain the ancestor of H. habilis, Homo aff. H. habilis, a taxon which includes SK 847 and SK 15 from Swartkrans. The Sterkfontein Homo remains Stw 53 are herein assigned to Homo sp. nov., and possess a morphology consistent with ancestral status to Homo aff. H. habilis. The bearing of southern Africa on questions of fundamental importance to contemporary palaeoanthropology is immense. The results of this study suggest Homo first appeared in this region; that it provided the ancestor of H habilis from Olduvai Gorge, a species which appears to be the ancestor of H. ergaster and H. erectus\ and it documents the survival of australopithecines well into the Middle Pleistocene. Many important questions about the origins and subsequent diversification of Homo, the human genus, and our australopithecine cousins, may ultimately be resolved in southern Africa

Naturalism, nature and questions of style in Jinsha River rock art, Northwest Yunnan, China

The naturalistic rock art of Yunnan Province is poorly known outside of China despite two decades of investigation by local researchers. The authors report on the first major international study of this art, its place in antiquity and its resemblance to some of the rock art of Europe, southern Africa and elsewhere. While not arguing a direct connection between China, Europe and other widely separated places, this article suggests that rock-art studies about the nature of style, culture contact and the transmission of iconography across space and time need to take better account of the results of neuroscience research, similar economic/ecological circumstances and the probability of independent invention

Uranium-series age estimates for rock art in southwest China

We report the first uranium-series age estimates for rock art in China. Calcite bracketing a paint layer was used to constrain the age of a naturalistic outline hunter-gatherer painting in the Jinsha River area of northwest Yunnan Province (southwest China). The rock paintings in this region are unique in style and content compared with other bodies of rock art in China, which are dominated by Neolithic subject matter. The minimum and maximum ages were determined using isochron techniques on multiple samples of calcite from above and beneath the paint layer. A large painted deer head was dated to between 5738 and 2050 years. This painting and underlying flowstone are superimposed on older paintings that suggest the older paintings are at least 3400 years old, if not older than 5738 years. The results indicate for the first time that Jinsha River rock art is older than other forms of rock art in the region and show that rock art likely extends back to at least the transition from the Palaeolithic to Neolithic in this part of China

Assessment of the release of rehabilitated vervet monkeys into the Ntendeka Wilderness Area, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a case study

In South Africa, vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) are frequently persecuted, resulting in large numbers of injured and/or orphaned animals. Rehabilitation centres aim to care for these monkeys and ultimately return them to the wild whenever possible. However, it is unknown whether rehabilitation is successful in its goal of creating wild-living, independent, self-sustaining troops due to limited published research in this area. This study describes the release and subsequent fate of a troop of rehabilitated vervet monkeys over a 6-month period. A troop of 16 monkeys was released into the Ntendeka Wilderness Area, a protected part of Ngome Forest, by the WATCH (Wild Animal Trauma Centre and Haven) rehabilitation centre in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Monitoring data were evaluated with regard to survival, mortality, suitability of the release site, breeding, condition, troop composition, behaviour, group dynamics, ranging patterns and the effectiveness of monitoring tools. The release was considered to be a partial success in that the troop exhibited behaviour, group dynamics and ranging patterns similar to wild conspecifics. However, the survival rate was low and the troop was judged to be non-self-sustaining. The main problems identified were the limited lifetimes of radio collars, which resulted in missing animals and caused monitoring to be cut short, illegal hunting activities, predation and a small troop size with few adults. The authors recommend improvements that may increase success, such as retaining troops in release enclosures for longer periods, releasing a larger troop with more adults that more closely matches wild troop composition, selecting a release site at least 3 km from the nearest human settlement and the use of GPS collars to allow for a longer monitoring period encompassing all seasonal conditions. Furthermore, all primates for release should be medically screened so as to avoid potential negative impacts on wild populations

Guidelines for the Rehabilitation and Release of Vervet Monkeys

In South Africa, conflict between humans and vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) has led to large numbers of the species coming into care in rehabilitation centers. An accumulation of displaced vervet monkeys in such centers has necessitated the process of troop formation and release. To date, the quality of methods used has been variable, as have the outcomes of rehabilitation and release efforts. Here we present proposed guidelines for the rehabilitation and release of vervet monkeys based on studies of vervet monkey rehabilitation, behavior and biology, in conjunction with existing guidelines for nonhuman primate reintroductions produced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The aim of these guidelines is to facilitate improved rehabilitation, release, and post-release monitoring and assessment, with the ultimate goal of improving release outcomes

A survey of current mammal rehabilitation and release practices

Mammal rehabilitation is carried out in hundreds of centres worldwide, requiring a large investment of time, personnel and funds. Although there are numerous published studies focusing on post-release outcomes, few have discussed the methods employed in rehabilitation. As an important first step toward addressing this, data were collected directly from rehabilitation centres about their aims, methods employed and assessment of outcomes. A survey of mammal rehabilitation centres was conducted with data collected in the form of responses to multiple-choice questions and written responses. Our results indicated a number of challenges, including: problems surrounding social group formation, lack of predator avoidance training, limited or no pre-release medical screening, release of animals exhibiting stereotypic behaviours, frequently short-term (<6 months) post-release monitoring, with only a third of centres assessing the success of releases. Although many factors may influence the success of rehabilitation, improvements to monitoring and assessment are needed before the effects of any changes to protocols could be determined. Extended post-release monitoring and thorough assessment should be a part of any future mammal rehabilitation projects. With a view to improving the rehabilitation phase, we have developed a decision tree to assist the assessment of mammals at each stage of the rehabilitation process. This could be easily adapted to create detailed species-specific models in the future