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Late Stone Age human remains from Ishango (Democratic Republic of Congo): New insights on Late Pleistocene modern human diversity in Africa
Although questions of modern human origins and dispersal are subject to intense research within and outside Africa, the processes of modern human diversification during the Late Pleistocene are most often discussed within the context of recent human genetic data. This situation is due largely to the dearth of human fossil remains dating to the final Pleistocene in Africa and their almost total absence from West and Central Africa, thus limiting our perception of modern human diversification within Africa before the Holocene.
Here, we present a morphometric comparative analysis of the earliest Late Pleistocene modern human remains from the Central African site of Ishango in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The early Late Stone Age layer (eLSA) of this site, dated to the Last Glacial Maximum (25–20 Ky), contains more than one hundred fragmentary human remains. The exceptional associated archaeological context suggests these remains derived from a community of hunter-fisher-gatherers exhibiting complex social and cognitive behaviors including substantial reliance on aquatic resources, development of fishing technology, possible mathematical notations and repetitive use of space, likely on a seasonal basis.
Comparisons with large samples of Late Pleistocene and early Holocene modern human fossils from Africa and Eurasia show that the Ishango human remains exhibit distinctive characteristics and a higher phenotypic diversity in contrast to recent African populations. In many aspects, as is true for the inner ear conformation, these eLSA human remains have more affinities with Middle to early Late Pleistocene fossils worldwide than with extant local African populations. In addition, cross-sectional geometric properties of the long bones are consistent with archaeological evidence suggesting reduced terrestrial mobility resulting from greater investment in and use of aquatic resources.
Genetic studies of African populations, derived from a growing number of samples and regions (Gurdasani et al., 2015), document extensive migrations, complex interactions and genetic sub-structure within the continent prior to and following the time of the major modern human expansion to other continents (Quintana-Murci et al., 2008, Cox et al., 2009, Tishkoff et al., 2009, Scheinfeldt et al., 2010, Henn et al., 2011, Schlebusch et al., 2012). It has been assumed that modern human populations had outcompeted other more archaic groups within Africa by the time of the expansion. However, recent genetic studies suggest that this assumption was likely false and that archaic groups might have shared the African continent with modern human groups for many millennia, possibly until at least the Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 3 (Hammer et al., 2011, Mendez et al., 2013).
[...]
Recent comparative morphometric studies of some of these remains have suggested a high level of phenotypic diversity (Schillaci, 2008, Gunz et al., 2009, Royer et al., 2009, Harvati and Hublin, 2012, Hublin et al., 2012). However, our understanding of past modern human diversity during the Late Pleistocene in the entire African continent is extremely limited, with no data at all from West and Central Africa, which together characterize the larger part of the African continent.
For the second half of the Late Pleistocene and the period preceding the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (i.e., MIS 3), the only two sites with well preserved and securely dated human remains are Nazlet Khater 2 (38 ± 6 Ky, Egypt; Crevecoeur, 2008) and Hofmeyr (36.2 ± 3.3 Ky, South Africa; Grine et al., 2007). These fossils represent additional evidence for Late Pleistocene phenotypic variability of African sub-groups. The Hofmeyr specimen exhibits the greatest overall similarities to early modern human specimens from Europe rather than to Holocene San populations from the same region (Grine et al., 2007). Moreover, the Nazlet Khater 2 specimen preserves archaic features on the cranium and the mandible more comparable to those of Late Middle Pleistocene and early Late Pleistocene fossils than to chronologically closer recent African populations (Crevecoeur, 2012). These specimens represent aspects of modern human phenotypic variation not found in current populations. This situation seems to have lasted until the beginning of the Holocene in the African fossil record, not only in the northeastern part of the continent (Crevecoeur et al., 2009) but also in the west central (Iwo Eleru, Nigeria, Harvati et al., 2011, Stojanowski, 2014) and eastern regions (Lukenya Hill, Kenya, Tryon et al., 2015).
During the Holocene, an increased homogenization of cranio-morphological features is documented, particularly within sub-Saharan Africa, with its peak during and after the Bantu expansion from 6 Ky ago (Ribot, 2011). These glimpses of Late Pleistocene modern human diversity attest to our poor understanding of modern human diversification and adaptation in Africa during a time of abrupt environmental changes and archaeological transitions preceding the Holocene.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...47248416300057
Although questions of modern human origins and dispersal are subject to intense research within and outside Africa, the processes of modern human diversification during the Late Pleistocene are most often discussed within the context of recent human genetic data. This situation is due largely to the dearth of human fossil remains dating to the final Pleistocene in Africa and their almost total absence from West and Central Africa, thus limiting our perception of modern human diversification within Africa before the Holocene.
Here, we present a morphometric comparative analysis of the earliest Late Pleistocene modern human remains from the Central African site of Ishango in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The early Late Stone Age layer (eLSA) of this site, dated to the Last Glacial Maximum (25–20 Ky), contains more than one hundred fragmentary human remains. The exceptional associated archaeological context suggests these remains derived from a community of hunter-fisher-gatherers exhibiting complex social and cognitive behaviors including substantial reliance on aquatic resources, development of fishing technology, possible mathematical notations and repetitive use of space, likely on a seasonal basis.
Comparisons with large samples of Late Pleistocene and early Holocene modern human fossils from Africa and Eurasia show that the Ishango human remains exhibit distinctive characteristics and a higher phenotypic diversity in contrast to recent African populations. In many aspects, as is true for the inner ear conformation, these eLSA human remains have more affinities with Middle to early Late Pleistocene fossils worldwide than with extant local African populations. In addition, cross-sectional geometric properties of the long bones are consistent with archaeological evidence suggesting reduced terrestrial mobility resulting from greater investment in and use of aquatic resources.
Genetic studies of African populations, derived from a growing number of samples and regions (Gurdasani et al., 2015), document extensive migrations, complex interactions and genetic sub-structure within the continent prior to and following the time of the major modern human expansion to other continents (Quintana-Murci et al., 2008, Cox et al., 2009, Tishkoff et al., 2009, Scheinfeldt et al., 2010, Henn et al., 2011, Schlebusch et al., 2012). It has been assumed that modern human populations had outcompeted other more archaic groups within Africa by the time of the expansion. However, recent genetic studies suggest that this assumption was likely false and that archaic groups might have shared the African continent with modern human groups for many millennia, possibly until at least the Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 3 (Hammer et al., 2011, Mendez et al., 2013).
[...]
Recent comparative morphometric studies of some of these remains have suggested a high level of phenotypic diversity (Schillaci, 2008, Gunz et al., 2009, Royer et al., 2009, Harvati and Hublin, 2012, Hublin et al., 2012). However, our understanding of past modern human diversity during the Late Pleistocene in the entire African continent is extremely limited, with no data at all from West and Central Africa, which together characterize the larger part of the African continent.
For the second half of the Late Pleistocene and the period preceding the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (i.e., MIS 3), the only two sites with well preserved and securely dated human remains are Nazlet Khater 2 (38 ± 6 Ky, Egypt; Crevecoeur, 2008) and Hofmeyr (36.2 ± 3.3 Ky, South Africa; Grine et al., 2007). These fossils represent additional evidence for Late Pleistocene phenotypic variability of African sub-groups. The Hofmeyr specimen exhibits the greatest overall similarities to early modern human specimens from Europe rather than to Holocene San populations from the same region (Grine et al., 2007). Moreover, the Nazlet Khater 2 specimen preserves archaic features on the cranium and the mandible more comparable to those of Late Middle Pleistocene and early Late Pleistocene fossils than to chronologically closer recent African populations (Crevecoeur, 2012). These specimens represent aspects of modern human phenotypic variation not found in current populations. This situation seems to have lasted until the beginning of the Holocene in the African fossil record, not only in the northeastern part of the continent (Crevecoeur et al., 2009) but also in the west central (Iwo Eleru, Nigeria, Harvati et al., 2011, Stojanowski, 2014) and eastern regions (Lukenya Hill, Kenya, Tryon et al., 2015).
During the Holocene, an increased homogenization of cranio-morphological features is documented, particularly within sub-Saharan Africa, with its peak during and after the Bantu expansion from 6 Ky ago (Ribot, 2011). These glimpses of Late Pleistocene modern human diversity attest to our poor understanding of modern human diversification and adaptation in Africa during a time of abrupt environmental changes and archaeological transitions preceding the Holocene.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...47248416300057