Abstract

The paucity of early Pleistocene hominin fossils in Eurasia hinders an in-depth discussion on their paleobiology and paleoecology. Here we report on the earliest large-bodied hominin remains from the Levantine corridor: a juvenile vertebra (UB 10749) from the early Pleistocene site of ‘Ubeidiya, Israel, discovered during a reanalysis of the faunal remains. UB 10749 is a complete lower lumbar vertebral body, with morphological characteristics consistent with Homo sp. Our analysis indicates that UB-10749 was a 6- to 12-year-old child at death, displaying delayed ossification pattern compared with modern humans. Its predicted adult size is comparable to other early Pleistocene large-bodied hominins from Africa. Paleobiological differences between UB 10749 and other early Eurasian hominins supports at least two distinct out-of-Africa dispersal events. This observation corresponds with variants of lithic traditions (Oldowan; Acheulian) as well as various ecological niches across early Pleistocene sites in Eurasia.

Details

Title
The earliest Pleistocene record of a large-bodied hominin from the Levant supports two out-of-Africa dispersal events
Author
Barash Alon 1 ; Belmaker Miriam 2 ; Bastir Markus 3 ; Soudack Michalle 4 ; O’Brien Haley D 5 ; Woodward, Holly 5 ; Prendergast, Amy 6 ; Barzilai Omry 7 ; Been Ella 8 

 Bar Ilan University, Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Safed, Israel (GRID:grid.22098.31) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 0503) 
 The University of Tulsa, The Department of Anthropology, Tulsa, USA (GRID:grid.267360.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2160 264X) 
 Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Paleoanthropology Group, Department of Paleobiology, Madrid, Spain (GRID:grid.420025.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 1768 463X) 
 Tel Aviv University, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel (GRID:grid.12136.37) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 0546); Tel Hashomer, Department of Pediatric Imaging, The Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel (GRID:grid.413795.d) (ISNI:0000 0001 2107 2845) 
 Oklahoma State University Center for Health Science, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Tulsa, USA (GRID:grid.261367.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 0542 825X) 
 University of Melbourne, School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Melbourne, Australia (GRID:grid.1008.9) (ISNI:0000 0001 2179 088X) 
 Israel Antiquities Authority, Archaeological Research Department, Jerusalem, Israel (GRID:grid.497332.8) (ISNI:0000 0004 0604 8857) 
 Ono Academic College, Department of Sports Therapy, Faculty of Health Professions, Kiryat Ono, Israel (GRID:grid.430101.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 0631 5599); Tel-Aviv University, Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv, Israel (GRID:grid.12136.37) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 0546) 
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2624808849
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.