Evolution of the ‘Homo’ genus
New mysteries and perspectives
Authors
- Jordí Agustí ICREA - Rovira i Virgili University of Tarragona (Spain).
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.8.9308Keywords:
palaeogenomics, Homo genus, hominins, variability, Dmanisi
Abstract
This work reviews the main questions surrounding the evolution of the genusHomo, such as its origin, the problem of variability inHomo erectus and the impact of palaeogenomics. A consensus has not yet been reached regarding whichAustralopithecus candidate gave rise to the first representatives assignable toHomo and this discussion even affects the recognition of theH. habilis andH. rudolfensis species. Regarding the variability of the first palaeodemes assigned toHomo, the discovery of the Dmanisi site in Georgia called into question some of the criteria used until now to distinguish between species likeH. erectus orH. ergaster. Finally, the emergence of palaeogenomics has provided evidence that the flow of genetic material between old hominin populations was wider than expected.
Downloads
Author Biography
Jordí Agustí, ICREA - Rovira i Virgili University of Tarragona (Spain).
ICREA Research Professor at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (Rovira i Virgili University of Tarragona, Spain). As a palaeontologist, his research activity focusses on the evolution of fossil mammal communities over the last ten million years and he has published more than two hundred papers within this specialisation, most of them in international scientific journals. He has directed several European research projects, as well as palaeontological campaigns in Libya and Georgia. In the latter, he is part of the international team at the Dmanisi site. Some of his most noteworthy works areLa evolución y sus metáforas (Tusquets, 1994),Mammoths, sabertooths, and hominids(Columbia University Press, 2002),Fósiles, genes y teorías(Tusquets, 2003),La gran migración (Crítica, 2011),Los primeros pobladores de Europa(RBA, 2012),Alicia en el país de la evolución(Crítica, 2013), andLa sonrisa de Leonardo(RBA, 2015).
References
Agustí, J., & Lordkipanidze, D. (2005).Los primeros pobladores de Europa. Barcelona: RBA.
Green, R. E., Krause, J., Briggs, A. W., Maricic, T., Stenzel, U., Kircher, M., ... Pääbo, S. (2010). A draft sequence of the Neandertal genome.Science,328, 710–722. doi:10.1126/science.-1188021
Krause, J., Fu, Q., Good, J. F., Viola, B., Shunkov, M. V., Derevianko, A. P., & Pääbo, S. (2010). The complete mitochondrial DNA genome of an unknown hominin from southern Siberia.Nature,464, 894–897. doi:10.1038/nature08976
Krings, M., Stone, A., Schmitz, R. W., Krainitzki, H., Stoneking, & Pääbo, S. (1997). Neandertal DNA sequences and the origin of modern humans.Cell,90, 19–30. doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(00)80310-4
Lordkipanidze, D., Jashashvili, T., Vekua, A., Ponce de León, M., Zollikofer, C., Rightmire, … Nioradze, M. (2007). Postcranial evidence from earlyHomo from Dmanisi, Georgia.Nature,449, 305–310. doi:10.1038/nature06134
Lordkipanidze, D., Ponce de León, M., Margvelashvili, A., Rak, Y., Rightmire, G. P., & Zollikofer, C. (2013). A complete skull from Dmanisi, Georgia, and the evolutionary biology of earlyHomo.Science,342, 326–331. doi:10.1126/science.1238484
Lordkipanidze, D., Vekua, A., Ferring, R., Rightmire, G. P., Agustí, J., Kiladze, G., … Zollikofer, C. (2005). The earliest toothless hominin skull.Nature,434, 717–718. doi:10.1038/434717b
Vekua, A., Lordkipanidze, D., Rightmire, G. P., Agustí, J., Ferring, R., Maisuradze, G., … Zollikofer, C. (2002). A new skull of earlyHomo from Dmanisi, Georgia.Science,297, 85–89. doi:10.1126/science.1072953
Villmoare, B., Kimbel, W. H., Seyoum, C., Campisano, C. J., DiMaggio, E., Rowan, J., … Reed, K. E. 2015. EarlyHomo at 2.8 Ma from Ledi Geraru, Afar, Ethiopia.Science,347, 1352–1355. doi:10.1126/science.aaa1343
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
- Abstract3552
- PDF1564
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2018 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
All the documents in the OJS platform are open access and property of their respective authors.
Authors publishing in the journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors keep the rights and guaranteeMetode Science Studies Journal the right to be the first publication of the document, licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of authorship and publication in the journal.
- Authors are allowed and encouraged to spread their work through electronic means using personal or institutional websites (institutional open archives, personal websites or professional and academic networks profiles) once the text has been published.
Make a Submission
Language
Information
Keywords
