Early human use of marine resources and pigment in South Africa during the Middle Pleistocene
- PMID: 17943129
- DOI: 10.1038/nature06204
Early human use of marine resources and pigment in South Africa during the Middle Pleistocene
Abstract
Genetic and anatomical evidence suggests that Homo sapiens arose in Africa between 200 and 100 thousand years (kyr) ago, and recent evidence indicates symbolic behaviour may have appeared approximately 135-75 kyr ago. From 195-130 kyr ago, the world was in a fluctuating but predominantly glacial stage (marine isotope stage MIS6); much of Africa was cooler and drier, and dated archaeological sites are rare. Here we show that by approximately 164 kyr ago (+/-12 kyr) at Pinnacle Point (on the south coast of South Africa) humans expanded their diet to include marine resources, perhaps as a response to these harsh environmental conditions. The earliest previous evidence for human use of marine resources and coastal habitats was dated to approximately 125 kyr ago. Coincident with this diet and habitat expansion is an early use and modification of pigment, probably for symbolic behaviour, as well as the production of bladelet stone tool technology, previously dated to post-70 kyr ago. Shellfish may have been crucial to the survival of these early humans as they expanded their home ranges to include coastlines and followed the shifting position of the coast when sea level fluctuated over the length of MIS6.
Comment in
-
Palaeoanthropology: the coast in colour.Nature. 2007 Oct 18;449(7164):793-4. doi: 10.1038/449793a. Nature. 2007. PMID: 17943109 No abstract available.
Similar articles
-
Pinnacle Point Cave 13B (Western Cape Province, South Africa) in context: The Cape Floral kingdom, shellfish, and modern human origins.J Hum Evol. 2010 Sep-Oct;59(3-4):425-43. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.07.011. J Hum Evol. 2010. PMID: 20934095
-
Palaeoanthropology: the coast in colour.Nature. 2007 Oct 18;449(7164):793-4. doi: 10.1038/449793a. Nature. 2007. PMID: 17943109 No abstract available.
-
Early human occupation of the Red Sea coast of Eritrea during the last interglacial.Nature. 2000 May 4;405(6782):65-9. doi: 10.1038/35011048. Nature. 2000. PMID: 10811218
-
Understanding and managing human threats to the coastal marine environment.Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Apr;1162:39-62. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04496.x. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009. PMID: 19432644 Review.
-
Evolutionary basis for the human diet: consequences for human health.J Intern Med. 2020 Mar;287(3):226-237. doi: 10.1111/joim.13011. Epub 2019 Dec 9. J Intern Med. 2020. PMID: 31733113 Review.
Cited by
-
Paleoindian ochre mines in the submerged caves of the Yucatán Peninsula, Quintana Roo, Mexico.Sci Adv. 2020 Jul 3;6(27):eaba1219. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aba1219. Print 2020 Jul. Sci Adv. 2020. PMID: 32937451 Free PMC article.
-
Sensory exploitation and cultural transmission: the late emergence of iconic representations in human evolution.Theory Biosci. 2010 Sep;129(2-3):211-21. doi: 10.1007/s12064-010-0095-7. Epub 2010 Jun 16. Theory Biosci. 2010. PMID: 20556543
-
From the Cover: A Howiesons Poort tradition of engraving ostrich eggshell containers dated to 60,000 years ago at Diepkloof Rock Shelter, South Africa.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Apr 6;107(14):6180-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0913047107. Epub 2010 Mar 1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010. PMID: 20194764 Free PMC article.
-
Inbreeding, Allee effects and stochasticity might be sufficient to account for Neanderthal extinction.PLoS One. 2019 Nov 27;14(11):e0225117. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225117. eCollection 2019. PLoS One. 2019. PMID: 31774843 Free PMC article.
-
Temporal and spatial variability of prehistoric aquatic resource procurement: a case study from Mesolithic Northern Iberia.Sci Rep. 2022 Feb 24;12(1):3111. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-07239-8. Sci Rep. 2022. PMID: 35210501 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
