In the early 1890s at Trinil, Eugène Dubois found a hominin skullcap (Trinil 2) and femur (Trinil 3, Femur I), situated at the same level ca. 10–15 m apart. He interpreted them as representing one... Show moreIn the early 1890s at Trinil, Eugène Dubois found a hominin skullcap (Trinil 2) and femur (Trinil 3, Femur I), situated at the same level ca. 10–15 m apart. He interpreted them as representing one species, Pithecanthropus erectus (now Homo erectus) which he inferred to be a transitional form between apes and humans. Ever since, this interpretation has been questioned—as the skullcap looked archaic and the femur surprisingly modern. From the 1950s onward, chemical and morphological analyses rekindled the debate. Concurrently, (bio)stratigraphic arguments gained importance, raising the stakes by extrapolating the consequences of potential mixing of hominin remains to the homogeneity of the complete Trinil fossil assemblage. However, conclusive evidence on the provenance and age of the hominin fossils remains absent. New Trinil fieldwork yielded unmanned aerial vehicle imagery, digital elevation models, and stratigraphic observations that have been integrated here with an analysis of the historical excavation documentation. Using a geographic information system and sightline analysis, the position of the historical excavation pits and the hominin fossils therein were reconstructed, and the historical stratigraphy was connected to that of new sections and test pits. This study documents five strata situated at low water level at the excavation site. Cutting into a lahar breccia are two similarly oriented, but asynchronous pre-terrace fluvial channels whose highly fossiliferous infills are identified as the primary targets of the historical excavations (Bone-Bearing Channel 1, 830–773 ka; Bone-Bearing Channel 2, 560–380 ka), providing evidence for a mixed faunal assemblage and yielding most of the hominin fossils. These channels were incised by younger terrace-related fluvial channels (terminal Middle or Late Pleistocene) that directly intersect the historical excavations and the reconstructed discovery location of Femur I, thereby providing an explanation for the relatively modern morphology of this ‘bone of contention’. The paleoanthropological implications are discussed in light of the current framework of human evolution in Southeast Asia. Show less
Little is known about the antiquity, nature, and scale of Pleistocene hunter-gatherer impact on their ecosystems, despite the importance for studies of conservation and human evolution. Such impact... Show moreLittle is known about the antiquity, nature, and scale of Pleistocene hunter-gatherer impact on their ecosystems, despite the importance for studies of conservation and human evolution. Such impact is likely to be limited, mainly because of low population densities, and challenging to detect and interpret in terms of cause-effect dynamics. We present high-resolution paleoenvironmental and archaeological data from the Last Interglacial locality of Neumark-Nord (Germany). Among the factors that shaped vegetation structure and succession in this lake landscape, we identify a distinct ecological footprint of hominin activities, including fire use. We compare these data with evidence from archaeological and baseline sites from the same region. At Neumark-Nord, notably open vegetation coincides with a virtually continuous c. 2000-year-long hominin presence, and the comparative data strongly suggest that hominins were a contributing factor. With an age of c. 125,000 years, Neumark-Nord provides an early example of a hominin role in vegetation transformation. Show less
Lacustrine localitieswere attractive environments for Palaeolithic hominins, since they provide a large and broad spectrumof resources. Moreover, they are excellent archives that allowfor high... Show moreLacustrine localitieswere attractive environments for Palaeolithic hominins, since they provide a large and broad spectrumof resources. Moreover, they are excellent archives that allowfor high-resolution environmental, chronological and archaeological analyses. However, these deposits are often subject to complex formation and postdepositional factors, including water-related processes. Evaluating the influence of hydrological processes in site formation is thus essential to more accurately reconstruct the duration, intensity and types of hominin behaviour within these environments. In this paper we present the orientation analysis of archaeological material from the Last Interglacial site Neumark-Nord 2, Germany. Orientation analysis was done using GIS to calculate the orientation of artefact from digital plans of the excavation surface, which were subsequently tested using circular statistics. The results of the orientation analysis are compared with a hydrological model to check the relation between preferred orientations and reconstructed areas of water flow and accumulation. Results suggest that low-energy hydrological processes could have affected certain areas of the find-bearing deposits at Neumark-Nord 2 but, overall, there is no evidence for either high-energy hydrological processes or a significant movement of parts of the archaeological assemblage. Show less
After a long period of cold conditions that characterize the Saalian Glacial in Europe, Neandertals were confronted with the warm and more forested environments of the Eemian Interglacial (125-115... Show moreAfter a long period of cold conditions that characterize the Saalian Glacial in Europe, Neandertals were confronted with the warm and more forested environments of the Eemian Interglacial (125-115,000 years ago). We do know that they were present in these environments, but the number of known sites and the size of their assemblages is relatively limited. The Eemian deposits of Neumark-Nord 2 (eastern Germany) yielded the unique opportunity for a detailed analysis of Neandertal behaviour within its environmental context. The reconstructed environmental conditions give us a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities that Neandertals faced, and, together with data from other Eemian sites, provided indications for their environmental preferences. How Neandertals dealt with these environmental conditions is also reflected in the archaeological record, which has been addressed by a detailed analysis of the flint tool assemblage as well as the proxies for hominin use of fire at the site. Show less
