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Browsing by Author "Reed, Denne"

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  • Faunal turnover at Mille-Logya (Plio-Pleistocene, Ethiopia) reflects in situ environmental change: implications for the origins of Homo
    Publication . Barr, W. Andrew; Geraads, Denis; Reed, Denne; Bobe, Rene; Wynn, Jonathan; Alemseged, Zeresenay
    The lower Awash Valley of Ethiopia preserves a significant record of Australopithecus afarensis at Hadar and Dikika in addition to the earliest fossil yet attributed to Homo from Ledi-Geraru at 2.8 Ma. However, understanding the context of the extinction of A. afarensis and the origin of Homo is hampered by the limited preservation of sediments between 2.9 – 2.3 Ma in the region. The Mille-Logya Project (MLP) preserves fossiliferous sediments post-dating 2.9 Ma. Here we present a quantitative analysis of the MLP mammalian fauna and explore implications of MLP faunal change for the origin of Homo.
    2020-03Conference object Open Access Show more
  • Fossils from Mille-Logya, Afar, Ethiopia, elucidate the link between Pliocene environmental changes and Homo origins
    Publication . Alemseged, Zeresenay; Wynn, Jonathan G.; Geraads, Denis; Reed, Denne; Andrew Barr, W.; Bobe, Rene; McPherron, Shannon P.; Deino, Alan; Alene, Mulugeta; J. Sier, Mark; Roman, Diana; Mohan, Joseph
    Several hypotheses posit a link between the origin of Homo and climatic and environmental shifts between 3 and 2.5 Ma. Here we report on new results that shed light on the interplay between tectonics, basin migration and faunal change on the one hand and the fate of Australopithecus afarensis and the evolution of Homo on the other. Fieldwork at the new Mille-Logya site in the Afar, Ethiopia, dated to between 2.914 and 2.443 Ma, provides geological evidence for the northeast migration of the Hadar Basin, extending the record of this lacustrine basin to Mille-Logya. We have identified three new fossiliferous units, suggesting in situ faunal change within this interval. While the fauna in the older unit is comparable to that at Hadar and Dikika, the younger units contain species that indicate more open conditions along with remains of Homo. This suggests that Homo either emerged from Australopithecus during this interval or dispersed into the region as part of a fauna adapted to more open habitats.
    2020Journal article Open Access Show more