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Pliocene hominins from East Turkana were associated with mesic environments in a semiarid basin

2023-07Journal article Restricted
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dc.contributor.authorVillaseñor, Amelia
dc.contributor.authorUno, Kevin T.
dc.contributor.authorKinyanjui, Rahab N.
dc.contributor.authorBehrensmeyer, Anna K.
dc.contributor.authorBobe, René
dc.contributor.authorAdvokaat, Eldert L.
dc.contributor.authorBamford, Marion
dc.contributor.authorCarvalho, Susana
dc.contributor.authorHammond, Ashley S.
dc.contributor.authorPalcu, Dan V.
dc.contributor.authorSier, Mark J.
dc.contributor.authorWard, Carol V.
dc.contributor.authorBraun, David R.
dc.date.accessioned2023-09-19T14:36:06Z
dc.date.available2023-09-19T14:36:06Z
dc.date.issued2023-07
dc.description.abstractDuring the middle Pliocene (similar to 3.8-3.2 Ma), both Australopithecus afarensis and Kenyanthropus platyops are known from the Turkana Basin, but between 3.60 and 3.44 Ma, most hominin fossils are found on the west side of Lake Turkana. Here, we describe a new hominin locality (ET03-166/168, Area 129) from the east side of the lake, in the Lokochot Member of the Koobi Fora Formation (3.60-3.44 Ma). To reconstruct the paleoecology of the locality and its surroundings, we combine information from sedimentology, the relative abundance of associated mammalian fauna, phytoliths, and stable isotopes from plant wax biomarkers, pedogenic carbonates, and fossil tooth enamel. The combined evidence provides a detailed view of the local paleoenvironment occupied by these Pliocene hominins, where a biodiverse community of primates, including hominins, and other mammals inhabited humid, grassy woodlands in a fluvial floodplain setting. Between <3.596 and 3.44 Ma, increases in woody vegetation were, at times, associated with increases in arid-adapted grasses. This suggests that Pliocene vegetation included woody species that were resilient to periods of prolonged aridity, resembling vegetation structure in the Turkana Basin today, where arid-adapted woody plants are a significant component of the ecosystem. Pedogenic carbonates indicate more woody vegetation than other vegetation proxies, possibly due to differences in temporospatial scale and ecological biases in preservation that should be accounted for in future studies. These new hominin fossils and associated multiproxy paleoenvironmental indicators from a single locale through time suggest that early hominin species occupied a wide range of habitats, possibly including wetlands within semiarid landscapes. Local-scale paleoecological evidence from East Turkana supports regional evidence that middle Pliocene eastern Africa may have experienced large-scale, climate-driven periods of aridity. This information extends our understanding of hominin environments beyond the limits of simple wooded, grassy, or mosaic environmental descriptions. (c) 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.pt_PT
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Science Foundation (NSF) SBE-1534824, SBE-1624398, Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) 2018/20733-6pt_PT
dc.description.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionpt_PT
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103385pt_PT
dc.identifier.eissn1095-8606
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/20008
dc.language.isoengpt_PT
dc.peerreviewedyespt_PT
dc.publisherElsevier Sciencept_PT
dc.subjectMiddle Pliocene hominin paleoecologypt_PT
dc.subjectMultiproxypt_PT
dc.subjectStable isotope ecologypt_PT
dc.subjectAustralopithecus afarensispt_PT
dc.subjectKenyanthropus platyopspt_PT
dc.subjectKoobi Forapt_PT
dc.titlePliocene hominins from East Turkana were associated with mesic environments in a semiarid basinpt_PT
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.startPage103385pt_PT
oaire.citation.titleJournal of Human Evolutionpt_PT
oaire.citation.volume180pt_PT
person.familyNameCarvalho
person.givenNameSusana
person.identifier356037
person.identifier.orcid0000-0003-1300-1953
person.identifier.ridF-3872-2016
rcaap.rightsrestrictedAccesspt_PT
rcaap.typearticlept_PT
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationdf445e58-ed96-4e28-9be9-f8515e41f5c0
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscoverydf445e58-ed96-4e28-9be9-f8515e41f5c0

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