Anatomically Modern Homo Sapiens:
Africa
By: Don Henrikson
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Overveiw:
Africa was home to many of the species within the hominin lineage, yet the species that most likely called the grassy landscape of Africa home before any other co. ntinent that stands out from the rest is that of Homo sapiens, our own species.
Homo sapiens stands apart from its ancestors in many ways, many of which are listed to the right. Our species most likely originated from Homo heidelbergensis around 700-400 ka and splitting from the early Neanderthals during this period. It is hypothesized that the population of Homo heidelbergensis that ended up in Europe became the aforementioned Homo neanderthalensis, and the ones left over in Africa, Homo sapiens.
Important Traits:
Cranial:
A high and rounded cranium
A small face under the frontal bone
Lesser brow ridge
A true chin
Post-Cranial:
A lengthened post-natal growth period
A narrow trunk and pelvis
Short superior pubic rami
A longer narrower body
Type Specimen:
Due to the lack of any type specimen for Homo sapiens, I have selected two specimens that I believe represent the state of early H. sapiens in Africa
Jebel Irhoud 1
This Homo sapiens cranium was found in a cave exposed by mining in Morrocco called Jebel Irhoud along many other H. Sapiens fossils, faunal remains, and an assemblage of non-Aterian Middle Stone Age lithics. The remains were found in 1961, yet at the time of discovery they were thought to have belonged to a Neanderthal, only recently were they reclassified as early modern H. Sapiens or even an interbreed population between the two.
This specific cranium was dated to 286 ± 32 kya, and exhibits many traits that are derived and ancestral. The cranium has a relatively long and low cranium with smooth contours. It also has a long somewhat continuous supraorbital torus, with a cranial capacity of around 1305 cm3.
Omo Kibish Fossils
This collection of three H. Sapiens fossils were discovered in 1967 from different localities and different contexts, all within the Kibish formation in Ethiopia.
Omo 1 exhibits a high, rounded, and voluminous cranial vault with mostly sapiens traits on the rest of the cranium and post cranium. Omo 2 similarly had a large braincase, exhibiting a cranial capacity of 1435 cm3.
Paleoenvironment of Africa:
The environment our first ancestors lived in in Africa varied wildly between periods. Throughout our occupation of the continent, there has been multiple glacial and inter-glacial periods, changing the climate of Africa dramatically over the past two hundred thousand years. (find more info on the Green Sahara and such)
Case Study: Cave of Swimmers
A fantastic example of the variability in the climate of Africa throughout Homo Sapiens occupation of the continent in shown upon the detailed rock art found in the Cave of Swimmers. This cave, located within the Eastern Sahara Desert in Egypt, was first seen by modern eyes in 1926 by European cartographers. These paintings have been contentiously dated to 9-6 kya, but htere is many arguemnets for later or earlier dates.
The view out of the mouth of the Cave of Swimmers
Shown below, the main panel is part of where the system of rock art gets its name. Seen in the bottom center and left, there appears to be multiple depictions of individuals swimming in a line, a strange instance considering the environment that these caves are in.
References
Bermúdez de Castro, José María, and Eudald Carbonell. 2021. “A New Perspective on the Origin of Homo Sapiens.” Historical Biology 34 (8): 1331–36. doi:10.1080/08912963.2021. Archer, W. 2021.
“Carrying capacity, population density and the later Pleistocene expression of backed artefact manufacturing traditions in Africa.” Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 376, no. 1816 (Janurary): N/A. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0716.
The British Museum. 2015. “Wadi Sura - the Cave of Swimmers.” British Museum. https://web.archive.org/web/20151210205524/http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/research_projects/all_current_projects/african_rock_art_image_project/featured_sites/wadi_sura.aspx.
Leigh, Steven R. 1992. “Cranial capacity evolution in Homo erectus and early Homo sapiens.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology 87, no. 1 (Janurary): 1-13. https://doi-org.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/10.1002/ajpa.1330870102.
Scerri, Eleanor M., Nick A. Drake, Richard Jennings, and Huw S. Groucutt. 2014. “Earliest evidence for the structure of Homo sapiens populations in Africa.” Quaternary Science Reviews 101, no. N/A (October): 207-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.07.019.
Stringer, Chris. 2016. “The origin and evolution of Homo sapiens.” Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 371, no. 1698 (July): N/A.
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