Re: Homo Fossil timeline

Dan Barnes (dbarnes@liv.ac.uk)
Thu, 26 Sep 1996 16:07:56 GMT

In article <51nija$6nb@ash.ridgecrest.ca.us>,
b_keeter@owens.ridgecrest.ca.us says...
>
>dbarnes@liv.ac.uk (Dan Barnes) wrote:
>>In article <51fj96$a1v@ash.ridgecrest.ca.us>,
>>b_keeter@owens.ridgecrest.ca.us says...
>>>
><snip>
>>
>>It is part of the multiregional arguement that AMHs evolved from Neanderthals
i
>n
>>Europe. Neanderthals did evolve from erectus (or its equivalent in Europe)
and
>>then migrated to the Middle East.
>>
>>>Was there a "robust" Erectus in Asia that matched the
>>>Neanderthal period?
>>
>>This has been disproved by Santa Luca (1978).
>>
>I did not think that there was a "Erectus Robustus" but I did not know
>that it had been "proved".

The Neanderthal phase was a theory at one point.
>>
>>>Why would the Neanderthal physiology have been limited to
>>>Europe and near east when the climatic changes that
>>>supposedly favored the physique were considerably more
>>>widespread? (Were there central/east Asian Neanderthals?
>>>I think not?)
>>
>>No, as above. Europe (and Africa) could have been isolated for long periods
of
>>time and, unlike in the Far East, they were not able to migrate from their clim
>atic
>>area (due to the Med.) and so developed to the respective climates.
>>
>Actually, that is my arguement against "parallel development", i.e. if the
>robust Neanderthal-like physiology did not develop independently in a
>H. Erectus population in Asia in response to similar environmental pressure,
>why should we suppose separate but parallel evolution towards modern
>man! Northern Siberia had an environment at least as rugged as Europe
>during the Ice Ages, but did not develop an Asiatic Neanderthal (as
>best as I can tell!).

Apart from Teshik Tash in Uzbekistan (Central Asia) there is a wide spread
Asian Mousterian and N remains in southern Siberia.

>>
>>This, again is the multiregional arguement. This continuity of traits has been
>>used to support the Continuity models of human evolution rather than the
>>Replacement models (e.g. the Afro-European Sapiens and Recent African
>>Evolution Models
>>
>I guess that I am really thinking of the "absorption" theory, ie
>that the local Neanderthal and Erectus populations may just have
>merged with the more modern man that was streaming out of Africa.
>Sort of like the Roman, Hun and even Mongol occupations of Europe.

Modern analogies (e.g. the peopling of the Americas) are not thought to be very
good at describing what happened in prehistory.

The theory you state is either the Afro-European Sapiens Model (with migration)
or the Assimilation Model (without migration).
>>
>>>I know that some of this has been discussed many times, but
>>>I would like to get a fresh discussion based on some of the
>>>more recent discoveries (i.e. Neanderthals that are only 30k yrs
>>>old, etc)
>>>
>>
>>These are usually all from Iberia e.g. Zafarraya (Hublin et al., 1995).
>>>
>I thought that there were also some 30k Neanderthals discovered in
>Bosnia, Croatia or Macedonia in what used to be Yugoslavia.

These date to about 33 ka.
>>
>>The Origins of Humankind site now has a Message Board devoted to the
>>Neanderthals and we hope to cover these and other Neanderthal based
topics
>>there as well.
>>
>I'll drop in for a peek. Thanks much.

Dan