Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago
Abstract The timing of the initial dispersal of hominins into Eurasia is unclear. Current evidence indicates hominins were present at Dmanisi, Georgia by 1.8 million years ago (Ma), but other ephemeral traces of hominins across Eurasia predate Dmanisi. However, no hominin remains have been definitiv...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56154-9 |
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| author | Sabrina C. Curran Virgil Drăgușin Briana Pobiner Michael Pante John Hellstrom Jon Woodhead Roman Croitor Adrian Doboș Samantha E. Gogol Vasile Ersek Trevor L. Keevil Alexandru Petculescu Aurelian Popescu Chris Robinson Lars Werdelin Claire E. Terhune |
| author_facet | Sabrina C. Curran Virgil Drăgușin Briana Pobiner Michael Pante John Hellstrom Jon Woodhead Roman Croitor Adrian Doboș Samantha E. Gogol Vasile Ersek Trevor L. Keevil Alexandru Petculescu Aurelian Popescu Chris Robinson Lars Werdelin Claire E. Terhune |
| author_sort | Sabrina C. Curran |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The timing of the initial dispersal of hominins into Eurasia is unclear. Current evidence indicates hominins were present at Dmanisi, Georgia by 1.8 million years ago (Ma), but other ephemeral traces of hominins across Eurasia predate Dmanisi. However, no hominin remains have been definitively described from Europe until ~1.4 Ma. Here we present evidence of hominin activity at the site of Grăunceanu, Romania in the form of multiple cut-marked bones. Biostratigraphic and high-resolution U-Pb age estimates suggest Grăunceanu is > 1.95 Ma, making this site one of the best-dated early hominin localities in Europe. Environmental reconstructions based on isotopic analyzes of horse dentition suggest Grăunceanu would have been relatively temperate and seasonal, demonstrating a wide habitat tolerance in even the earliest hominins in Eurasia. Our results, presented along with multiple other lines of evidence, point to a widespread, though perhaps intermittent, presence of hominins across Eurasia by at least 2.0 Ma. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5aacdd1b5c2f4380a53c4679e94f4a61 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-5aacdd1b5c2f4380a53c4679e94f4a612025-01-26T12:41:43ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111110.1038/s41467-025-56154-9Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years agoSabrina C. Curran0Virgil Drăgușin1Briana Pobiner2Michael Pante3John Hellstrom4Jon Woodhead5Roman Croitor6Adrian Doboș7Samantha E. Gogol8Vasile Ersek9Trevor L. Keevil10Alexandru Petculescu11Aurelian Popescu12Chris Robinson13Lars Werdelin14Claire E. Terhune15Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Ohio University; AthensEmil Racoviţă Institute of Speleology, Romanian AcademyDepartment of Anthropology, Smithsonian InstitutionDepartment of Anthropology and Geography, Colorado State UniversitySchool of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of MelbourneSchool of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of MelbourneInstitute of Zoology, Moldova State UniversityDepartment of Paleolithic Archaeology, Vasile Pârvan Institute of Archaeology, Romanian AcademyDepartment of Anthropology, University of MinnesotaDepartment of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria UniversityDepartment of Anthropology and Geography, Colorado State UniversityEmil Racoviţă Institute of Speleology, Romanian AcademyMuseum of OlteniaDepartment of Biological Sciences, Bronx Community CollegeDepartment of Paleozoology, Swedish Museum of Natural HistoryDepartment of Anthropology, University of ArkansasAbstract The timing of the initial dispersal of hominins into Eurasia is unclear. Current evidence indicates hominins were present at Dmanisi, Georgia by 1.8 million years ago (Ma), but other ephemeral traces of hominins across Eurasia predate Dmanisi. However, no hominin remains have been definitively described from Europe until ~1.4 Ma. Here we present evidence of hominin activity at the site of Grăunceanu, Romania in the form of multiple cut-marked bones. Biostratigraphic and high-resolution U-Pb age estimates suggest Grăunceanu is > 1.95 Ma, making this site one of the best-dated early hominin localities in Europe. Environmental reconstructions based on isotopic analyzes of horse dentition suggest Grăunceanu would have been relatively temperate and seasonal, demonstrating a wide habitat tolerance in even the earliest hominins in Eurasia. Our results, presented along with multiple other lines of evidence, point to a widespread, though perhaps intermittent, presence of hominins across Eurasia by at least 2.0 Ma.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56154-9 |
| spellingShingle | Sabrina C. Curran Virgil Drăgușin Briana Pobiner Michael Pante John Hellstrom Jon Woodhead Roman Croitor Adrian Doboș Samantha E. Gogol Vasile Ersek Trevor L. Keevil Alexandru Petculescu Aurelian Popescu Chris Robinson Lars Werdelin Claire E. Terhune Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago Nature Communications |
| title | Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago |
| title_full | Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago |
| title_fullStr | Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago |
| title_short | Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago |
| title_sort | hominin presence in eurasia by at least 1 95 million years ago |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56154-9 |
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