Pliocene climatic change and the origins of Homo at Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia
Background Long-term cooling and aridification are associated with the spread of grassland habitats and the appearance of new hominin adaptations starting in the late Miocene. However, limited fossil data during critical periods limits our ability to examine these climatic correlations further.Aim W...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Annals of Human Biology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/03014460.2025.2462255 |
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| author | Irene E. Smail Amy L. Rector Joshua R. Robinson Kaye E. Reed |
| author_facet | Irene E. Smail Amy L. Rector Joshua R. Robinson Kaye E. Reed |
| author_sort | Irene E. Smail |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Long-term cooling and aridification are associated with the spread of grassland habitats and the appearance of new hominin adaptations starting in the late Miocene. However, limited fossil data during critical periods limits our ability to examine these climatic correlations further.Aim We set out to reconstruct potential habitat and climate conditions at the origin of our genus Homo.Subjects and methods Mammalian faunal lists and species trait data were collected for Ledi-Geraru localities dated from ∼2.78 to <2.59 million years ago (Ma). These were compared to a modern comparative dataset of mammal communities across Africa with known habitat and climate conditions, as well as to other fossil mammal data from eastern Africa in the time period leading up to and following shortly after the earliest known appearance of Homo at ∼2.78 Ma.Results Early Homo is associated with ongoing aridification and increasing seasonality in the Afar Depression. While climate trends in eastern Africa parallel global models, local environmental variation persisted across fossil-bearing regions.Conclusion Climatic change (aridification and increasing seasonality) continues to be supported as a possible factor in the origins of our genus, although other fossil hominins continued to persist in these conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e0427a40bd3542368ed46a5a57928127 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0301-4460 1464-5033 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Annals of Human Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-e0427a40bd3542368ed46a5a579281272025-08-20T03:48:14ZengTaylor & Francis GroupAnnals of Human Biology0301-44601464-50332025-12-0152110.1080/03014460.2025.2462255Pliocene climatic change and the origins of Homo at Ledi-Geraru, EthiopiaIrene E. Smail0Amy L. Rector1Joshua R. Robinson2Kaye E. Reed3Department of Biomedical Sciences, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, Lewisburg, WV, USACollege of Humanities and Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USAArchaeology Program, Boston University, Boston, MA, USASchool of Human Evolution and Social Change, Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USABackground Long-term cooling and aridification are associated with the spread of grassland habitats and the appearance of new hominin adaptations starting in the late Miocene. However, limited fossil data during critical periods limits our ability to examine these climatic correlations further.Aim We set out to reconstruct potential habitat and climate conditions at the origin of our genus Homo.Subjects and methods Mammalian faunal lists and species trait data were collected for Ledi-Geraru localities dated from ∼2.78 to <2.59 million years ago (Ma). These were compared to a modern comparative dataset of mammal communities across Africa with known habitat and climate conditions, as well as to other fossil mammal data from eastern Africa in the time period leading up to and following shortly after the earliest known appearance of Homo at ∼2.78 Ma.Results Early Homo is associated with ongoing aridification and increasing seasonality in the Afar Depression. While climate trends in eastern Africa parallel global models, local environmental variation persisted across fossil-bearing regions.Conclusion Climatic change (aridification and increasing seasonality) continues to be supported as a possible factor in the origins of our genus, although other fossil hominins continued to persist in these conditions.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/03014460.2025.2462255Ledi-Geraruearly Homomammal palaeoecologyhominin paleohabitats |
| spellingShingle | Irene E. Smail Amy L. Rector Joshua R. Robinson Kaye E. Reed Pliocene climatic change and the origins of Homo at Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia Annals of Human Biology Ledi-Geraru early Homo mammal palaeoecology hominin paleohabitats |
| title | Pliocene climatic change and the origins of Homo at Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia |
| title_full | Pliocene climatic change and the origins of Homo at Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Pliocene climatic change and the origins of Homo at Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pliocene climatic change and the origins of Homo at Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia |
| title_short | Pliocene climatic change and the origins of Homo at Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia |
| title_sort | pliocene climatic change and the origins of homo at ledi geraru ethiopia |
| topic | Ledi-Geraru early Homo mammal palaeoecology hominin paleohabitats |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/03014460.2025.2462255 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ireneesmail plioceneclimaticchangeandtheoriginsofhomoatledigeraruethiopia AT amylrector plioceneclimaticchangeandtheoriginsofhomoatledigeraruethiopia AT joshuarrobinson plioceneclimaticchangeandtheoriginsofhomoatledigeraruethiopia AT kayeereed plioceneclimaticchangeandtheoriginsofhomoatledigeraruethiopia |