PaleoAnthropology

Revisiting the Anatomy of the Florisbad Hominin Cranium: Visualization of New Internal Features and Observations on Its Supposed Pathologies

Antoine Balzeau — 2025-11-03

Among the Middle Pleistocene African fossils that are central to discussions about the evolution of Homo sapiens is the partial cranium from Florisbad, South Africa. The fossil, dated to MIS 8 (300–243 ka BP), combines some primitive traits that are shared with Homo erectus or H. rhodesiensis relative to H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens, together with derived features shared with H. sapiens relative to H. erectus. It has been proposed that the specimen suffered from pathological conditions that resulted in an asymmetric and exaggeratedly thick vault together with external and internal lesions. Such pathologies could complicate anatomical comparison and attribution of the specimen. The purpose of the present work is to re-examine the calotte and provide new information on several aspects of its anatomy. We review the purported pathological conditions of the specimen, particularly those related to calotte asymmetry and the structural composition and thickness of the vault bone, employing micro-CT scan data, which also enabled description of the frontal sinuses, details relating to the diploic vessels and cerebral imprints on the endocranial surface. We compare several cranial traits seen in Florisbad with those observed in different hominin specimens.

Detailed investigation of the supposed pathological traits of Florisbad reveals that they are all consistent with conditions observed for non-pathological living human and fossil hominin crania. The claim that pathology has altered the symmetry of the vault, as well as its thickness, distribution, and internal structure, is not supported.

We also describe previously unreported aspects of anatomical features in which Florisbad differs from those observed exclusively in H. sapiens, including aspects of bone thickness distribution, the extension of the diploic system, and proportions of the endocast. Our results illustrate that in terms of cranial bone distribution and endocranial proportions, Florisbad most closely resembles the somewhat older Middle Pleistocene cranium from Kabwe 1, but it does not share the exceptionally large frontal sinuses seen in the Kabwe 1, Bodo, and Petralona crania. In sum, the results of this study suggest that the attribution of the Florisbad cranium to Homo sapiens may be unwarranted owing to the number of features in which it lacks the apomorphic states exhibited by our species.

Stone Tip Cross-Sectional Geometry Contributes to Thrusting Spear Performance

Scott McKinny — 2025-11-03

Humans around the world likely used thrusting spears during much of the Paleolithic period. A key development in spear evolution was the addition of a sharp stone tip. Here, we examined via controlled experiment whether stone tip cross-sectional geometry (i.e., tip cross-sectional area, TCSA; tip cross-sectional perimeter, TCSP) contributes to thrust spear function in terms of two performance variables: penetration depth and entry wound width. We produced 14 spears, each possessing a different stone tip form at its end. A trained army veteran thrust each spear several times into ballistics gel, for a total sample size of 387 thrusts. Statistical analysis revealed a strong inverse relationship between stone tip cross-sectional geometry and penetration depth and a positive relationship between stone tip cross-sectional geometry and entry wound width. Overall, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that thrust spear functional performance may have been a factor Paleolithic people considered in producing and selecting stone point forms. Additionally, our results suggest that there may have been a tradeoff among the performance attributes of penetration depth and entry wound width, each of which may have been preferred in specific contexts.

Correction to: Human Subsistence Before and After the 8.2 ka cal BP Event in Northern Iberia: Archaeozoology and Proteomic Data From the Macromammal Assemblage of El Mazo Rock Shelter

Elene Arenas-Sorriqueta — 2025-11-03

Correction to original article.

Correction to: The Alpha-Taxonomy of Ekembo

Kieran P. McNulty — 2025-11-03

Correction to McNulty et al. 2025:1.

Middle Pleistocene Hominin Systematics: The “Chibanian Puzzle”

Mirjana Roksandic — 2025-11-03

The primary goal of the workshop “Meet the Chibanians” held at Novi Sad in 2023—and of the resulting papers—is to establish a broad consensus among the researchers on exactly how to describe the place of hominin fossils that cannot be easily assigned to Homo erectus, H. neanderthalensis, or H. sapiens from the late Middle and early Late Pleistocene across the Old World. A great deal of this discussion revolves around exactly how many hominin taxa were present during this period (Middle-Late Pleistocene) and how they were related to each other. We introduce the papers in this Special Issue of PaleoAnthropology and how they relate to the current state of research.

Nomenclature and Taxonomy of Chibanian Hominins

Denne N Reed — 2025-11-06

Deciphering the taxonomic and evolutionary relationships among hominin fossils of the Chibanian (ca. 774–129 ka) is challenging. This difficulty stems from biological factors such as mosaic patterns of morphological change, evolutionary factors such as complex geographical patterns of gene flow, and practical difficulties arising from the large number of taxonomic names ascribed to Chibanian fossils. Drawing on Origins, a new information framework for paleoanthropology, this paper reviews the nomenclatural status of more than 30 taxa associated with Chibanian fossils. Among the proposed names, the review identifies 6 as unavailable (including two previously considered available), 5 as objectively invalid, and 21 as potentially valid. The analysis reveals ambiguity in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) regarding conditional names and proposes a new principle for addressing these cases. Although H. rhodesiensis is among the potentially valid names, ethical considerations warrant its discontinuation. However, this creates nomenclatural instability, particularly for hypotheses regarding Chibanian taxa in Africa and Europe. To resolve this instability, developing a List of Available Names for Tribe Hominini under Article 79 of the ICZN is recommended.

Informal Nomenclature and Hominin Classification

John Hawks — 2025-11-03

Many of the names used by specialists in studies of hominin evolution are outside the formal Linnaean classification governed by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. These non-Linnaean names include many of the most widely used terms in the field, such as “Neanderthal” and “modern human”. Sometimes considered as “informal”, such names are often used as units of analysis in research as well as for communication to the public. Researchers have defined more and more of these non-Linnaean names in recent years, in part connected with the greater application of genomic information to recognize ancient groups. Archaeogenomics, which encompasses many Holocene and terminal Pleistocene human populations, has naming practices that are distinct from those typical of paleoanthropology. A survey of non-Linnaean names in current use within hominin evolution research reveals four overlapping patterns of naming, which have shifted in importance over the years. These practices have a history that began in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with the classification of human races. While some paleoanthropologists have argued for greater application of formal Linnaean names, the flexibility of non-Linnaean nomenclature has encouraged many specialists to use them in scientific communication and public engagement.

Links in the Chain: Lessons on Dealing with Evolving Lineages from the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, and the Problem of Homo heidelbergensis

Mary Silcox — 2025-11-06

Species identification in fossils often implicitly makes use of geographic and temporal gaps in the record to help bolster arguments distinguishing one species from another. As these gaps start to be filled, paleontologists are faced with the problem of what to do with intermediate forms that bridge the gaps between samples that had previously seemed distinct and well defined. This paper will discuss how this problem has been tackled by researchers working in the early Eocene (Wasatchian North American Land Mammal Age) of the Southern Bighorn Basin (SBHB) of Wyoming—a locale where an excellent, temporally continuous fossil record stretching approx. 2.5 million years has led to the identification of numerous temporal and morphological intermediates. Three primate examples are discussed: the Tetonius matthewi-Pseudotetonius ambiguus lineage of omomyoids, the Phenacolemur praecox-Phenacolemur fortior lineage of paromomyids, and the Arctodontomys nuptus-Microsyops angustidens lineage of microsyopids. In all three cases, specimens that were intermediate both temporally and in terms of morphology were identified in the context of large alpha taxonomic revisions of the SBHB collections for each group. Arguments are made for retaining the end members of these lineages as distinct taxa, and distinguishing intermediates from the other members of the lineages. Based on the lessons learned from those examples it is argued that using Homo heidelbergensis as a taxonomic name to encompass members of multiple lineages has the potential to obscure and obfuscate important questions in Paleoanthropology. It remains unclear, however, how many of the potentially valid taxonomic names for Middle Pleistocene hominins are diagnosable, a question that will require a temporally informed alpha taxonomic revision of this record.

Palaeoproteomic Contributions, and Current Limitations, to Understanding Middle and Late Pleistocene Human Evolution

Frido Welker — 2025-11-03

Over the past three decades, a new picture of our own ancestral past has emerged through the elucidation of the complex genetic relationships between Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans by the direct analysis of ancient hominin genomes. These genetic insights have largely been derived from ancient genomes dating to the Late Pleistocene. How preceding and additional contemporary hominin populations fit into their story is partly unknown. It has become clear that Middle and Late Pleistocene hominin populations were highly diverse, however. These hominins were present across Africa and Eurasia, with large portions of the hominin and faunal fossil record (far) beyond the reach of ancient DNA research. Palaeoproteomic analysis of skeletal proteomes has recently emerged as a potential additional biomolecular approach across the Pleistocene, providing molecular evidence on hominin evolutionary relationships, as well as insights into their behaviour through the palaeoproteomic analysis of associated zooarchaeological assemblages. Here, we summarise the state-of-the-art of Middle and Late Pleistocene palaeoproteomics, and its relevance to refining both our evolutionary as well as our ecological and behavioural understanding of the human past within this chronological window.

Evaluating Hominin taxic Diversity in the African Middle Pleistocene With Evolutionary Quantitative Genetics

Lauren Schroeder — 2025-11-06

The Middle Pleistocene hominin fossil record is taxonomically diverse, with Homo sapiens, Homo neanderthalesis, Homo naledi, and Homo erectus, all existing at various times during this period. These species are generally recognized as valid, but there is also an ambiguous group consisting of individuals that are regionally, temporally, and morphologically variable and difficult to categorize. This ‘Muddle in the Middle’ has been at the heart of many debates in the palaeoanthropological literature, with the main disagreement centered on how many species this group consists of. This disagreement has been further exacerbated given the difficulty of defining species in the fossil record using existing species concepts. While this is a challenge, some species concepts do include predictions that can be tested. One of these is Van Valen’s Ecological Species Concept (ESC), which describes a species as a group that occupies an adaptive zone, with stabilizing selection acting to maintain its morphological stability.

In this study, an established approach derived from evolutionary quantitative genetics was used as a proof of concept to test whether the pattern of morphological variation among the crania of eight Middle Pleistocene hominin individuals from Africa (600-150 ka) is more consistent with diversifying selection, stabilizing selection, or genetic drift. Results show that the vast majority of comparisons indicate a pattern of stabilizing selection, which aligns with the definition of a species according to the ESC. Four comparisons involving the Bodo 1 cranium show possible evidence of diversifying selection, which may indicate some taxic diversity. In conclusion, most of the individuals in this study follow the expectation of a single ecological species lineage. This is the first study to use this approach for taxonomic purposes.

Xujiayao Homo: A New Form of Large Brained Hominin in Eastern Asia

Xiujie Wu — 2025-11-06

Xujiayao, located in northern China, is an important paleoanthropological site because it dates to the late Middle Pleistocene (~200 ka - ~160 ka) and has a combination of hominin fossils, archaeology, and other vertebrate faunal traces. Unfortunately, since the Xujiayao hominin fossils were found in the mid-1970s, their taxonomic assignment has yet to be settled. Evaluations of the Xujiayao taxonomic position have ranged from being representative of Asian Homo erectus, Neanderthals, intermediate between H. erectus and modern H. sapiens, to being the skeletal biological side of the Denisovans, to being related to Xuchang 1, Penghu 1, and/or Xiahe 1, or possibly even representing a previously un-identified hominin species. In fact, the Xujiayao hominin fossils are quite unusual in their morphology, primarily because of their: 1) very large cranial capacity with a low and wide cranial shape; 2) unusual Neanderthal-like bi-level nasal floor, temporal labyrinthine proportion and thin occipital torus; 3) relatively large and complex teeth; 4) a slow pattern of dental growth and development state that is more in line with modern humans than earlier hominins; and 5) a mosaic of archaic and modern features of the mandible and temporal bone. The Xujiayao hominin fossils have several basal East Asian traits despite their young geological age, a few Neanderthal morphologies that are common but not exclusive to that lineage, and traits that are not seen in either archaic or recent humans including other Middle Pleistocene hominins from the region, except Xuchang, Penghu 1, Xiahe 1, and the Denisovans. Collectively, these fossils, minimally represent a new form of large brained hominin (Juluren) and possibly a new taxon altogether (H. juluensis sp. nov.); a late archaic hominin that was widespread throughout much of eastern Asia during the late Quaternary.

Diversity and Evolution of Archaic Eastern Asian Hominins: A Synthetic Model of the Fossil and Genetic Records

Yousuke Kaifu — 2025-11-06

With the discoveries of new hominin fossils from historically well-studied as well as poorly sampled regions, and thanks to great advances in paleogenetic studies, Asian paleoanthropology has now entered a new phase of research. In particular, fossil discoveries from insular Southeast Asia demonstrate unique ways of hominin evolution that contrast markedly with the continental pattern, while new fossils from the latter region reveal the hitherto unrecognized great range of morphological diversity that characterized pre-sapiens Asian Homo. Furthermore, extensive analyses of Denisovan genomes offer a new framework in which the existing Asian fossil record can be interpreted. In this paper, we review these developments by first summarizing our current knowledge about each of the major hominin fossils from eastern Asia. We then present a large scaled craniometric analysis to determine the basic pattern of spatiotemporal variation of eastern Asian hominins from the late Calabrian (late Early Pleistocene) through the Late Pleistocene. Based on this, we discuss four issues: the question of H. erectus evolutionary continuity on Java during the Pleistocene, evidence for regional continuity vs. discontinuity in continental East Asian archaic Homo, which of the existing fossils from eastern Asia represent Denisovans, and whether there is fossil evidence for Denisovans across the Sunda Shelf of Southeast Asia, implying an oversea distribution.

Phylogeny of Homo and its Implications for the Taxonomy of the Genus

Xijun Ni — 2025-11-06

The genus Homo has a moderately high degree of morphological diversity, with about fifteen species proposed. It is debatable whether there could have been several species of Homo coexisting and sharing similar ecological niches, especially during the Chibanian (Middle Pleistocene). A thorough systematic evaluation of these 'species' is needed, and a reliable phylogeny with high taxon coverage is critical to such an endeavor. Here we evaluate the potential taxonomic assignments of several Homo fossils using a phylogenetic framework based on a large morphological data matrix. The phylogenetic analyses suggest that human evolution was not a gradual process and was not obscured by recurrent gene flow. Several species or clades coexisted. There are at least three distinct and temporally deep clades in later human evolution, and these three clades are all monophyletic groups and can potentially be considered valid species. The African and Asian Homo erectus/Homo ergaster populations form a paraphyletic group, with Dmanisi not belonging to the other Eurasian H. erectus populations. It may be possible to identify these African, Asian, and Dmanisi populations as three distinct species. The Chibanian African and European non-sapiens and non-Neanderthal hominins are a paraphyletic group, representing transitional forms of varying degrees. Although there are many taxonomic names for these hominins, a thorough revision of these names is needed.

15th Annual Meeting of the European Society for the study of Human Evolution Abstracts Paris, 25-27 September 2025

ESHE: European Society for the study of Human Evolution — 2025-11-03

ESHE abstracts 2025.