Regional continuity in Australasian Pleistocene hominid evolution

Area of Science:

• Paleoanthropology
• Human Evolution
• Pleistocene Archaeology

Background:

• The Indonesian Homo erectus specimen Sangiran 17 provides crucial insights into early human populations.
• Understanding regional morphological variation is key to reconstructing hominid dispersal and evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reconstruct the Indonesian Homo erectus specimen Sangiran 17.
• To investigate regional morphological continuity in Australasia during the middle and late Pleistocene.
• To compare Sangiran 17 with other hominid specimens, such as those from Kow Swamp, Australia.

Main Methods:

• Reconstruction of the Sangiran 17 Homo erectus specimen.
• Comparative morphological analysis with late Pleistocene hominid specimens from Kow Swamp.
• Application of the "center and edge" hypothesis and a dynamic model of geneflow and selection.

Main Results:

• The Sangiran 17 specimen exhibits features suggesting regional morphological continuity in Australasia.
• A morphological clade is identified through comparison with Kow Swamp males.
• The "center and edge" hypothesis and geneflow models explain regional variation and clinal equilibrium.

Conclusions:

• Regional morphological continuity existed in Australasia during the middle and late Pleistocene.
• A dynamic interplay of geneflow and selection likely maintained long-standing clinal equilibria in ancient hominid populations.