同位素证据表明,早期的原始人使用了景观
Sandi R Copeland1, Matt Sponheimer, Darryl J de Ruiter
1Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. sandi.copeland@colorado.edu
Nature
|June 4, 2011
概括
早期的雌性原始人可能比雄性更分散,类似于黑猩猩. 这项研究使用了同位素分析,揭示了澳大利亚白非洲人 (Australopithecus africanus) 和强壮人 (Paranthropus robustus) 的不同景观使用模式.
科学领域:
- 古人类学古人类学.
- 同位素地球化学 同位素地球化学
- 灵长类生态学灵长类生态学
背景情况:
- 了解早期人类的分布和居住模式对于重建它们的生态,生物学,社会结构和进化至关重要.
- 以前的方法,如形态学和石器采购,由于高度不确定性而存在局限性.
- 石同位素分析提供了一种新的方法,可以根据牙矿化过程中的地质基板推断景观使用.
研究的目的:
- 为了研究早期人类的景观使用,Australopithecus africanus和Paranthropus robustus.
- 为了确定性别之间的范围模式是否存在差异.
- 为了将早期人类的分散模式与现存灵长类动物的分散模式进行比较.
主要方法:
- 在南非斯特克福因特和斯瓦特克兰斯洞穴遗址的化石人类牙上进行了同位素分析.
- 根据同位素组成确定与个体相关的地质基质.
- 与人体大小相关的同位素数据,推断由于性二态性而代表性别.
主要成果:
- 与较大的原始人相比,较小的原始人的比例更高,表现出非局部的同位素组成.
- 鉴于性二态,较小的个体很可能是雌性,这表明雌性比雄性更频繁地分散.
- 很少有大型原始人个体显示非本地签名,可能表明较小的男性家庭范围或偏好特定的景观.
结论:
- 早期的原始人 (澳大利亚人非洲人 (Australopithecus africanus和Paranthropus robustus) 的社会结构可能涉及女性偏见的分散,反映了黑猩猩和红猩猩的模式.
- 这与大猩猩和其他一些灵长类动物的社会结构形成鲜明对比.
- 这些发现为早期人类的行为生态和进化途径提供了新的见解.
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