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Paper short abstract:

Recent studies have highlighted the role of geomorphological processes in creating landscapes which were attractive to our hominin ancestors during the Plio-Pleistocene. They further our knowledge of the habitat niche of hominins and their routes of dispersal within Africa and beyond.

Paper long abstract:

Here I briefly review palaeoenvironmental evidence from sites repeatedly used by hominins in eastern and southern Africa, such as Sterkfontein (Cradle of Humankind, Gauteng, South Africa). Common 'mosaic' habitat reconstructions involve the presence of a lake or river setting, with a combination of forest or woodland with savannah grasslands in close spatial proximity. The Tectonic Landscape Model (Bailey et al. 2011 & Reynolds, et al., 2011) is a new hominin habitat model which explains why certain sites appeared to have been repeatedly used by our ancestors for over millions of years. Specific geomorphological processes, such as tectonic faulting, have created complex topography and thereby encouraged heterogeneous habitats to form, and sustained such features through time. The Plio-Pleistocene is characterised by several key climatic transitions that could have presented unique challenges for hominins and other fauna. Therefore, a more complete appreciation of how geomorphological processes affecting landscapes, surface water and vegetation is critical to the characterisation of hominin niches and also for adaptive strategies employed by our ancestors to past climatic changes. Interestingly, the use of complex topography used by hominins may explain the aspects of their postcranial anatomy, diets and possible dispersal routes followed by them.

Bailey, G.N.; Reynolds, S.C. and King G. C. P. (2011). Tectonic geomorphology and hominin landscapes: models, methods and hypotheses. Journal of Human Evolution. 60(3):257-280.

Reynolds, S.C.; Bailey, G. and King G. C. P. (2011). Landscapes and their relation to hominin habitats: case studies from Australopithecus sites in eastern and southern Africa. Journal of Human Evolution 60(3):281-298.

SALLY C. REYNOLDS: Institute for Human Evolution, University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) and School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University (United Kingdom). Email<<reynolds@ipgp.fr>