Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Asian Paleoanthropology pp 129–141Cite as

South Asia as a Geographic Crossroad: Patterns and Predictions of Hominin Morphology in Pleistocene India

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

Abstract

Current models of Asian Pleistocene hominin evolution are based on finds that represent a small portion of the geographic expanse of that continent. This is due to the sparse nature of the fossil record as well as varying traditions of paleoanthropological inquiry in these countries. As a result, models of hominin evolution that have emerged for Asia as a whole are not necessarily appropriate characterizations for individual regional populations. The Indian subcontinent in particular is expected to be distinct from China and Indonesia, based in part on genetic studies that suggest this was one of the first regions to be occupied by dispersing African populations. This study evaluates patterns of hominin morphology through a morphometric comparative analysis of the Hathnora specimen found along the Narmada River, and the only fairly complete Pleistocene fossil from South Asia. This fossil is compared to a sample of Old World Pleistocene specimens as well as Early Holocene South Asians and Andaman Islanders to elucidate patterns of variation both across space and through time. The results indicate that the Narmada hominin from Hathnora exhibits a mix of Southeast Asian and sub-Saharan African features. These results are consistent with India’s location between these two regions. A unique evolutionary model for Pleistocene Homo in India is proposed, incorporating the fact that this region was at a geographic crossroads, and predicting that the morphology found there will not conform to patterns found in other parts of Asia. Rather, morphological evolutionary trajectories for Pleistocene South Asian hominins are expected to reflect a blend of African and Asian traits.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Allison, P. D. (2000). Multiple imputation for missing data: a cautionary tale. Sociological Methods Research, 28(3), 301–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, P. (1984). An alternative interpretation of the characters used to define Homo erectus. Courier Forschungsintitut Senckenberg, 69, 167–175.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asfaw, B., Gilbert, W. H., Beyene, Y., Hart, W. K., Renne, P. R., WoldeGabriel, G., et al. (2002). Remains of Homo erectus from Bouri, Middle Awash, Ethiopia. Nature, 416(6878), 317–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Athreya, S. (2006). Patterning of geographic variation in Middle Pleistocene Homo frontal bone morphology. Journal of Human Evolution, 50(6), 627–643.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Athreya, S. (2007). Was Homo heidelbergensis in South Asia? A test using the Narmada fossil from Central India. In M. D. Petraglia & B. Allchin (Eds.), The evolution and diversity of humans in South Asia (pp. 137–170). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baab, K. L. (2008). The taxonomic implications of cranial shape variation in Homo erectus. Journal of Human Evolution, 54(6), 827–847.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bermudez de Castro, J. M., Martinon-Torres, M., Sarmiento, S., & Lozano, M. (2003). Gran Dolina-TD6 versus Sima de los Huesos dental samples from Atapuerca: evidence of discontinuity in the European Pleistocene population? Journal of Archaeological Science, 30(11), 1421–1428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bräuer, G. (1984). The “Afro-European sapiens hypothesis,” and hominid evolution in East Asia during the late Middle and Upper Pleistocene. Courier Forshungsinstitut Senckenberg, 69, 145–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bräuer, G., & Mbua, E. (1992). Homo erectus features used in cladistics and their variability in Asian and African hominids. Journal of Human Evolution, 22, 79–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bull, S. B., & Donner, A. (1987). The efficiency of multinomial logistic regression compared with multiple group discriminant analysis. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 82(400), 1118–1122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, D., Patnaik, R., & Sahni, A. (2004). The phylogenetic significance of the Middle Pleistocene Narmada hominin cranium from Central India. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 14(6), 419–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, N. A. (1984). Some aspects of allocation and discrimination. In G. N. van Vark & W. W. Howells (Eds.), Multivariate statistical methods in physical anthropology (pp. 177–192). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Reidel.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, R. J. (1990). The Ndutu cranium and the origin of Homo sapiens. Journal of Human Evolution, 19, 699–736.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comas, D., Plaza, S., Wells, R. S., Yuldaseva, N., Lao, O., Calafell, F., et al. (2004). Admixture, migrations and dispersals in Central Asia: evidence from maternal DNA lineages. European Journal of Human Genetics, 12(6), 495–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cronin, J. E., Boaz, N. T., Stringer, C. B., & Rak, Y. (1981). Tempo and mode in hominid evolution. Nature, 292, 113–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darroch, J., & Mossiman, J. (1985). Canonical and principal components of shape. Biometrika, 72, 241–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Lumley, M.-A., & Sonakia, A. (1985). First discovery of a Homo erectus on the Indian sub-continent, at Hathnora, in the Middle Valley of the Narmada River. Anthropologie – Paris, 89(1), 3–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobzhansky, T. (1963). Genetic entities in hominid evolution. In S. L. Washburn (Ed.), Classification and human evolution (pp. 347–362). Chicago: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Etler, D. (2004). Homo erectus in East Asia: human ancestor or evolutionary dead-end? Athena Review, 4(1), 37–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkey, D. E. (1998). Out of Asia: dental evidence for affinities and microevolution of early populations from India/Sri Lanka. Anthropology (p. 478). Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howell, F. C. (1994). A chronostratigraphic and taxonomic framework of the origins of modern humans. In M. H. Nitecki & D. V. Nitecki (Eds.), Origins of anatomically modern humans (pp. 253–319). New York: Plenum.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Howells, W. W. (1973). Cranial variation in man: a study by multivariate analysis of patterns of difference among recent human populations. Harvard University: Papers of the Peabody Museum. 67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karafet, T., Xu, L., Du, R., Wang, W., Feng, S., Wells, R. S., et al. (2001). Paternal population history of East Asia: sources, patterns and microevolutionary processes. American Journal of Human Genetics, 69(3), 615–628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keates, S. G. (2004). Home range size in Middle Pleistocene China and Human Dispersal Patterns in Eastern and Central Asia. Asian Perspectives, 43(2), 227–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, K. A. R. (1965). Human skeletal material from Ceylon, with an Analysis of the Island’s prehistoric and contemporary populations. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natual History, Geology, 2(4), 14–213.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, K. A. R. (1972). Anatomical description of two Crania from Ruamgarh: an ancient site in Dhalbhum, Bihar. Journal of the Indian Anthropological Society, 7, 129–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, K. A. R. (1982). Part II: Biological anthropology of human skeletal remains from Bagor: Osteology. In J. R. Lukacs, V. N. Misra, & K. A. R. Kennedy (Eds.), Bagor and Tilwara: Late Mesolithic cultures of Northwest India (pp. 27–60). Poona: Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, K. A. R. (1993). Recent discoveries and studies of the human skeletal remains of Ancient Sri Lankans: a paleoanthropological update. In P. K. Seth & S. Seth (Eds.), New perspectives in anthropology (pp. 299–341). New Delhi: MD Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, K. A. R. (2000). Yeleswaram revisited: the skeletal record. Man and Environment, 35(1), 35–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, K. A. R. (2002). Megalithic Pochampad: the skeletal biology and archaeological context of an iron age site in Andhra Pradesh, India. Asian Perspectives, 41(1), 103–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, K. A. R., & Chiment, J. (1991). The fossil hominid from the Narmada Valley, India: Homo erectus or Homo sapiens? Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Bulletin, 10(1), 42–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, K. A. R., Sonakia, A., Chiment, J., & Verma, K. K. (1991). Is the Narmada hominid an Indian Homo erectus? American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 86, 475–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kivisild, T., Rootsi, S., Metspalu, M., Mastana, S., Kaldma, K., Parik, J., et al. (2003). The genetic heritage of the earliest settlers persists both in Indian tribal and caste populations. American Journal of Human Genetics, 72(2), 313–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long, J. S. (1997). Regression models for categorical and limited dependent variables. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patnaik, R., Chauhan, P. R., Rao, M. R., Blackwell, B. A. B., Skinner, A. R., Sahni, A., et al. (2009). New geochronological, paleoclimatological, and archaeological data from the Narmada Valley hominin locality, central India. Journal of Human Evolution, 56(2), 114–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pope, G. (1992). Craniofacial evidence for the origin of modern humans in China. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, 35, 243–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Press, S. J., & Wilson, S. (1978). Choosing between logistic regression and discriminant analysis. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 73(364), 699–705.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, C. R. (1948). The utilization of multiple measurements in problems of biological classification. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B (Methodological), 10(2), 159–203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhode, M. P., & Arriaza, B. T. (2006). Influence of cranial deformation on facial morphology among prehistoric South Central Andean populations. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 130(4), 462–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rightmire, G. P. (1998). Human evolution in the Middle Pleistocene: the role of Homo heidelbergensis. Evolutionary Anthropology, 6(6), 218–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rightmire, G. P. (2001). Patterns of hominid evolution and dispersal in the Middle Pleistocene. Quaternary International, 75, 77–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santa Luca, A. P. (1978). A Re-examination of Presumed Neandertal-like Fossils. Journal of Human Evolution, 7, 619–636.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos, R. (1981). Effects of imputation on regression coefficients (pp. 140–145). American Statistical Association: Proceedings of the Survey Research Section.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schafer, J. L. (1997). Analysis of incomplete multivariate data. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman & Hall/CRC Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schafer, J. L. (1999a). Multiple imputation: a primer. Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 8, 3–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schafer, J.L. (1999b). NORM: multiple imputation of incomplete multivariate data under a normal model. 2.3 edn. Pennsylvania, PA: Pennsylvania State University, State College.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schafer, J. L., & Olsen, M. K. (1998). Multiple imputation for multivariate missing-data problems: a data analyst’s perspective. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 33(4), 545–571.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schafer, J. L., & Graham, J. W. (2002). Missing data: our view of the state of the art. Psychological Methods, 7(2), 147–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scherer, A. K. (2007). Population structure of the classic period Maya. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 132(3), 367–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sonakia, A. (1984). The skull-cap of early man and associated mammalian cauna from Narmada Valley alluvium, Hoshangabad area, Madhya Pradesh (India). Geological Survey of India Records, 113(6), 159–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonakia, A. (1985a). Early Homo from Narmada Valley, India. In E. Delson (Ed.), Ancestors: The Hard Evidence (pp. 334–338). New York: Alan R. Liss.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonakia, A. (1985b). Skull cap of an early man from the Narmada Valley alluvium (Pleistocene) of Central India. American Anthropologist, 87, 612–615.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stefan, V. H. (2004). Assessing intrasample variation: analysis of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) museum cranial collections example. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 124(1), 45–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swisher, C. C., Rink, W. J., Antón, S. C., Schwarcz, H. P., Curtis, G. H., Suprijo, A., Widiasmoro (1996). Latest Homo erectus of Java: potential contemporaneity with Homo sapiens in Southeast Asia. Science, 274, 1870–1874.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tattersall, I. (1986). Species recognition in human paleontology. Journal of Human Evolution, 15, 165–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorne, A. G., & Wolpoff, M. H. (1981). Regional continuity in Australasian Pleistocene hominid evolution. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 55, 337–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiwari, M. P., & Bhai, H. Y. (1997). Quaternary stratigraphy of the Narmada Valley. Geological Survey of India Special Publication, 46, 33–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wayman, J. C. (2003). Multiple imputation for missing data: what is it and how can I use it? Chicago, IL: Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolpoff, M.H. (1999). Paleoanthropology, 2nd edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolpoff, M. H., Wu, X., & Thorne, A. G. (1984). Modern Homo sapiens origins: a general theory of hominid evolution involving the fossil evidence from East Asia. In F. H. Smith & F. Spencer (Eds.), The origins of modern humans: a world survey of the fossil evidence (pp. 411–483). New York: Alan R. Liss.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, X. (2004). On the origin of modern humans in China. Quaternary International, 117(1), 131–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Christopher Norton, David Braun and John Harris for the invitation to participate in the symposium at which this paper was first presented. I am grateful to Eric Delson for his suggestions, which improved the final version of this paper. Thanks also to Kenneth Kennedy for providing the comparative Holocene data, and to Mica Glantz, Hélène Rougier, and Laura Shackelford for the discussions and feedback which contributed to the ideas presented here. All errors or omissions are my own.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, 4352 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Sheela Athreya

Authors
  1. Sheela Athreya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sheela Athreya .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Maile Way 346 Saunders Hall 2424, Honolulu, 96822-2223, Hawaii, USA

    Christopher J. Norton

  2. , Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa

    David R. Braun

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Athreya, S. (2011). South Asia as a Geographic Crossroad: Patterns and Predictions of Hominin Morphology in Pleistocene India. In: Norton, C., Braun, D. (eds) Asian Paleoanthropology. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9094-2_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation