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Middle Pleistocene Diversity in Africa and the Origin of Modern Humans

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Modern Origins

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

Abstract

Different views exist on the pattern of Middle Pleistocene evolution in Africa. Some favor a splitting into two or more species, for example, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo helmei, and Homo sapiens, whereas others see evidence for a continuously evolving lineage of only one chronospecies, Homo sapiens sensu lato. This latter view then considers the one chronospecies to be separated further into several subspecies, grades, steps, paleo-demes or other entities. The question is, which of these diverse perspectives is best supported by the current evidence? There is also some disagreement about the geographic pattern of the anatomical modernization process. Although there is clear evidence that northern, eastern, and southern Africa were involved, it appears difficult to assess the distinct roles of the different regions within this long-term process. Interregional migration, for example, during periods of a “green Sahara” might have led to complex patterns.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Jean-Jacques Hublin and Shannon McPherron for inviting me to this interesting conference, as well as the other members of the organizing team for their kind support. I also thank my friends and colleagues during the conference for their stimulating conversation some of which I also tried to address in this contribution. Many thanks go to Frederik Jessen, Angelika Kroll and Eszter Schoell for their great support with the final version of the manuscript. I am also grateful to Jean-Jacques Hublin and Tim White for permission to use several photographs. Last but not least, I thank the numerous colleagues and friends for their kind cooperation and generous support during my studies of the African hominin material over the last three decades. The chapter benefited from the constructive comments of the three reviewers.

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  1. Abteilung für Humanbiologie, Universität Hamburg, Allende-Platz 2, 20146, Hamburg, Germany

    G. Bräuer

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  1. Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany

    Jean-Jacques Hublin

  2. Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany

    Shannon P. McPherron

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Bräuer, G. (2012). Middle Pleistocene Diversity in Africa and the Origin of Modern Humans. In: Hublin, JJ., McPherron, S. (eds) Modern Origins. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2929-2_15

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