A multi-proxy approach to exploring Homo sapiens' arrival, environments and adaptations in Southeast Asia.

Acclimatization Biological Evolution Fossils History, Ancient Humans Laos Rainforest Tooth Vietnam

Journal

Scientific reports

ISSN: 2045-2322

Titre abrégé: Sci Rep

Pays: England

ID NLM: 101563288

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
26 10 2021

Historique:

received: 10 05 2021

accepted: 05 10 2021

entrez: 27 10 2021

pubmed: 28 10 2021

medline: 1 2 2022

Statut: epublish

Résumé

The capability of Pleistocene hominins to successfully adapt to different types of tropical forested environments has long been debated. In order to investigate environmental changes in Southeast Asia during a critical period for the turnover of hominin species, we analysed palaeoenvironmental proxies from five late Middle to Late Pleistocene faunas. Human teeth discoveries have been reported at Duoi U'Oi, Vietnam (70-60 ka) and Nam Lot, Laos (86-72 ka). However, the use of palaeoproteomics allowed us to discard the latter, and, to date, no human remains older than ~ 70 ka are documented in the area. Our findings indicate that tropical rainforests were highly sensitive to climatic changes over that period, with significant fluctuations of the canopy forests. Locally, large-bodied faunas were resilient to these fluctuations until the cooling period of the Marine Isotope Stage 4 (MIS 4; 74-59 ka) that transformed the overall biotope. Then, under strong selective pressures, populations with new phenotypic characteristics emerged while some other species disappeared. We argue that this climate-driven shift offered new foraging opportunities for hominins in a novel rainforest environment and was most likely a key factor in the settlement and dispersal of our species during MIS 4 in SE Asia.

Identifiants

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99931-4 PMID: 34702921 PMC: PMC8548499

pubmed: 34702921

doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-99931-4

pii: 10.1038/s41598-021-99931-4

pmc: PMC8548499

doi:

Types de publication

Historical Article Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

Pagination

21080

Informations de copyright

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