Palaeoenvironments of early hominins in temperate and Mediterranean Eurasia: new palaeobotanical data from Palaeolithic key-sites and synchronous natural sequences |
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Authors: | Erwan Messager Vincent Lebreton Laurent Marquer Elda Russo-Ermolli Ronan Orain Josette Renault-Miskovsky David Lordkipanidze Jackie Despriée Carlo Peretto Marta Arzarello |
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Affiliation: | 1. French Institute of Pondicherry, 11 St Louis Street, Pondicherry 605001, India;2. Sharma Centre for Heritage Education, 28, I Main Road, C.I.T. Colony, Mylapore, Chennai 600004, India;3. Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya, 407, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka;4. University of Lyon, Department of Geography, CNRS UMR 5600, 5 Avenue P. Mendès-France, 69676 Bron Cedex, France |
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Abstract: | The present study focuses on new palaeobotanical data (pollen, phytoliths and fruits) from three of the oldest Early Palaeolithic sites in Eurasia (Dmanisi in Georgia, Ca’ Belvedere di Monte Poggiolo in Italy and Pont-de-Lavaud in France). The main aim is to examine the ecological factors associated with the first human dispersals out of Africa into Eurasia. The palaeoecological data are discussed with regards to chronology and geographical location of the settlements. The vegetation pattern of each site consists of temperate Eurasian and Mediterranean taxa, subtropical trees being more or less recorded depending on climatic and geographic features. The new palaeobotanical data show that different vegetation structures occurred between the first human dispersal in Caucasus and the later dispersals in western Eurasia. However, in all cases hominins seemed to be adapted to temperate ecosystems. In Caucasus, human occupation took place at 1.7 Ma in a forest-steppe environment, while at ca 1 Ma human populations occupied various settings such as open landscapes or dense forests. These data suggest that during the Early Pleistocene, human populations evolved and dispersed in western Eurasia, gradually increasing their degree of adaptation to diversified environments. |
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