A multi-proxy approach to exploring Homo sapiens’ arrival, environments and adaptations in Southeast Asia - Archive ouverte HAL Access content directly
Journal Articles Scientific Reports Year : 2021

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

Nicolas Bourgon
Frido Welker
  • Function : Author
Enrico Cappellini
  • Function : Author
Nguyen Thi Mai Huong
  • Function : Author
Nguyen Anh Tuan
  • Function : Author
Thongsa Sayavonkhamdy
  • Function : Author
Viengkeo Souksavatdy
  • Function : Author
Phonephanh Sichanthongtip
  • Function : Author
Pierre-Olivier Antoine
Philippe Duringer
Jean-Luc Ponche
  • Function : Author
Kira Westaway
  • Function : Author
Renaud Joannes-Boyau
Quentin Boesch
  • Function : Author
Eric Suzzoni
Sébastien Frangeul
Elise Patole-Edoumba
  • Function : Author
Alexandra Zachwieja
Laura Shackelford
Fabrice Demeter

Abstract

Abstract 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.
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Dates and versions

hal-03429061 , version 1 (15-11-2021)

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Anne-Marie Bacon, Nicolas Bourgon, Frido Welker, Enrico Cappellini, Denis Fiorillo, et al.. A multi-proxy approach to exploring Homo sapiens’ arrival, environments and adaptations in Southeast Asia. Scientific Reports, 2021, 11 (1), ⟨10.1038/s41598-021-99931-4⟩. ⟨hal-03429061⟩
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