Homo floresiensis and Homo luzonensis are not temporally exceptional relative to Homo erectus - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Quaternary Science Année : 2023

Homo floresiensis and Homo luzonensis are not temporally exceptional relative to Homo erectus

Résumé

The presence of Homo floresiensis and Homo luzonensis in southeast Asia 90,000 to 60,000 years ago is considered surprising by many, and has been used to support their designation as unique species and the islands they were discovered on as refugia. Here, we statistically test the null hypothesis that H. floresiensis and H. luzonensis represent temporally uninterrupted occurrences relative to Homo erectus. We do this using the 'surprise test' for the exceptionality of a new record. Results demonstrate that H. floresiensis and H. luzonensis are not temporally distinct relative to H. erectus. Their late persistence should, therefore, not be considered surprising, they cannot reliably be inferred to be outside of H. erectus' temporal range, andtemporallythe islands of Luzon and Flores are not supported as refugia. Similarly, late H. erectus at Ngandong, Java, is not demonstrated to be temporally distinct relative to earlier, principally mainland-Asian, H. erectus. Further, we demonstrate that substantial numbers of fossil discoveries would be needed before H. floresiensis and H. luzonensis are outside of H. erectus' expected temporal range. If H. floresiensis and H. luzonensis are descended from H. erectus populations, our results point toward either geographic processes of allopatric speciation or behavioural processes leading to a sympatric speciation event.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
Roberts et al. 2023.pdf (787.06 Ko) Télécharger le fichier
Origine Publication financée par une institution

Dates et versions

hal-04407490 , version 1 (20-01-2024)

Licence

Identifiants

Citer

David L Roberts, Ivan Jarić, Stephen J Lycett, Dylan Flicker, Alastair Key. Homo floresiensis and Homo luzonensis are not temporally exceptional relative to Homo erectus. Journal of Quaternary Science, 2023, 38 (4), pp.463-470. ⟨10.1002/jqs.3498⟩. ⟨hal-04407490⟩
17 Consultations
62 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Mastodon Facebook X LinkedIn More