Pleistocene Hominin Fossil Record of Africa

Abstract

Which hominins are responsible for creating the Pleistocene archaeological record of Africa? Given that tool use has been recorded through paleontological and archaeological records over the last approximately 2.5 million years (Myr), we know that multiple hominin species must be involved in technological innovations at different times and locations. Although tool use and manufacture were once considered unique characteristics of our own genus (Homo), the last few decades have shown us that there may be archaeological evidence of tool use before the genus Homo (McPherron et al., 2010; Harmand et al., 2015). Another intractable issue is that it is nearly impossible to know whether archaeological materials and hominins are related to one another, even if found in situ at the same site. There are many lines of evidence that might mislead an association between hominin remains and archaeology: hominins can scavenge and repurpose tools, have late access to an already butchered carcass, or be preserved at a location where tools were either discarded by another hominin species or accumulated through other taphonomic processes. In short, identifying which hominins are responsible for the archaeological record is not always clear-cut. Here, we briefly discuss the 11 species of hominins currently recognized in Africa during the Pleistocene, selected by virtue of their temporal placement within the Pleistocene span (2.58 million years ago (Ma) to 11 thousand years ago (ka), the focal period of the volume) and their direct and indirect associations with tool-making capacity. For readership’s sake, we list the main traits (both derived and primitive) that distinguish the featured taxa in Table 1. Although all of these species may have been contributors to the archaeological record of Africa during the Pleistocene, only a handful seem to be unequivocally linked to tool use or manufacture.