Early Hominin Paleoenvironments and Habitat Heterogeneity

Environmental changes are often cited as the main driver of hominin evolutionary events, including major adaptive events such as bipedalism. Thus, researchers are particularly interested in the paleoenvironment of early hominins. The previous prevailing idea that hominins originated in expanding sav...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of anthropology 2024-10, Vol.53 (1), p.21-35
Main Author: Su, Denise F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
early hominin paleoenvironment
habitat heterogeneity
Mio-Pliocene
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Summary:Environmental changes are often cited as the main driver of hominin evolutionary events, including major adaptive events such as bipedalism. Thus, researchers are particularly interested in the paleoenvironment of early hominins. The previous prevailing idea that hominins originated in expanding savannas is contradicted by the association of the earliest hominins with more closed and mesic (i.e., moderately wet) habitats. The Pliocene homi-nins that followed lived in a variety of habitats characterized by high levels of heterogeneity and permanent sources of water. This article reviews what we know of Mio-Pliocene hominin paleoenvironments, discusses the nature of the observed habitat heterogeneity associated with early hominins and implications for hominin paleoecology, and considers the challenges we face in showing a causative relationship between environmental change and major evolutionary events.
ISSN:0084-6570
1545-4290
DOI:10.1146/annurev-anthro-041222-102712