Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago

Abstract

The timing of the initial dispersal of hominins into Eurasia is unclear. Current evidence indicates hominins were present at Dmanisi, Georgia by 1.8 million years ago (Ma), but other ephemeral traces of hominins across Eurasia predate Dmanisi. However, no hominin remains have been definitively described from Europe until ~1.4 Ma. Here we present evidence of hominin activity at the site of Grăunceanu, Romania in the form of multiple cut-marked bones. Biostratigraphic and high-resolution U-Pb age estimates suggest Grăunceanu is > 1.95 Ma, making this site one of the best-dated early hominin localities in Europe. Environmental reconstructions based on isotopic analyzes of horse dentition suggest Grăunceanu would have been relatively temperate and seasonal, demonstrating a wide habitat tolerance in even the earliest hominins in Eurasia. Our results, presented along with multiple other lines of evidence, point to a widespread, though perhaps intermittent, presence of hominins across Eurasia by at least 2.0 Ma.

Fig. 1. Map of fossil localities showing evidence of hominins (either hominin fossils, lithics, or cut-marked bones) in northern Africa and Eurasia prior to 1.0 Ma.

Sites shown in blue text are suggested to be > 2 Ma. Inset in the lower left corner shows locations of fossil sites discussed in this study. Citations for fossil localities are provided in Supplementary Data 4. Blank world map data with country borders was drawn from Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA 3.0). Map inset images are drawn from satellite imagery available via Google Earth (GoogleLandsat / CopernicusData SIO, NOAA, U.S. Navy, NGA, GEBCOGeoBasis-DE/BKG ©2009 and GoogleAirbusMaxar TechnologiesCNES / Airbus).

Fig. 2. Selected images of high-confidence cut-marked specimens from the Olteţ River Valley assemblage.

A =  VGr.1483, B = VGr.2004, C = VGr.1515, D = VGr.0519, E = FM.0091. Scale bar in C is 1 cm.

Fig. 3. Results of the U-Pb dating analysis.

Results show age per sample (black circles) with corresponding uncertainties ( ± 2σ) after corrections accounting for initial ²³⁸U-²³⁴U disequilibrium for the nine samples from three localities analyzed here. See Supplementary Table 2 for details of each sample.

Fig. 4. Stable oxygen (upper row) and carbon (lower row) isotope values of upper cheek teeth of specimen VGr.0974 assigned to Equus sp.

Distance is measured from the enamel-root junction (ERJ) in millimeters (mm). The tooth series is arranged according to the eruption and mineralization pattern described in modern horses by ref. ; M¹= upper first molar, M²= upper second molar, P²= upper second premolar, P³= upper third premolar, P⁴= upper fourth premolar, M³= upper third molar. Black crosses indicate δ¹⁸O values in phosphate samples. M¹ and M² were not used in the climate reconstruction because they represent pre-weaning values but are figured for comparative reasons. The horizontal solid line represents the modern day weighted annual average δ¹⁸O value of meteoric water at Râmnicu Vâlcea while the horizontal dashed line and brackets above and below represents the average annual δ¹⁸O value of meteoric water reconstructed for Grăunceanu based on enamel carbonate δ¹⁸O. Vertical gray shading represents a year (summer peak to summer peak) for each tooth (see Supplementary Note 7). VSMOW= Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water; VPDB= Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite. Data represented in this figure are provided in Supplementary Data 3.

Fig. 5. Reported hominin localities from the Early Pleistocene of Eurasia and northern Africa prior to 1 Ma.

The presence of hominin remains, lithic materials, and hominin modifications (e.g., evidence of butchering) is indicated for each site. See Supplementary Data 4 for associated references and more details for each locality.