Lost in translation: update from SMNP

Research on wild primates is an amazing process of discovery. The monkeys act out little parts in a cosmic soap opera that serves as the background to your dissertation research. While gelada social interactions form the basis of my research, interchanges with fellow language-using primates provide much need comic relief during my time out here. For example, here is a conversation I attempted to have with my field assistant. He speaks more English than I do Amharic, but that’s really not saying much.

E-”Dinquinesh is bulls of first Ethiopian”
Me-”Bulls?”
E-”Balls of first Ethiopian.”
Me-”Balls of first Ethiopian?”
E-”Ishi” (yes)

Students of human evolution probably get the humor in this conversation. E was remarking about the fossil hominin–Lucy (who is known as “Dinquinesh” in Amarhic, roughly meaning “thou art wonderful”). Lucy was discovered by American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson in Hadar, Ethiopia in 1974. She is a member of an ancient hominin species–Australopithecus afarensis–that lived approximately 3.1 million years ago.Of course, E was trying to tell me, “Dinquinesh is the bones of the first Ethiopian.” I’ll have to try to tell him about Ardipithecus ramidus and Ar. kadabba. It promises to be a very funny conversation in our pseudo-pidgin language.

In other news, fieldwork is going well. Beyond rewriting Ethiopian prehistory, I’ve experience the following highlights in the past month:

1. Ahab and Moby Dick returning to bachelor units after failed attempts to enter one-male units (see last year’s posts).
2. A battle between hamadryas baboons and geladas worthy of pay per view television.
3. Watching a ‘mechanic’ in a small Ethiopian village put our tire back on our field truck. He was wearing a grease-covered jumpsuit and smoking a cigarette as he worked. This qualifies him as a mechanic.

Until next time.

Back in the Simien Mountains

Hello all! This is my first post since arriving in the Simien Mountains National Park (SMNP), Ethiopia two weeks ago. Over the next two months, I will update BA&BHB with information gleaned from my pilot research on bachelor geladas living in all-male units here in SMNP. The past few weeks have been extremely busy–learning new bachelors, catching up with males from last summer who have since entered harems, adjusting to the altitude (~3200 meters above sea level), and trying out new recipes at our base camp for my colleagues’ pleasure (or displeasure).

Please check back in the coming weeks for updates from SMNP.

Most complete fossil primate, Darwinius masillae

Here is a link to a recent publication describing the most complete known fossil primate specimen–Darwinius masillae–from PLoS One. The fossil dates to the early-middle Eocone (~41 million years ago). I would love to write more, however the article is summarizes the findings better than I could with my current schedule. I am very busy preparing for fieldwork. Tomorrow I leave for Ethiopia. My next post will be from the Simien Mountains.

You can read the entire article at PLoS One HERE.

A summer for hobbits

Two publications in Nature this week ^1,2, a special issue of the Journal of Human Evolution, and a conference at Stony Brook University this past month provide new data on the origins of the curious fossil hominin from Ling Bua Cave, Flores, Indonesia. First announced in 2004 ^3,4, the LB-1 fossil hominin has been the subject of much debate. Its peculiar stature (est. 30 kg, 1.06 m tall), cranial capacity (417 cm³), age (38,000-18,000 years ago), and location (the remote island of Flores in eastern Indonesia) have led scientists to various interpretations of the fossil ⁵. Is LB-1 a new hominin species (Homo floresiensis) ^3,4? If so, which fossil hominin is its ancestor and how did they arrive on the island of Flores? Alternatively, LB-1 might represent an individual who suffered from a developmental pathology causing her small stature such as Laron syndrome ⁶.

 

I was initially skeptical of LB-1’s status as a new species of hominin, yet the two recent Nature publications suggest Homo floresiensis may indeed be a legitimate taxon ^1,2. The foot of LB-1 is exceptionally long relative to its femur and tibia and is outside the expected range of variation observed in hominins, but within the range of variation observed in chimpanzees and bonobos ². While other aspects of its lower limbs suggest that Homo floresiensis was an obligate biped, it may not have had the endurance running capabilities of Homo erectus ^2,5. Additionally, evidence from fossil hippopotamus species from Madagascar suggests that the degree of brain size reduction observed in Homo floresiensis is observed in other mammalian species suffering from insular dwarfism ¹. In other words, the extremely reduced cranial capacity of H. floresiensis (assuming a late Homo ancestor) can be explained through evolutionary, not pathological, processes.

 

1. Weston, E. M. & Lister, A. M. Insular dwarfism in hippos and a model for brain size reduction in Homo floresiensis. Nature 459, 85-88 (2009).
2. Jungers, W. L., Harcourt-Smith, W. E. H., Wunderlich, R. E., Tocheri, M. W., et al. The foot of Homo floresiensis. Nature 459, 81-84 (2009).
3. Brown, P., Sutikna, T., Morwood, M. J., Soejono, R. P., et al. A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia. Nature 431, 1055-1061 (2004).
4. Morwood, M. J., Soejono, R. P., Roberts, R. G., Sutikna, T., et al. Archaeology and age of a new hominin from Flores in eastern Indonesia. Nature 431, 1087-1091 (2004).
5. Lieberman, D. E. Homo floresiensis from head to toe. Nature 459, 41-42 (2009).
6. Hershkovitz, I., Kornreich, L. & Laron, Z. Comparative skeletal features between Homo floresiensis and patients with primary growth hormone insensitivity (Laron Syndrome). Am J Phys Anthropol 134, 198-208 (2007).

 

 

Here is an interesting video from Science Friday explaining the recent research.

New theme

Hi all. I’ve switched themes just in time for this summer’s fieldwork. Look for updates from Ethiopia in the coming weeks (and maybe some other commentary in the meantime). For now, a view of the beautiful Simien Mountains.

 

photo by Beast Ape