Cᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
Sub-Saharan Africa
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The coexistence of multiple hominid taxa in Africa is presented as a well-documented pattern extending through the Plio-Pleistocene. Fossil sequences from Swartkrans, Olduvai Gorge, Koobi Fora, the Shungura Formation, and Hadar record temporal—and in some cases spatial—overlap among Homo and Australopithecus taxa. The evidence is used to argue for substantial adaptive radiation among Hominidae rather than a single species occupying one universally shared adaptive niche.
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Le récit
The extract challenges the idea that competitive exclusion made the coexistence of several hominid taxa impossible. Continued recovery of African skeletal remains is said to have documented multiple taxa living during overlapping intervals, especially species of Australopithecus alongside pre-sapiens Homo. The argument concerns both temporal overlap and, in some settings, possible sympatry within the same geological horizons.
At Olduvai Gorge, Homo sp. and Australopithecus boisei occur together in several horizons, while Homo erectus appears in upper Bed II sediments that also yield A. boisei. At Koobi Fora, Homo sp., A. boisei, and possibly A. africanus occupy comparable horizons, and Homo erectus is described as near-contemporaneous with A. boisei. Comparable overlap is proposed for A. africanus and A. boisei in the Shungura Formation and for an unidentified Homo-affinity species with A. africanus in the Hadar Formation.
Taken together, these occurrences are interpreted as evidence that Hominidae underwent substantial adaptive radiation by Pliocene times, if not earlier. The extract also distinguishes coexistence from identical ecological use: geological overlap can demonstrate contemporaneity and sometimes proximity without proving that all taxa shared the same environment or activities. This caution is important because the fossil record remains incomplete and many associations are probabilistic.
Cᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The coexistence of multiple hominid taxa in Africa is presented as a well-documented pattern extending through the Plio-Pleistocene. Fossil sequences from Swartkrans, Olduvai Gorge, Koobi Fora, the Shungura Formation, and Hadar record temporal—and in some cases spatial—overlap among Homo and Australopithecus taxa. The evidence is used to argue for substantial adaptive radiation among Hominidae rather than a single species occupying one universally shared adaptive niche.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The extract challenges the idea that competitive exclusion made the coexistence of several hominid taxa impossible. Continued recovery of African skeletal remains is said to have documented multiple taxa living during overlapping intervals, especially species of Australopithecus alongside pre-sapiens Homo. The argument concerns both temporal overlap and, in some settings, possible sympatry within the same geological horizons.
At Olduvai Gorge, Homo sp. and Australopithecus boisei occur together in several horizons, while Homo erectus appears in upper Bed II sediments that also yield A. boisei. At Koobi Fora, Homo sp., A. boisei, and possibly A. africanus occupy comparable horizons, and Homo erectus is described as near-contemporaneous with A. boisei. Comparable overlap is proposed for A. africanus and A. boisei in the Shungura Formation and for an unidentified Homo-affinity species with A. africanus in the Hadar Formation.
Taken together, these occurrences are interpreted as evidence that Hominidae underwent substantial adaptive radiation by Pliocene times, if not earlier. The extract also distinguishes coexistence from identical ecological use: geological overlap can demonstrate contemporaneity and sometimes proximity without proving that all taxa shared the same environment or activities. This caution is important because the fossil record remains incomplete and many associations are probabilistic.
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