Bonnefille, R. et al. (2004): High-resolution vegetation and climate change associated with Pliocene Australopithecus afarensis

Leg/Site/Hole:
ODP 117
ODP 117 721
ODP 117 722
Identifier:
2007-109680
georefid
10.1073/pnas.0401709101
doi
Creator:
Bonnefille, R.
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre Europeen de Recherche et Enseisgnement des Geosciences de l'Environnement, Aix-en-Provence, France
author
Potts, R.
Smithsonian Institution, United States
author
Chalie, F.
Universite Montpellier II, France
author
Jolly, D.
Universite de Franche Compte, France
author
Peyron, O.
author
Identification:
High-resolution vegetation and climate change associated with Pliocene Australopithecus afarensis
2004
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, United States
101
33
12125-12129
Plio-Pleistocene global climate change is believed to have had an important influence on local habitats and early human evolution in Africa. Responses of hominin lineages to climate change have been difficult to test, however, because this procedure requires well documented evidence for connections between global climate and hominin environment. Through high-resolution pollen data from Hadar, Ethiopia, we show that the hominin Australopithecus afarensis accommodated to substantial environmental variability between 3.4 and 2.9 million years ago. A large biome shift, up to 5 degrees C cooling, and a 200- to 300-mm/yr rainfall increase occurred just before 3.3 million years ago, which is consistent with a global marine delta (super 18) O isotopic shift.
English
Serial
Coverage:Geographic coordinates:
North:11.0900
West:40.3500East: 40.3900
South:11.0600
Stratigraphy; adaptation; Africa; Angiospermae; Arabian Sea; Australopithecinae; Australopithecus; Australopithecus afarensis; biologic evolution; C-13/C-12; carbon; Cenozoic; Chordata; clastic rocks; clastic sediments; climate; climate change; Cyperaceae; Dicotyledoneae; dust; East Africa; Ethiopia; Eutheria; Gramineae; Hadar; Hadar Formation; high-resolution methods; Hominidae; igneous rocks; Indian Ocean; isotope ratios; isotopes; lacustrine environment; Leg 117; Liliopsida; Magnoliophyta; Mammalia; marl; microfossils; miospores; Monocotyledoneae; Neogene; north-central Ethiopia; O-18/O-16; Ocean Drilling Program; ODP Site 721; ODP Site 722; Owen Ridge; oxygen; paleoclimatology; paludal environment; palynomorphs; Plantae; Pliocene; pollen; Primates; pyroclastics; sedimentary rocks; sediments; Spermatophyta; stable isotopes; terrestrial environment; Tertiary; Tetrapoda; Theria; tuff; Typha; vegetation; Vertebrata; volcanic rocks;
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