Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

A recent discovery of a mandible (BH-1) from Mala Balanica (Serbia), with no derived Neandertal traits and a set of primitive character states comparable to Early Pleistocene mandibular specimens, produced an unexpectedly young radiometric date of 113 +72-43 ka, corroborated by faunal and geoarchaeological data. The combination of primitive morphology and an Upper Pleistocene age suggests that hominin evolution in Europe, prior to the arrival of the anatomically modern humans (AMH), could have followed a multilinear rather than a unilinear model and that Neandertals shared the Balkan Peninsula with a more primitive hominin population. The Balkans is emerging as an increasingly important area for paleontological study as a ""hotspot of biodiversity"" (Griffiths et al, 2004; Lesbarreres, 2008), and a refugial area during glaciations that retained substantial relic biota (Randi, 2007). At this stage, any Pleistocene hominin fossil from the region is bound to be relevant but even more importantly, this relatively well preserved semi-mandible, displays a number of primitive traits in comparison to both Neandertals and AMH. When compared to other Pleistocene specimens it clusters with Early Pleistocene ones and far from Neandertals, which cluster as a distinct group. While a direct biological connection to the Early Pleistocene hominins is unlikely, BH-1 clearly represents an individual from an archaic, non-Neandertal population with a suite of features falling at the primitive end of variational ranges. Excavations of a relatively small area in Mala Balanica produced five more fragments of human bone last year, and the site is likely to yield even more hominin fossil material. As a team, we will continue with excavations, paleoenvironmental reconstruction and rigorous dating program. In addition to continuous detailed morphological analyzes of the specimens, I intend to pursue comparative studies specifically with material from the Levant, Georgia and Gran Dolina hominins in Spain.