Tautavel Man

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Tautavel Man
Temporal range: 0.55–0.4 
Ma
↓
Reconstructed face of Arago 21
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: Homininae
Tribe: Hominini
Genus: Homo
Species:
†H. erectus
Subspecies:
†H. e. tautavelensis
Trinomial name
†Homo erectus tautavelensis
de Lumley and de Lumley, 1979
Site of discovery in Tautavel, France

Tautavel Man refers to the

sensu stricto) morphology than a typical H. heidelbergensis morphology. The brain capacity is 1,166 cc. They seem to have had an overall robust
skeleton. Average height may have been 166 cm (5 ft 5 in).

The Caune de l'Arago opens on a cliffside 80 m (260 ft) above a river, overlooking the Tautavel plain, with a plateau above, and mountainous terrain to the sides. During and after human occupation, the area swung from temperate and humid forestland, to cold and dry

bifaces (hand axes). In beds G and F, they may have been practicing ritual cannibalism
. Evidence of fire is absent until bed C (400,000 years ago).

Research history

Opening to the Caune de l’Arago along a cliff-face, 80 m (260 ft) above the Verdouble river

Animal fossils were first reported from the

biblical chronology). In 1963, French archaeologist Jean Abélanet [fr] recovered stone tools, which inspired French archaeologist Henry de Lumley to continue excavation for human remains.[1] He found such remains in 1964, and recovered the first face (Arago 21) in 1971. He and fellow archaeologist Marie-Antoinette de Lumley (his wife) formally described the remains that same year. They dated them to the Riss glaciation—that is, predating the European Neanderthals (H. neanderthalensis or H. sapiens neanderthalensis).[2]

They and subsequent researchers made several parallels between the Arago material and

Middle Pleistocene European H. heidelbergensis, described from the German Mauer 1 mandible in 1908. H. heidelbergensis is typically defined as the direct ancestor of Neanderthals.[5]
: 10 

The skull of the Tautavel inhabitants can only be reconstructed using the crushed (and thus distorted) partial face Arago 21 and the partial

Petralona, Greece.[8]
: 42 

Replicas of Arago 13 (left) and 2 (right)

By 2014, a total of 148 human bones had been recovered from the Caune de l'Arago, including 123 teeth, 5 jawbones, 9 upper limb elements, and 19 lower limb elements. These represent 18 adults and 12 juveniles, 30 individuals in total. Based on dental development, about 30% of the specimens died between the ages of 7 and 12, 37% between 18 and 30, 30% between 30 and 40, and 3% over 40. This would give an average life expectancy (assuming the individual survived infancy) of 20–25 years. The perceived

infant mortality rate (from ages 1–6) is 11%, which is conspicuously low. If especially robust bones are assumed to be males, then females slightly outnumber males, but the proportion is roughly equally. All the non-tooth skull specimens (Arago 21, 47, and 45) are assumed to be male. For the jawbone specimens, only Arago 13 is assumed to be male, and the others (Arago 2, 89, 119, 130, and 131) are assumed to be female. The iliac specimens (a hip bone), Arago 44 and 121, are female.[8]
: 8–11 

Anatomy

Reconstructed skeleton of Tautavel Man

The reconstructed skull of Tautavel Man (based on Arago 21 and 47) shares many similarities with that of H. erectus s. s. These include: strongly defined brows, a receding forehead, a relatively low face, a depression between the eyebrows,

temporal lines), and a more defined post-orbital constriction. According to Mrs. de Lumley, they differ from the roughly contemporaneous H. heidelbergensis by retaining basal (archaic) characteristics, including a longer skull, more defined brow ridge, more receding forehead, less defined post-orbital constriction, less developed prognathism, and smaller brain capacity—that is, by being somewhat more H. erectus grade than H. neanderthalensis grade.[8]: 36–41  The Arago 21 face probably belonged to a 20-year-old, as indicated by the state of the fronto-pariental suture; based on its robustness, it is assumed to be male.[9][10][11]

The reconstructed Tautavel skull measures 199 mm (7.8 in) along its long axis. This maximum measurement is similar to that of H. erectus from

trigonid crest, a cusp of Carabelli, and one or two accessory cusps, which are basal traits.[8]
: 23–31 

In 1983, American anthropologist Ralph Holloway estimated the brain volume as 1,166 cc (71.2 cu in) using the Arago 21 face, Arago 47 parietal, and Swanscombe occipital bone. This volume is comparable to that of Peking Man from Zhoukoudian, China, and is on the lower end of the range of variation for modern humans. Originally, Holloway theorized that Tautavel Man was a "very garrulous [talkative] individual" based on the expanded Broca's area (which is associated with speech production in modern humans), but in 2004 he admitted "this was pure speculation."[7] Evidence regarding the speech capability of Middle Pleistocene European hominins is mixed. A 400,000-year-old hyoid bone (which supports the tongue and thus humanlike speech production) from Castel di Guido, Italy, assigned to a terminal population of H. erectus is quite apelike,[13] but a hyoid bone from the SH hominins (on the Neanderthal line) appears quite humanlike.[14]

As for the rest of the skeleton, the only elements of the spine and torso identified are a single

femora, two tibiae, and seven fibulae have been identified,[8]: 31–33  and, as in H. erectus, they are quite thick; this would have constricted the medullary cavity, where bone marrow is stored. This thickening is generally explained as being due to fast bone growth in adolescence. As in Neanderthals, the leg bones are quite robust, which may be a response to the cold climate, greater physical activity, or both.[15] Using the femora and fibulae, Tautavel Man's average height has been estimated as roughly 166 cm (5 ft 5 in).[8]
: 10 

Culture

Palaeoenvironment

Beds D–H during 2008 excavation

The Caune de l’Arago is currently 35 m (115 ft) long and varies 5 to 9 m (16 to 30 ft) in width, but the walls and roof have likely caved in significantly over the last hundreds of thousands of years. Excavation of the site is overseen by the IPH (Institut de Paléontologie Humaine) and the CERPT (Centre Européen de Recherche Préhistorique de Tautavel).

oxygen isotope stages 14–10 (roughly 550–400 thousand years ago). They are made of sand and aeolian sandy loam, overlain by a thick stalagmite layer, overlain by a breccia. Almost all human remains came from bed G, which has been dated to 455,000 years ago using uranium–thorium dating.[8]: 3–4  The cave is one of the earliest known inhabited caves in the Pyrenees.[18]

Throughout human occupation, the Caune de l'Arago provided access to a mountainous and riverine habitat, a plateau above, and a plain below.

beaver (Castor fiber) hunting in beds G and J.[23] Like many other human sites, the inhabitants in different beds preferentially targeted a certain prey item over others, such as reindeer in bed L, red and fallow deer in bed J, and musk ox at the top of bed G. Argali is commonly found in all beds, and may have been brought in not only by humans but also non-human carnivores, particularly in beds O, N, and M.[24]

Looking at the dental development of animals under two years old, it is possible to tell what time of year the animal was hunted, and thus, when the inhabitants occupied the cave. Based on this, long-term occupation was featured in bed G; intermittent occupation of a few months in beds P, J, I, F, E, and D; and short occupation with little hunting at all in bed L. Similarly, human baby teeth are present in the long term and seasonally inhabited beds, indicating entire families with children inhabited the cave; these are absent in bed L, which could mean only brief habitation by a small hunting party.[8]: 8 

Technology

Denticulate tool from the Caune de l'Arago

To describe the stone tool industry present in the Caune de l'Arago, the de Lumley's had coined the term "Proto-Cherantian" (the Cherantian is a possible subtype of the Neanderthal Mousterian industry), defined as a tradition which produces few bifaces (hand axes). They changed this to "Mediterranean Acheulean" in 2004, and the label "Proto-Cherantian" is no longer widely used.[25]

About 63% of the tools are large stone shards, 32%

bifaces (hand axes), 3% unifaces, and 0.8% polyhedron- and spheroid-shaped tools. Of the elaborate choppers, about 60% have a single edge, 26% have multiple points, and 9% are converging points with two edges and a single point. Bifaces are tools which feature perfect symmetry on both sides, and are sometimes interpreted as having been produced this way for purely aesthetic purposes.[8]
: 6–7 

Low quality

hornfel.[26]

Evidence of fire is present in only the upper part of bed C, dating to roughly 400,000 years ago.[8]: 8  Similarly, the archaeological record reports sparse and infrequent fire usage until around 400,000 years ago, which may correlate with the true domestication of fire and the invention of fire-starting technology, or simply better fire maintenance strategies.[27]

Cannibalism

Some humans bones in beds G and F appear to have been cracked open while still fresh, or have striations consistent with skinning and butchering, which may attest to the practice of cannibalism. This could explain the conspicuous absence of chest and (by-and-large) hand and foot bones, which should have been left behind if these individuals had been eaten by animals. If this is correct, then the Tautavel inhabitants of bed G specifically consumed brains, tongues, and the flesh and bone marrow of the limbs of the recently deceased or killed. This would indicate ritual cannibalism as opposed to survival cannibalism; otherwise the butcherers would presumably have utilised the entire body rather than only certain sections.[8]: 33–36 

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Arago Cave". Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication. Archived from the original on 19 March 2005. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  2. ^ de Lumley, H.; de Lumley, M.-A. (1971). "Découverte de restes humains anténéandertaliens datés du début de Riss á la Caune de l'Arago (Tautavel, Pyrénées-Orientales)" [Discovery of anteneanderthal human remains dated to before the Riss from Arago Cave (Tautavel, Pyrénées-Orientales)]. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences de Paris (in French). 272: 1729–1742.
  3. ISBN 978-0-226-13889-3
    .
  4. ^ de Lumley, H. (1979). "L'homme de Tautavel" [The Man of Tautavel]. Les dossiers de V Archéologie (in French). 36: 1–111.
  5. ^ a b c Guipert, G. (2005). Reconstruction and Phyletic Position of the Skull Bones of Tautavel Man (Arago 21-47) and Biache-Saint-Vaast 2. Contribution of Imaging and Three-Dimensional Analysis (PhD). Université Paul Cézanne.
  6. ^ a b Subsol, G.; Mafart, B.; Silvestre, A.; de Lumley, M.A. (2002). "3D Image Processing for the Study of the Evolution of the Shape of the Human Skull: Presentation of the Tools and Preliminary Results" (PDF). In B. Mafart; H. Delingette; G. Subsol (eds.). Three-Dimensional Imaging in Paleoanthropology and Prehistoric Archaeology. BAR International Series 1049. pp. 37–45.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^
    ISBN 9780471418238
    .
  8. ^
    doi:10.1016/j.anthro.2015.06.001
    .
  9. PMID 9467776
    .
  10. ISBN 978-3-540-32474-4
    .
  11. ^ "Homme de Tautavel (Homo erectus)". Hominidés.com (in French). Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  12. doi:10.1504/IJVS.2007.016747
    .
  13. PMID 19149203
    .
  14. PMID 17804038
    .
  15. ^ Chevalier, T. (2014). "Endostructure osseuse et fossiles humains à la Caune de l'Arago, à Tautavel" [Bone endostructure and fossil humans from the Caune de l’Arago, Tautavel]. Le mag d'Université de Perpignan (in French): 17.
  16. ^ Chandalier, L.; Roche, F. "Terrestrial laser scanning for paleontologists: The Tautavel Cave" (PDF). Proceedings of CIPA Symposium 22. Kyoto, Japan: The International Committee for Documentation of Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  17. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2003.12.008
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  18. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2003.07.008
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  19. ^
    S2CID 85798520
    .
  20. ^
    S2CID 92294179
    .
  21. ISBN 978-0-521-65872-0
    .
  22. doi:10.3406/quate.1998.1614
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  23. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.11.023
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  24. doi:10.1002/oa.822
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  25. ^ Doronichev, V. B. (2008). "The Lower Paleolithic in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus: A Reappraisal of the Data and New Approaches" (PDF). PaleoAnthropology. 2008: 107–157 [115]. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-10-13. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  26. ISSN 1631-0683
    .
  27. S2CID 10400378
    .

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