Cited by 142Pleistocene-Era Hominins and ArchaeologyPrimate Behavior and EcologyLanguage and cultural evolution

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The primitive brain of early Homo

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Ponce de León, Marcia S., Bienvenu, Thibault, Marom, Assaf, Engel, Silvano, Tafforeau, Paul, Alatorre Warren, José Luis, Lordkipanidze, David, Kurniawan, Iwan, Murti, Delta Bayu, Suriyanto, Rusyad Adi, Koesbardiati, Toetik, Zollikofer, Christoph P. E.·2021·Science

DOI 10.1126/science.aaz0032

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Abstract

Brain evolution in early Homo Human brains are larger than and structurally different from the brains of the great apes. Ponce de León et al. explored the timing of the origins of the structurally modern human brain (see the Perspective by Beaudet). By comparing endocasts, representations of the inner surface of fossil brain cases, from early Homo from Africa, Georgia, and Southeast Asia, they show that these structural innovations emerged later than the first dispersal of the genus from Africa, and were probably in place by 1.7 to 1.5 million years ago. The modern humanlike brain organization emerged in cerebral regions thought to be related to toolmaking, social cognition, and language. Their findings suggest that brain reorganization was not a prerequisite for dispersals from Africa, and that there might have been more than one long-range dispersal of early Homo . Science , this issue p. 165 ; see also p. 124

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Authors: Ponce de León, M. S., Bienvenu, T., Marom, A., Engel, S., Tafforeau, P., Alatorre Warren, J. L., Lordkipanidze, D., Kurniawan, I., Murti, D. B., Suriyanto, R. A., Koesbardiati, T., & Zollikofer, C. P. E.
Affiliations: Department of Anthropology and Anthropological Museum, University of Zurich, CH-8052 Zurich, Switzerland.
University of Zurich (CH)
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (IL)
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (FR)
Georgian National Museum (GE)
Museum of Geology, Jln. Diponegoro 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia.
Universitas Airlangga (ID)
Universitas Gadjah Mada (ID)
Corresponding author: Zollikofer, Christoph P. E.
ORCID: Ponce de León, Marcia S.
Marom, Assaf
Engel, Silvano
Tafforeau, Paul
Alatorre Warren, José Luis
Lordkipanidze, David
Kurniawan, Iwan
Murti, Delta Bayu
Suriyanto, Rusyad Adi
Koesbardiati, Toetik
Zollikofer, Christoph P. E.
Venue: Science
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Published: 2021-04-09
Volume: 372
Issue: 6538
Pages: 165-171
ISSN: 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
1095-9203
DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz0032
OpenAlex: W3148838946
Cited by: 142
References: 106
Citations by year: 2026: 19 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 37 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 12
FWCI: 96.10
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
doi.org
Locations: Science (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Universitas Airlangga Repository (Universitas Airlangga) (acceptedVersion)
Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion)
Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion)
Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
Funders: European Commission
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (EC-767)
Swiss National Science Foundation (IZ73Z0_127940, 31003A_135470, IZ73Z0, 127940, 31003A, 135470)
Topics: Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Primate Behavior and Ecology
Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Language and cultural evolution
Keywords: brain evolution, early Homo, endocast, tool manufacturing, social cognition, language evolution, hominin dispersal
MeSH terms: Africa, Animals, Asia, Western, Brain, Biological Evolution, Fossils, Frontal Lobe, Humans, Skull, Hominidae

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