Reconstructing the environmental conditions experienced by early modern humans at Tam Pà Ling (northeast Laos) using higher plant wax biomarkers
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Reconstructing the environmental conditions experienced by early modern humans at Tam Pà Ling (northeast Laos) using higher plant wax biomarkers. / McAllister-Hayward, M. S.; Blyth, A. J.; McInerney, F. A.; Holman, A. I.; Grice, K.; Tyler, J. J.; Westaway, K. W.; Joannes-Boyau, R.; Boualaphane, S.; Bourgon, N.; Dunn, T. E.; Frangeul, S.; Luangkhoth, T.; Ponche, J.-L.; Sichanthongtip, P.; Souksavatdy, V.; Suzzoni, E.; Zachwieja, A.; Zanolli, C.; Bacon, A.-M.; Duringer, P.; Hublin, J.-J.; Shackelford, L.; Demeter, F.; Morley, M. W.
In: Quaternary Science Reviews, Vol. 325, 108471, 2024.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Reconstructing the environmental conditions experienced by early modern humans at Tam Pà Ling (northeast Laos) using higher plant wax biomarkers
AU - McAllister-Hayward, M. S.
AU - Blyth, A. J.
AU - McInerney, F. A.
AU - Holman, A. I.
AU - Grice, K.
AU - Tyler, J. J.
AU - Westaway, K. W.
AU - Joannes-Boyau, R.
AU - Boualaphane, S.
AU - Bourgon, N.
AU - Dunn, T. E.
AU - Frangeul, S.
AU - Luangkhoth, T.
AU - Ponche, J.-L.
AU - Sichanthongtip, P.
AU - Souksavatdy, V.
AU - Suzzoni, E.
AU - Zachwieja, A.
AU - Zanolli, C.
AU - Bacon, A.-M.
AU - Duringer, P.
AU - Hublin, J.-J.
AU - Shackelford, L.
AU - Demeter, F.
AU - Morley, M. W.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - The sediments of Tam Pà Ling (TPL), northeastern Laos, have yielded the earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in mainland Southeast Asia (∼86 ka; marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 b) with a number of skeletal elements having been recovered from the sequence attesting to two populations of H. sapiens present in the vicinity between 77 ± 9 ka to 39 ± 9 ka. At present there has been very limited research into the environmental conditions that these populations encountered during MIS 5–4. In this study, we present the results of an analysis of higher plant biomarkers (n-alkanes and n-alkanols) from the sediments at TPL to reconstruct the palaeovegetation of the site and the human fossils. The n-alkane δ13C values demonstrate that H. sapiens encountered a predominantly C3 forest landscape in MIS 5 b-MIS 4 that prevailed until MIS 1. Observations of a fluctuation in δ13C values across MIS 5 b-MIS 1 (∼86–3 ka) indicates that moisture availability was non-uniform, most likely resulting in landscape changes in and around TPL. The presence of H. sapiens at TPL during the environmental conditions associated with MIS 5 b-MIS 3 highlights the adaptability of our species to environmental dynamics at this time.
AB - The sediments of Tam Pà Ling (TPL), northeastern Laos, have yielded the earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in mainland Southeast Asia (∼86 ka; marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 b) with a number of skeletal elements having been recovered from the sequence attesting to two populations of H. sapiens present in the vicinity between 77 ± 9 ka to 39 ± 9 ka. At present there has been very limited research into the environmental conditions that these populations encountered during MIS 5–4. In this study, we present the results of an analysis of higher plant biomarkers (n-alkanes and n-alkanols) from the sediments at TPL to reconstruct the palaeovegetation of the site and the human fossils. The n-alkane δ13C values demonstrate that H. sapiens encountered a predominantly C3 forest landscape in MIS 5 b-MIS 4 that prevailed until MIS 1. Observations of a fluctuation in δ13C values across MIS 5 b-MIS 1 (∼86–3 ka) indicates that moisture availability was non-uniform, most likely resulting in landscape changes in and around TPL. The presence of H. sapiens at TPL during the environmental conditions associated with MIS 5 b-MIS 3 highlights the adaptability of our species to environmental dynamics at this time.
KW - Homo sapiens
KW - n-alkanes
KW - n-alkanols
KW - palaeoenvironments
KW - stable isotopes
U2 - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108471
DO - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108471
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85182272881
VL - 325
JO - Quaternary Science Reviews
JF - Quaternary Science Reviews
SN - 0277-3791
M1 - 108471
ER -
ID: 384253083