New fossils may be first human ancestors out of Africa, say Science

If superior technology didn't lead the way out of Africa, as the Dmanisi evidence suggests, what other factors may have prompted these early humans to leave the continent? The Science authors speculate that the move might have been appetite-driven. "Basically the argument that we're making is that during that time in Africa, the savanna is expanding and there is a greater availability of 'protein on the hoof'," explains co-author Susan Antn of the University of Florida in Gainesville. "With the appearance of Homo , we see bigger bodies that require more energy to run, and therefore need these higher quality sources of protein as fuel." Antn notes that as early humans shifted their diets to include larger amounts of animal protein, there probably was a corresponding expansion in their home range to match the ranges of these animals.

Along with Ferring, Lordkipanidze, Swisher, and Antn, the Dmanisi research group includes Director Leo Gabunia and Abesalom Vekua of the Republic of Georgia National Academy of Sciences, Antje Justus, Gerhard Bosinski, and Olaf Jöris of the Romisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Merab Tvalchrelidze, Givi Majsuradze, Aleksander Mouskhelishvili, and Media Nioradze of the Republic of Georgia State Museum, and Marie-A. de Lumley of the Laboratoire Musum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS.

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Contact: Ginger Pinholster
gpinhols@aaas.org
202-326-6421
American Association for the Advancement of Science
11-May-2000