Evolution of the ‘Homo’ genus: New mysteries and perspectives

Authors

  • Jordí Agustí ICREA - Rovira i Virgili University of Tarragona (Spain).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.8.9308

Keywords:

palaeogenomics, Homo genus, hominins, variability, Dmanisi

Abstract

This work reviews the main questions surrounding the evolution of the genus Homo, such as its origin, the problem of variability in Homo erectus and the impact of palaeogenomics. A consensus has not yet been reached regarding which Australopithecus candidate gave rise to the first representatives assignable to Homo and this discussion even affects the recognition of the H. habilis and H. rudolfensis species. Regarding the variability of the first palaeodemes assigned to Homo, the discovery of the Dmanisi site in Georgia called into question some of the criteria used until now to distinguish between species like H. erectus or H. ergaster. Finally, the emergence of palaeogenomics has provided evidence that the flow of genetic material between old hominin populations was wider than expected.

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Author Biography

Jordí Agustí, ICREA - Rovira i Virgili University of Tarragona (Spain).

ICREA Research Professor at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (Rovira i Virgili University of Tarragona, Spain). As a palaeontologist, his research activity focusses on the evolution of fossil mammal communities over the last ten million years and he has published more than two hundred papers within this specialisation, most of them in international scientific journals. He has directed several European research projects, as well as palaeontological campaigns in Libya and Georgia. In the latter, he is part of the international team at the Dmanisi site. Some of his most noteworthy works are La evolución y sus metáforas (Tusquets, 1994), Mammoths, sabertooths, and hominids (Columbia University Press, 2002), Fósiles, genes y teorías (Tusquets, 2003), La gran migración (Crítica, 2011), Los primeros pobladores de Europa (RBA, 2012), Alicia en el país de la evolución (Crítica, 2013), and La sonrisa de Leonardo (RBA, 2015).

References

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Published

2018-06-05

How to Cite

Agustí, J. (2018). Evolution of the ‘Homo’ genus: New mysteries and perspectives. Metode Science Studies Journal, (8), 71–77. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.8.9308
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Issue

Making science: A multitude of perspectives (2018)

Section

Sapiens. In the path of the human being

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