Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
WRITING (c. 5 ka)
CITIES (c. 5 ka)
FARMING (c. 10 ka)
MUSIC (c. 30 ka)
BURIAL (c. 60 ka)
ART (c. 100 ka)
CLOTHING (c. 100 ka)
RITUAL (c. 0.2 Ma)
LANGUAGE (C. 1.5 Ma)
FIRE (c. 1.5 Ma)
TOOLMAKER (c. 2.4 Ma)
BIPEDAL (>4 Ma)
5
4
3
2
1
0
Millions of years before present
Figure 17.1. The development of human culture during the late Pliocene and Qua-
ternary, showing increasing 'hominization' through time. (After Williams et al.,
1998
,
fig. 11.6
.)
and so covers humans and their discernible ancestors, as inferred from changes in
skeletal morphology. The current use of
hominin
as a substitute for hominid remains
a matter of taste, so we opt for the already well-known term hominid, a preference
endorsed also by White (
2010
, p. ii).
The aims of this chapter are to trace the history of early human occupation of
the presently arid and semi-arid regions of the world and to examine the interactions
between prehistoric peoples and their environments. We then assess what light archae-
ological evidence has shed on former environmental and climatic changes in deserts.
Finally, we discuss the potential use of prehistoric stone tool assemblages as 'zonal
fossils' in order to establish a relative chronology of past environmental fluctuations
when other means are lacking.
17.2 Late Miocene and Pliocene hominid fossils of Africa
Charles Darwin was probably the first naturalist to realise that Africa was the continent
most likely to yield fossil remains of early humans. In his topic
The Descent of Man
,
he argued that:
In each great region of the world the living mammals are closely related to the extinct species
of the same region. It is therefore probable that Africa was formerly inhabited by extinct apes
closely allied to the gorilla and chimpanzee; and as these two species are now man's nearest
allies, it is somewhat more probable that our early progenitors lived on the African continent
than elsewhere. (Darwin,
1871
, p. 570)
He went on to point out that 'the discovery of fossil remains has been a very slow and
fortuitous process. Nor should it be forgotten that those regions which are most likely
