Bons, P. D. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2023

Dietary reconstructions of Magdalenian canids from SW-Germany do not indicate that the area was a centre of early European wolf domestication

In their paper A refined proposal for the origin of dogs: the case study of Gnirshohle, a Magdalenian cave site, Baumann and colleagues[1] claim that their data support the hypothesis that the Hegau Jura was a potential center of early European wolf domestication, and that such a scenario becomes plausible considering a close proximity of canids and humans thereby introducing a controlled, or at least a restrictive diet. The study focusses on fossil remains of large canids from the Gnirshohle cave site in SW Germany. Morphometric data on only one specimen, GN-999, as well as collagen {delta}15N and {delta}13C isotopic data and mitochondrial DNA analyses on the Gnirshohle specimens and a comparative sample were used to conclude that the Gnirshohle specimens shed light on the origin of dogs as purported by the title of the paper. Here we argue that the paper is fundamentally flawed and excluded available relevant data.

paleontology↗

bioRxiv2018

Out of Africa by spontaneous migration waves

Hominin evolution is characterized by progressive regional differentiation, as well as migration waves, leading to anatomically modern humans that are assumed to have emerged in Africa and spread over the whole world. Why or whether Africa was the source region of modern humans and what caused their spread remains subject of ongoing debate. We present a spatially explicit, stochastic numerical model that includes ongoing mutations, demic diffusion, assortative mating and migration waves. Diffusion and assortative mating alone result in a structured population with relatively homogeneous regions bound by sharp clines. The addition of migration waves results in a power-law distribution of wave areas: for every large wave, many more small waves are expected to occur. This suggests that one or more out-of-Africa migrations would probably have been accompanied by numerous smaller migration waves across the world. The migration waves are considered \"spontaneous\", as the current model excludes environmental or other factors. Large waves preferentially emanate from the central areas of large, compact inhabited areas. During the Pleistocene, Africa was the largest such area most of the time, making Africa the statistically most likely origin of anatomically modern humans, without a need to invoke additional environmental or ecological drivers.

evolutionary biology↗