Person: Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan Luis
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First Name
Juan Luis
Last Name
Arsuaga Ferreras
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Ciencias Geológicas
Department
Geodinámica, EstratigrafÃa y PaleontologÃa
Area
PaleontologÃa
Identifiers
64 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 10 of 64
Item An analytical study of a complete subadult clavicle of Homo antecessor (Gran Dolina Site, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain)(L'anthropologie, 2009) GarcÃa González, Rebeca; Carretero, José Miguel; RodrÃguez, Laura; Gómez Olivencia, Asier; Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan Luis; Bermúdez de Castro, José MarÃa; Carbonell, Eudald; MartÃnez, Ignacio; Lorenzo, CarlosThis study reports on the skeletal remains of an infant clavicle – specimen ATD6-37 – belonging to the Homo antecessor species, unearthed at Lower Pleistocene level TD6 of the Gran Dolina site (Sierra de Atapuerca). Studied alongside a further adult specimen – ATD6-50 –, they provide us with significant information on two key paleobiological aspects of these early humans: body shape and development. Based on the analytical results, the paper proposes a more accurate proportional method for determining age at death is applied to the fossilized infant clavicle under study. It goes on to hypothesize on postcranial growth and body shape and discusses morphological patterns and age at death of these early humans through comparisons with a wide range of infant dental samples and clavicular specimens in early and modern humans.Item The Neandertal vertebral column 1: The cervical spine(Journal of Human Evolution, 2013) Gómez Olivencia, Asier; Been, Ella; Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan Luis; Stock, Jay T.This paper provides a metric analysis of the Neandertal cervical spine in relation to modern human variation. All seven cervical vertebrae have been analysed. Metric data from eight Neandertal individuals are compared with a large sample of modern humans. The significance of morphometric differences is tested using both z-scores and two-tailed Wilcoxon signed rank tests. The results identify significant metric and morphological differences between Neandertals and modern humans in all seven cervical vertebrae. Neandertal vertebrae are mediolaterally wider and dorsoventrally longer than modern humans, due in part to longer and more horizontally oriented spinous processes. This suggests that Neandertal cervical morphology was more stable in both mid-sagittal and coronal planes. It is hypothesized that the differences in cranial size and shape in the Neandertal and modern human lineages from their Middle Pleistocene ancestors could account for some of the differences in the neck anatomy between these species.Item Restoration of a fossil human femur from the site of the Sima de los Huesos (Atapuerca, Spain)(L'anthropologie, 2009) Ortega, MarÃa Cruz; Gracia Téllez, Ana; Carretero, José Miguel; MartÃnez, Ignacio; Quam, Rolf; Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan LuisA fossil human femur of Homo heidelbergensis from the site of the Sima de los Huesos (Atapuerca, Spain) was reconstructed from two main proximal and distal portions and numerous smaller fragments from the diaphysis. The use of an evaporative process to separate the bone fragments during their restoration represents an innovative approach in restoring paleontological materials and the intervention has resulted in the reconstruction of a complete femur. To avoid excessive manipulation of the reconstructed femur, a mold (negative) and cast (positive) were made of the restored specimen. This case study provides general protocols which can be widely applied to the restoration of paleontological materials from the moment of their excavation until they are deposited in a research center.Item Right handedness of Homo heidelbergensis from Sima de los Huesos (Atapuerca, Spain) 500,000 years ago(Evolution and human behavior, 2009) Lozano Ruiz, Marina; Mosquera, Marina; Bermúdez de Castro, José MarÃa; Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan Luis; Carbonell, EudaldHandedness is a product of brain specialization, which in turn seems to be responsible for the higher cognitive capabilities of humans, such as language and technology. Handedness in living humans is well established and shows the highest degree of manual specialization. Studies on hand laterality in nonhuman primates, particularly in chimpanzees, remain a matter of controversy as results tend to vary depending on factors such as the tasks performed and the environment in which the individuals live. Studies in several disciplines have attempted to determine where in the course of human evolution handedness established itself, with evidence collected from sources such as paleoneurological analyses, stone tool flaking, zooarchaeological studies and dental wear analyses, the last one of which have proven the most reliable source of information. Here we report an experimental and paleoanthropological study on hand laterality of a sample of 28 hominids from Sima de los Huesos (Atapuerca, Spain), dated at about 500,000 years ago, and compare our results with dental microwear analysis in other fossil samples such as that from Krapina (Croatia), as well as modern traditional societies. Our results indicate that European Middle Pleistocene Homo heidelbergensis was already as right-handed as modern populations.Item Paleontological approaches to the evolution of language: The state of the art(L'anthropologie, 2009) MartÃnez Mendizábal, Ignacio; Quam, Rolf; Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan Luis; Lorenzo, Carlos; Gracia Téllez, Ana; Carretero, José Miguel; Rosa, Manuel; Jarabo, PilarOne of the most influential paleoanthropological approaches to the question of language origins has been the attempt to reconstruct the supralaryngeal vocal tract (SVT) in fossil humans. In particular, the low placement of the larynx was considered to be a uniquely human feature and was interpreted as a specific adaptation to produce human speech. Nevertheless, based on the anatomy of the basicranium and the hyoid bone, various researchers reached different conclusions regarding the placement of the larynx in human fossils, especially in Neandertals. Further, the recent finding of a low placement of the larynx in chimpanzees, calls into question the basic premise on which much of this research has been based. To overcome this, we have proposed and developed a new line of research into the question of speech capabilities in fossil specimens which is focused not on the ability to produce the sounds of spoken language, but on the capacity to perceive them. The modern human auditory pattern is unique among primates in showing a relatively heightened sensitivity to the midrange frequencies between 2-4 kHz, a frequency range which coincides with that of spoken language. Our analysis shows that the preserved skeletal anatomy of the outer and middle ear in the Middle Pleistocene hominids from the site of the Sima de los Huesos is compatible with human-like auditory capacities, and is clearly different from chimpanzees in the midrange frequencies. These results strongly suggest that the anatomical structures which support the modern hum and pattern of intraspecific communication were already present in these human ancestors. Further, the presence of a common condition in both the modern human and Neandertal evolutionary lineages suggests this represents an ancient adaptation within the genus Homo.Item Early hominin auditory ossicles from South Africa(Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2013) Quama, Rolf M.; Ruiterd,, Darryl J. de; Masali, Melchiorre; Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan Luis; MartÃnez Mendizábal, Ignacio; Moggi Cecchii, JacopoThe middle ear ossicles are only rarely preserved in fossil hominins. Here, we report the discovery of a complete ossicular chain (malleus, incus, and stapes) of Paranthropus robustus as well as additional ear ossicles from Australopithecus africanus. The malleus in both early hominin taxa is clearly human-like in the proportions of the manubrium and corpus, whereas the incus and stapes resemble African and Asian great apes more closely. A deep phylogenetic origin is proposed for the derived malleus morphology, and this may represent one of the earliest human-like features to appear in the fossil record. The anatomical differences found in the early hominin incus and stapes, along with other aspects of the outer, middle, and inner ear, are consistent with the suggestion of different auditory capacities in these early hominin taxa compared with modern humans.Item New calculations of relative biomechanical neck length in hominid femurs(BoletÃn de la Sociedad Española de AntropologÃa Biológica, 1980) Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan Luis; Alonso, JulioThe problem of the relative biomechanical neck length in present-day femurs and in some hominids of the Pliocene and the Lower and Middle Pleistocene is dealt with. Linear regressions calculated in Homo sapiens, using the morphological femur length as the dependent variable, predict values for the relative biomechanical neck length in Australopithecus which are much lower than the ones observed. The rest of the fossil specimens considered, all of which have been attributed toHomo, correspond to an acceptable degree with the expected values in relation with the regressions in humans. In any case, the results are diametrically opposite to those obtained by Wolpoff (1978) using the same methods.Item The costal skeleton of Homo antecessor: Preliminary results(Journal of Human Evolution, 2010) Gómez Olivencia, Asier; Carretero, José Miguel; Lorenzo, Carlos; Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan Luis; Bermúdez de Castro, José MarÃa; Carbonell, EudaldThe Lower Pleistocene TD6 level at the Gran Dolina site in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) has yielded nine ribs that represent a minimum of three individuals of the species, Homo antecessor. We present a detailed morphological and metric study of these costal elements, including the siding and anatomical position of all of the rib remains. The adult or nearly adult ribs are also metrically compared with other fossil hominins and with modern comparative samples. The costal elements recovered to date from the TD6 level at Gran Dolina can neither confirm nor reject the hypothesis that H. antecessor had a large thorax, similar to that of Neandertals. However, the fragmentary evidence of the H. antecessor thoracic skeleton is not inconsistent with this suggestion based on other skeletal elements, such as clavicles.Item Environmental availability, behavioural diversity and diet: a zooarchaeological approach from the TD10-1 sublevel of Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain) and Bolomor Cave (Valencia, Spain)(Quaternary Science Reviews, 2013) Blasco López, Ruth; Rosell, Jordi; Fernández Peris, Josep; Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan Luis; Bermúdez de Castro, José MarÃa; Carbonell, EudaldThe suggestion that the Neanderthal linage hominids had predominantly rich diet in meat derived from large game is progressing towards views which propose a higher nutritional diversity, at least in some regions. These postulates situate hominids as the knower of their natural surroundings and make them capable of selecting within the range of resources available in their landscapes. Using a zooarchaeological approach, the taxonomical representation in an anthropogenic site could indicate both the environment diversity that human groups can exploit and the decisions that they make when selecting prey. The Optimal Foraging theory is a basic decision model that is ideally applied within a larger framework of constraining conditions such as differential prey distributions, food-consumer imbalances and/or competition, among others. Nevertheless, if this theory is applied to human behaviour, uncontrolled variables could exist and substantially alter some predictions. These variables may not always be related to the need to optimise the resources; additionally, they can respond to the questions related to nutritional ecology, cultural standards or social relationships conditioned by ecological or technological factors. Environmental and socio-cultural aspects invite us to reflect on the characteristics that delimit the pre-Upper Palaeolithic diet and its correct assessment in relation to the availability of prey in the environment and the human behavioural parameters. In this study, we present data from several levels of Bolomor Cave (Valencia, Spain, MIS 9-5e) and a sample from the TD10-1 sublevel of Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain, MIS 9). Both sites have been interpreted as habitat places and allow us to infer the high plasticity of human groups with respect to methods and techniques of acquisition and use of a diverse spectrum of prey. Environmental availability, duration and type of settlement seem to significantly influence the taxonomical representation and must be taken into account when assessing diet breadth in these chronologies. We must add to these factors, human behavioural variables related to social and cultural aspects. Using this approach, we highlight the high variability in the subsistence strategies developed by hominids in the European Middle Pleistocene and propose several factors to consider when examining the early use of small prey.Item Hombres y dioses. La naturaleza de la agresividad humana(Revista de occidente, 2007) Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan Luis