Modelling early hominin behavioural ecology

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Modelling early hominin behavioural ecology

• Adam Newton
• University of Liverpool, UK
• anewton_at_liv.ac.uk

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Computer Modelling
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What is meant by a Model?

• A simpler version of the real thing
• A model aeroplane
• Modelling climate change
• Computer modelling is more abstract and
  mathematical

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Benefits to Computer Modelling

• Simplify something complex - see how the whole
  works
• Making explicit assumptions
• Hypothesis testing
• Shows us what could have happened
• For early hominin studies
• No real-world observation
• BUT - Garbage in, Garbage out

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SIMILE

• Visual modelling software
• Earth, environmental and life sciences
• Developed by Simulistics

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The Oldowan World

• The Plio-Pleistocene

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Why study the Oldowan World?

• Earliest stone tools - Oldowan
• Two types of hominin
• Early Homo
• Robust australopithecines (Robusts)
• Brain enlargement - early Homo
• Hominins move out of Africa
• First modern human body
• Homo ergaster

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Why study the Oldowan World?

• Earliest stone tools - Oldowan
• Two types of hominin
• Early Homo
• Robust australopithecines (Robusts)
• Brain enlargement - early Homo
• Hominins move out of Africa
• First modern human body
• Homo ergaster

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Oldowan Tools

• Kada Gona, Ethiopia, 2.6 ma
• Densest clusters - 2.0-1.5 ma

Break marks
Cut marks
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Oldowan hominins

• Robust australopithecines
• Massive jaws and teeth
• Specialist vegetarian or omnivore?
• Early Homo
• Small jaws/teeth
• Stone tools
• Increased meat eating?
• Reliance upon technology?

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Modelling Early Hominins

• Investigating the Oldowan World

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What do I want to know?

• What were the likely diets of the Robusts and
  early Homo?
• To what extent did early Homo rely upon tools for
  its subsistence?

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Modelling Work So Far

• Two types of hominin
• Robusts
• Early Homo
• Different anatomical and technological abilities
• Simple environment
• Soft plant foods, hard plant foods, meat

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Future Directions

• Build simple virtual environment
• Hominins can move around to look for resources
• Seasonal changes in resources
• Subdivide the three current resource categories
• Add water and sources of stone as resources
• Simile can link up to GIS

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Conclusions

• Early Homo probably relied upon technology to a
  great deal
• Plants and meat
• Building the model has forced me to think in much
  greater detail than if I had only built
  conceptual models

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The End

• Thanks For Listening
• www.simulistics.com