Move over, Teshik Tash

[Daryl Habel]

From the absracts for the upcoming 2004 AAPA meetings:
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Presentation type: Poster
Symposium: Paleoanthropological Research at the Asian Frontiers Regency 1: Friday afternoon - April 16, 2004, 2:30-6:00
 
New hominid remains from the Obi-Rakhmat rock shelter, northwestern Uzbekistan: Insights into the makers of the Initial Upper Paleolithic of Central Asia.

A.I. Krivoshapkin1, M.M. Glantz2, T Bence Viola3, T. Chikisheva1, P.J. Wrinn4, A.P. Derevianko1, U. Islamov5, H. Seidler3. 1Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography Siberian Branch, Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia, 2Department of Anthropology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 3Institute of Anthropology University of Vienna, 4Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, 5Institute of Archaeology, Tashkent Branch, Uzbek Academy of Sciences.

During the 2003 field season, new hominid remains were discovered in a Middle to Upper Paleolithic transitional context from Obi-Rakhmat rockshelter, Uzbekistan, marking the first hominid discovery in this region since the late 1930s. The remains consist of six teeth and over 150 cranial fragments. The site contains a 10 m. thick succession of deposits with an industry that is transitional in character between the Levallois-Mousterian blade-based Middle Paleolithic and the Upper Paleolithic. Radiocarbon dates from the upper part of the sequence indicate an age of at least 48,000 BP for the hominid bearing level (level 16). After a preliminary investigation, our working hypothesis is that the remains are from a single juvenile (<12 years old) individual. The dental remains are noteworthy because of their extremely large size and the presence of an upper molar cuspal variation previously undocumented in the fossil record. In addition, the single lateral incisor is strongly shovel-shaped and expresses a pit at the cingulum. The cranial fragments are generally gracile and are comprised of vault bones, two petrous portions, and some of the sphenoid. Taxonomic affinity is assessed using a discriminate function analysis and descriptive statistics of the Obi-Rakhmat finds are presented in a comparative context with other age-appropriate Upper Pleistocene specimens. Results indicate that the Obi-Rakhmat remains express a mosaic of archaic and more modern features. This discovery will contribute to a more refined understanding of the morphological landscape across Central Asia during the Upper Pleistocene.
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"...a mosaic of archaic and more modern features..."  Now where have I heard that before?

IIRC, there is another 2004 AAPA abstract that re-evaluates the Teshik-Tash juvenile as being more modern than previously described in older publications.

Dar
 

[Daryl Habel]

And here it is....

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AAPA 73rd Annual Meeting Abstracts: Search Results
Your search returned 1 matches.

Symposium: Paleoanthropological Research at the Asian Frontiers Regency 1: Friday afternoon - April 16, 2004, 2:30-6:00
 
A reanalysis of the Neandertal status of the Teshik-Tash child.

M.M. Glantz, T.B. Ritzman. Department of Anthropology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins

Debates concerning the relationship between Neandertals and modern humans hinge partly on how their respective geographical ranges are defined. Central Asia is considered the eastern periphery of the Neandertal range based on the discovery of the Teshik-Tash child from a Mousterian cave in Uzbekistan. Consequently, conceptualizing the appearance of modern humans in the area requires reliance on the competing models of replacement or continuity. Yet, some have considered Teshik-Tash a modern human with Asian affinities while others have interpreted it as possessing a combination of Neandertal and modern features. The present study expands on this research by comparing Teshik-Tash to a more appropriate comparative sample from Central Asia in order to evaluate its phylogenetic status.

Over 25 metric variables taken from Teshik-Tash are compared to those of 28 modern human crania from historic Central Asian populations. In addition, published data from over 50 European modern human crania and 20 Upper Pleistocene specimens from Europe and the Near East are used. A discriminate function analysis using size adjusted linear variables is performed, leaving Teshik-Tash unclassified. Different components of the cranium are analyzed separately and the fossil and modern comparative samples are plotted according to principal components. Results indicate that Teshik-Tash shares greater affinities with modern human populations from Central Asia in some aspects of the cranium and with the Upper Pleistocene group in others. These results have ramifications for our understanding of the Neandertal geographic range as well as the patterning of morphological variation during the Upper Pleistocene.
 
Presentation type: Poster
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Enjoy,
Dar

[lagarvelho]

Dar:

Re these two assessments(Teshik-Tash and the other one):

Well, uh, you gotta wonder. If Teshik-Tash is "really" more "modern", what, exactly, does that mean?  And the other find is a "mosaic"(if I read your abstract correctly) of archaic and modern characteristics?  Are you sure Trinkaus and Zilhao aren't behind this in some manner?

Anne G(with my tongue at least somewhat in my cheek)

[Daryl Habel]

Dar:

Re these two assessments(Teshik-Tash and the other one):

Well, uh, you gotta wonder. If Teshik-Tash is "really" more "modern", what, exactly, does that mean?  And the other find is a "mosaic"(if I read your abstract correctly) of archaic and modern characteristics?  Are you sure Trinkaus and Zilhao aren't behind this in some manner?

Anne G(with my tongue at least somewhat in my cheek)

I think these abstracts only mean that we can look forward in the near future to more detailed published accounts concerning the Teshik Tash child's anatomy and Obi Rakhmat, both site and its hominid remains.  Although I'm sure Trinkaus and Zilhao would be interested, I don't think they are responsible for direct input on what is contained in the abstracts.  They stand on their own as preliminary reports of news in this region.  Nothing more.

Dar