Modelling the role of groundwater hydro-refugia in East African hominin evolution and dispersal

M. O. Cuthbert; T. Gleeson; S. C. Reynolds; M. R. Bennett; A. C. Newton; C. J. McCormack; G. M. Ashley

doi:10.1038/ncomms15696

Nature Communications (May 2017)

Modelling the role of groundwater hydro-refugia in East African hominin evolution and dispersal

M. O. Cuthbert,
T. Gleeson,
S. C. Reynolds,
M. R. Bennett,
A. C. Newton,
C. J. McCormack,
G. M. Ashley

Affiliations

M. O. Cuthbert: School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University
T. Gleeson: Department of Civil Engineering and School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria
S. C. Reynolds: Institute for Studies of Landscape and Human Evolution, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University
M. R. Bennett: Institute for Studies of Landscape and Human Evolution, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University
A. C. Newton: Institute for Studies of Landscape and Human Evolution, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University
C. J. McCormack: School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham
G. M. Ashley: Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15696
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

Read online

Water is a fundamental resource, but its role in hominin evolution is not well explored. Here, the authors use a combination of groundwater, climate and agent-based models to show that groundwater availability may be critical to past patterns of taxonomic diversity in hominin development in East Africa.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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