ABSTRACT
One of the most basic assumptions in palaeoanthropology is that hominids evolved in Africa, and then colonized Asia and Europe. How much later is fiercely debated. The prevalent view in recent decades has been that hominids did not colonize Asia before a million or so years ago; the site of ‘Ubeidiya in Israel, which is probably between 1.4 and 1.0 myr old (Tchernov 1989; BarYosef 1994; Bar-Yosef, this volume), has often been cited as the earliest evidence of hominids outside Africa. Given this model, the over-riding questions are why hominids were confined to Africa for so long, and how they then colonized Asia and later Europe with no apparent breakthrough in anatomy, behaviour or technology, and under similar environmental conditions to those that had existed previously. This dominant model has been challenged in recent years by claims of hominid remains and/or stone tools considerably older than 1 myr from both Europe and Asia (Table 9.1). Of particular relevance to this chapter are the stone artefacts from Riwat, Pakistan, which were dated to a minimum of 1.9 myr (Rendell et al. 1987; Dennell et al. 1988), and subsequently to a probable age of 2.5 myr (Rendell et al., in press). This anomalous discovery has recently been joined by other claims that hominids were in Eurasia before 1.5 myr ago, notably in Java by 1.8-1.6 myr (Swisher et al. 1994); at Dmanisi in Georgia at 1.8 myr (Gabunia and Vekua 1995); at Longgupo, China, at 1.9 myr (Huang et al. 1995); and at Orce, Spain, at 1.8 myr (Gibert 1992; Roe 1995). If any one of these Asian claims is correct, there must be sites in southwest Asia that are older than ‘Ubeidiya. Early Eurasian dates are therefore back on the agenda, raising the possibility that hominids dispersed out of Africa much earlier than was once thought.
