HR: 16:40h
AN: U14A-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Stepping Out: Investigating Hominin Dispersals Within a Palaeoclimatic Framework.
AU: Hughes, J K
EM: J.K.Hughes@bristol.ac.uk
AF: School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road , Bristol, BS81SS United Kingdom
AU: * Valdes, P
EM: P.J.Valdes@bristol.ac.uk
AF: School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road , Bristol, BS81SS United Kingdom
AU: Mithen, S
EM: s.j.mithen@reading.ac.uk
AF: School of Human and Environmental Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG66AB United Kingdom
AU: Sellwood, B
EM: b.w.sellwood@reading.ac.uk
AF: School of Human and Environmental Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG66AB United Kingdom
AB: At present the number of well dated early hominin sites (Homo ergaster, Homo erectus etc.) is insufficient to reconstruct the patterns of dispersal and occupation within the Old World. Many questions still remain therefore about the dominant factors influencing the patterns of arrival and their timing. In order to understand these dispersal patterns a modelling framework has been developed, for the late Pliocene, early Pleistocene period (2Ma to 0.5Ma). This time period corresponds to what is believed to be the first expansion of hominin out of Africa. The framework integrates data sets of vegetation patterns, land mass configuration, climate, and orography. In order to estimate vegetation patterns during the simulation a simple method has been developed to combine benthic foraminifera ocean core data with snapshot climate model simulations. The climate estimate produced can then be used to simulate global vegetation patterns using a global vegetation model. The dispersal of hominin is then simulated and the predicted dispersal patterns compared to existing hominin finds.
DE: 3344 Paleoclimatology
DE: 3309 Climatology (1620)
DE: 1620 Climate dynamics (3309)
SC: Union [U]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting