Early human use of marine resources and pigment in South Africa during the Middle Pleistocene

Curtis W. Marean (), Miryam Bar-Matthews, Jocelyn Bernatchez, Erich Fisher, Paul Goldberg, Andy I. R. Herries, Zenobia Jacobs, Antonieta Jerardino, Panagiotis Karkanas, Tom Minichillo, Peter J. Nilssen, Erin Thompson, Ian Watts and Hope M. Williams
Additional contact information
Curtis W. Marean: Institute of Human Origins,
Miryam Bar-Matthews: Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malchei Israel Street, Jerusalem 95501, Israel
Jocelyn Bernatchez: School of Human Evolution and Social Change, PO Box 872402, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-2402, USA
Erich Fisher: University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA
Paul Goldberg: Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
Andy I. R. Herries: Human Origins Group, School of Medical Sciences, The University of New South Wales
Zenobia Jacobs: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, 2522, Australia
Antonieta Jerardino: University of Cape Town
Panagiotis Karkanas: Ephoreia of Palaeoanthropology-Speleology, Ministry of Culture, Ardittou 34b, Athens 11636, Greece
Tom Minichillo: University of Washington, Box 353100, Seattle, Washington 98195-3100, USA
Peter J. Nilssen: Iziko-South African Museum, PO Box 61, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
Erin Thompson: Institute of Human Origins,
Ian Watts: 58 Eastdown House, Downs Estate, Amhurst Road, London E8 2AT, United Kingdom
Hope M. Williams: School of Human Evolution and Social Change, PO Box 872402, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-2402, USA

Nature, 2007, vol. 449, issue 7164, 905-908

Abstract: Life was a beach It's been suggested that the first thing Homo sapiens did once he and she had evolved was head for the beach. This is demonstrated in dramatic fashion by a series of discoveries in Middle Pleistocene sediments from a South African sea cave near Pinnacle Point. The finds suggest that by around 164,000 years ago, the residents were on a diet that included shellfish — the earliest evidence for the exploitation of coastal resources by some 40,000 years. There is also evidence that they used pigments such as red ochre for symbolic behaviour. This was at a time when the world was going through a cool, dry spell, and Africa was mostly desert. Perhaps this environmental stress drove small bands of hunter–gatherers down to the sea in search of new food sources and lifestyles.

Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1038/nature06204

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