Homo Erectus Palaeojavanicus and the origin of modern man

Title: Chemical and mineralogical studies on hominid remains from Sangiran, Central Java (Indonesia)
Author(s): Sighinolfi, G. P.; Sartono, S.; Artioli, G.
Source: Journal of Human Evolution 24 (1) : 57-68 1993
Abstract: Chemical and isotopic studies, as well as X-ray diffraction and SEM analysis were carried out on bone remains of hominids from Sangiran, Central Java. Parts of theskull of several hominid remains, included in the conventional Homo (Pithecanthropus) erectus and Meganthropus palaeojavanicus taxa, together with a series of human teeth from Sangiran, were analysed for main and trace elements and 18O/16O isotropic ratios. Main and trace element chemistry appears to be related on one hand to the mineralogy of the specimens and thus to the fossilization process, and on the other to the alleged taxonomy of the hominid remains. In predominantly phosphatic remains, fluorine and other elements "sensitive" to fossilization are homogeneously distributed among the different specimens, while elements such as V, Mn, K, Ba and Mg tend to correlate with the proposed age of the fossils. This is also the case in predominantly carbonatic remains, where a series of elements (Mn, Mg, Sr, V, Mo and Sn) tend to accumulate in the more archaic fossils as well. Oxygen isotope date (delta-18O around + 15 permill indicate oxygen isotope fractionation with surface waters during diagenesis. Vanadium is shown to be a potentially useful chemical parameter to indicate the relative age of bone fossils in environmental conditions similar to those present in Java.

Title: HOMO-ERECTUS THE NEVER-ENDING DISPUTE
Author(s): SARTONO S
Source: Anthropologie (Paris) 95 (1) : 123-136 1991
Abstract: There is still no unanimous agreement on the taxonomic status of Homo Pithecanthropus) erectus. Many workers suggest that all Javanese early human fossils are Pithecanthropus. Two groups of early men are found in Java: Homo and Australopithecus,the first divided into Homo robustus and Homo erectus while the sedond is Australopithecus (Meganthropus) palaeojavanicus. Their stratigraphic locations, radiometric and paleomagnetic dates, regional distribution and associated artefacts are discussed. Morphological differences in time and space suggest that Pleistocene hominids from Southeast Asia were subjected to evolution while they migrated from Asia toward Australia. During the Upper Pleistocene migratory movements had an explosive character instigated by changing paleogeography and paleoenvironment caused by a combination of paleoclimatological conditions and plate tectonics. Two migration routes, a western and a northern one, existed respectively coming from Sunda Shelf and the Filippines both arriving in Wallacea. Possibly both routes arrived also in Sahul, respectively in Australia and in Irian Jaya/Papuan New Guinea. These are shown by the find of Upper Pleistocene Mungo and late Pleistocene Kow Swamp populations in Australia and the Upper Pleistocene Kosipe site in Papua New Guinea. All these indicate the existence of a gene flow between Asia and Australia - Irian Jaya/Papua New Guinea through the Southeast Asian region.

Title: ENDO CRANIAL VASCULAR GROOVES OF THE MIDDLE MENINGEAL VEINS PATTERN AND STAGES OF THE HUMAN EVOLUTION
Author(s): SABAN R
Source: Annales de Paleontologie 68 (2) : 171-220 1982
Abstract: The modifications of vascular grooves, engraved on the endocranial wall in man are studied in endocast. The middle meningeal veins system is composed of 3 main branches. Between those ramifications extending from the branches, there is a dense network including 1 anastomotic squarring. In modern man, this network is mainly located on the parietal bone and just a little on the frontal one. Starting from Australopithecus, the pattern during the human evolution becomes progressively complicated. The 1st anastomoses are found in Homo habilis. The arborization of the 3 branches increases in Homo erectus. According to Sartono (1980), the pithecanthropines of Indonesia include 2 taxa: H. erectus, H. palaeojavanicus. This same distinction is made from the middle meningeal system. In the H. erectus lineage which disappears with the Neanderthals, the squarring anastomotic system is nonexistent. In the H. palaeojavanicus lineage, the anastomoses make an increasingly dense network.