The effects of mid-to-late Pliocene climatic fluctuations on the habitat and distribution of early hominins

Abstract

The climatic fluctuations of the Pliocene played a substantial role in the emergence of Homo and Paranthropus. I studied the climatic suitability and affinity of hominins in Africa to understand how the regional effects of global climatic alternations influenced their occurrence in the mid-late Pliocene epoch. The modelled climatic suitability values indicate the existence of three potential main ranges in the continent. Late Pliocene climatic changes might result in notably fluctuating habitability conditions in the North, Central East, and Southern Africa. In the Afar Region, the range of the changing suitability values was narrower than in the other regions. Therefore, it can be assumed that Australopithecus afarensis might be more resistant to climatic fluctuations than the others. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].