Relevance of aquatic environments for hominins:
a case study from Trinil (Java, Indonesia)
JCA Joordens cs 2009 J Hum Evol 57:656-671
doi 10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.06.003
.... diet influences body proportions, brain size, cognition & habitat preference ... we provide ecological context for the current debate on modernity (or not) of aquatic resource exploitation by hominins ... the H.erectus site of Trinil as a case study ...
Faunal & geochemical analysis of aquatic fossils from Trinil Hauptknochenschicht (HK) fauna demonstrate: Trinil c 1.5 Ma contained near-coastal rivers, lakes, swamp forests, lagoons & marshes with minor marine influence, laterally grading into grasslands. Trinil HK environments yielded at least 11 edible mollusc spp & 4 edible fish spp, that could be procured with no or minimal technology. We demonstrate:
from an ecological point of view, the default assumption should be that omnivorous hominins in coastal habitats with catchable aquatic fauna could have consumed aquatic resources.
The hypothesis of aquatic exploitation can be tested with taphonomic analysis of aquatic fossils ass.x with hominin fossils. We show:
midden-like characteristics of large bivalve shell assemblages containing Pseudodon & Elongaria from Trinil HK indicate deliberate collection by a selective agent, possibly hominin.