Research programme
Studying Homo erectus Lifestyle and Location (SHeLL)
An integrated geo-archaeological research of the hominin site Trinil on Java
- Partners
Funded by a NWO Vidi grant (2018-2023), this project consists of a full-scale new study of the old Dubois fossil collection curated at Naturalis, as well as new fieldwork at the Trinil site in Indonesia.
Abstract
In the 1890s, the Dutch scientist Eugène Dubois proved Darwin right by finding the first fossils of our extinct relative Homo erectus at Trinil on Java (Indonesia). Since then, one of the major questions of humankind has been to find out “what made us human”. H. erectus was morphologically in many ways like us, and the first hominin species to spread over Africa, Eurasia and Southeast Asia from about 2 Ma onwards. However, it is still unknown what behavioural and lifestyle characteristics caused H. erectus to achieve this cosmopolitan distribution. The site of Trinil on Java is the ideal location to study this research question: our discovery of an engraved fossil shell from Trinil, published in Nature (Joordens et al, 2015), indicates that behavioural differences between Javanese H. erectus and modern humans may be smaller than previously thought.
The joint Indonesian-Dutch project “Studying Homo erectus Lifestyle and Location (SHeLL)” aims to establish the geochronological, climatic- environmental and behavioural context of Homo erectus on eastern Java (notably Trinil), to resolve hominin biogeography on Java and ultimately “what made us human”.
The SHeLL project comprises analysis of existing fossil collections from Trinil and an integrated geo-archaeological re-excavation of Trinil, providing a unique opportunity to look with new eyes at a flagship site of human evolution.
The project has resulted in exciting spin-off projects focusing on the newly discovered Javanese hominin sites Madura Strait (PI Harry Berghuis) and Sogen (BASINS project).
The SHeLL project has so far resulted in several key publications:
Joordens, J.C.A., 2023. Ground truths about ancient hominins in Java. EU Research, Spring 2023 34: 62 - 64.
Pop, E.L., Hilgen, S.L., Adhityatama, S., Berghuis, H., Veldkamp, A., Vohof, H.B., Sutisna, I., Alink, G., Noerwidi, S., Roebroeks, W., Joordens, J.C.A., 2023. Reconstructing the provenance of the hominin fossils from Trinil (Java, Indonesia) through an integrated analysis of the historical and recent excavations. Journal of Human Evolution 176 (103312): 1-26.
Hilgen, S.L., Pop, E.L., Adhityatama, S., Veldkamp, A., Berghuis, H.W.K., Sutisna, I., Yurnaldi, D., Dupont-Nivet, G., Reimann, T., Nowaczyk, N., Kuiper, K.F., Krijgsman, W., Vonhof, H.B., Ekowati, D.R., Alink, G., Hafsari, M., Drespriputra, O., Verpoorte, A., Bos, R., Simanjuntak, T., Prasetyo, B., Joordens, J.C.A., 2023. Revised age and stratigraphy of the classic Homo erectus bearing succession at Trinil (Java, Indonesia). Quaternary Science Reviews 301: 107908.
Hilgen, S.L., Hilgen, F.J., Adhityatama, S., Kuiper, K.F., Joordens, J.C.A., 2022. Towards an astronomical age model for the Lower to Middle Pleistocene hominin-bearing succession of the Sangiran Dome area on Java, Indonesia. Quaternary Science Reviews 297: 107788.
Ruff, C.B., Sylvester, A.D., Rahmawati, N.T., Suriyanto, R.A., Storm, P., Aubert, M., Joannes-Boyau, R., Berghuis, H.W.K., Pop, E., Batenburg, J., Coban, S.B., Kostenko, A., Noerwidi, S., Renema, W., Adhityatama, S., Joordens, J.C.A., 2022. Two late Pleistocene Homo femora from Trinil (Indonesia): implications for body size and behavior in Southeast Asia. Journal of Human Evolution 172: 103252.
Berghuis, H.W.K., van Kolfschoten, T., Adhityatama, S., Troelstra, S.R., Noerwidi, S., Suriyanto, R.A., Wibowo, U.P., Pop, E., Kurniawan, I., Hilgen, S.L., Veldkamp, A., Joordens, J.C.A., 2022. The eastern Kendeng Hills (Java, Indonesia) and the hominin-bearing Mojokerto beds: a re-interpretation. Quaternary Science Reviews 295: 107692.
Berghuis, H.W.K., Veldkamp, A., Adhityatama, S., Hilgen, S.L., Sutisna, I., Barianto, D.H., Pop, E.A.L., Reimann, T., Yurnaldi, D., Ekowati, D.R., Vonhof, H.B., van Kolfschoten, T., Simanjuntak, T., Joordens, J.C.A., 2021. Hominin homelands of East Java: revised stratigraphy and landscape reconstructions for Plio-Pleistocene Trinil. Quaternary Science Reviews 528: 218-231.