Diversity to Homogeneity: Why did Homo sapiens Survive in Asia When Other Primates Went Extinct?

Kira Westaway1*, Renaud Joannes-Boyau2, Zhang Yingqi3, and Fabrice Demeter4

From 160-50,000 years ago, the Asian tropics supported a rich diversity of humans, from tiny (H. floresiensis, H. luzonensis) to robust (H. erectus), to highly adaptive species (H. sapiens, Denisovans) until there was a drastic shift to homogeneity and only H. sapiens survived. Many theories have been proposed for why H. sapiens were so much better at adapting than our primate relatives, such as competition and adaptive flexibility, but so far there is no definitive explanation for our evolutionary success. In this talk, we will explore what makes us unique compared to these four extinct human species (H. floresiensis, H. luzonensis H. erectus and Denisovans) and one primate species (G. blacki) using evidence from Ngandong, Liang Bua and Lida Ajer in Indonesia, Tam Pa ling and Cobra cave in Laos, Callao Cave in the Philippines, and caves in Guangxi southern China. We will consider their responses to environmental drivers, such as increased seasonality, forest deterioration and increased volcanic activity, and behavioural drivers such as their chosen evolutionary pathways, mobility and lead exposure. These responses will be gathered using multiple proxies and framed using a barrage of dating techniques. An understanding of how we became the only humans on the planet could ultimately become the key to our long-term survival.