New Radiometric Ages for the BH-1 Hominin from Balanica (Serbia): Implications for Understanding the Role of the Balkans in Middle Pleistocene Human Evolution

Newly obtained ages, based on electron spin resonance combined with uranium series isotopic analysis, and infrared/post-infrared luminescence dating, provide a minimum age that lies between 397 and 525 ka for the hominin mandible BH-1 from Mala Balanica cave, Serbia. This confirms it as the easternmost hominin specimen in Europe dated to the Middle Pleistocene. Inferences drawn from the morphology of the mandible BH-1 place it outside currently observed variation of European Homo heidelbergensis. The lack of derived Neandertal traits in BH-1 and its contemporary specimens in Southeast Europe, such as Kocabaş, Vasogliano and Ceprano, coupled with Middle Pleistocene synapomorphies, suggests different evolutionary forces acting in the east of the continent where isolation did not play such an important role during glaciations.

Correction issued 9 Apr 2013:

There was an error in the Funding Statement. The correct funding is: Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada to WJR and MR (grant numbers not disclosed). DM received financial support from the Serbian Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Science, Project 177023. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. A word was misspelled in the Abstract. "Vasogliano" should be "Visogliano" There was an error in the Supporting Information. In Table S1, in the last column of the row "BH-1 Mandible", the value "-218" should be "-281"