Progressive aridification in East Africa over the last half million years and implications for human evolution

TLDR

Previous research has linked hominin evolution to climate change, yet most theories lack basin‑scale evidence for a direct environmental influence on hominin evolution. The study documents a progressive increase in aridity in the Magadi Basin since ~575 ka, with a marked shift at the Mid‑Brunhes Event, and connects this intensifying aridity to faunal extinctions, tool‑kit changes, and potentially to the emergence of modern *Homo sapiens* and the onset of the Middle Stone Age.

Abstract

Significance Previous research hypotheses have related hominin evolution to climate change. However, most theories lack basin-scale evidence for a link between environment and hominin evolution. This study documents continental, core-based evidence for a progressive increase in aridity since about 575 ka in the Magadi Basin, with a significant change from the Mid-Brunhes Event (∼430 ka). Intense aridification in the Magadi Basin corresponds with faunal extinctions and changes in toolkits in the nearby Olorgesailie Basin. Our data are consistent with climate variability as an important driver in hominin evolution, but also suggest that intensifying aridity may have had a significant influence on the origins of modern Homo sapiens and the onset of the Middle Stone Age.