Hominins on the Move

Terra 2 is a world of expansion and contraction (Figure 5.1). Major geographical gains occur with large areas of Eurasia now settled for the first time. But the boundaries to further dispersal are rigid. No hominin crosses the comparatively short ocean distance from Indonesia to Australia, and elsewhere there is no significant expansion above 55°N. Indeed, the northern distribution of Terra 2 hominins looks very similar to the Pleistocene distribution of macaque monkeys (Figure 4.7).

Terra 2 sees a step change in the quantity and diversity of evidence. The varied hominins who inhabit and settle Terra 2 left behind an archaeology that is increasingly rich in quantity and variety. When scrutinised by archaeologists, it reveals there were technological changes to the stone tools, the novel use of materials for aesthetic enchantment, fire, ochre and shell, as well as evidence for new concepts such as containers and composite tools. By contrast, the fossil evidence remains patchy for much of Terra 2, its classification and interpretation often disputed. But this situation changes towards the end of this Terra with more abundant fossil data from Europe and Indonesia.