This paper examines the evidence for hominids outside East Africa during the Early Pleistocene. Most attention has focused recently on the evidence for or against a late Pliocene dispersal, ca. 1.8 Ma., of hominids out of Africa into Asia and possibly southern Europe. Here, the focus is widened to include North Africa as well as southern Asia and Europe, as well as the evidence in these regions for hominids after their first putative appearance ca. 1.8 Ma. It suggests that overall there is very little evidence for hominids in most of these regions before the Middle Pleistocene. Consequently, it concludes that the colonising capabilities of Homo erectus may have been seriously over-rated, and that even if hominids did occupy parts of North Africa, southern Europe and southern Asia shortly after 2 Ma, there is little evidence of colonisation. Whilst further fieldwork will doubtless slowly fill many gaps in a poorly documented Lower Pleistocene hominid record, it appears premature to conclude that the appearance of hominids in North Africa, Europe and Asia was automatically followed by permanent settlement. Rather, current data are more consistent with the view that Lower Pleistocene hominid populations outside East Africa were often spatially and temporally discontinuous, that hominid expansion was strongly constrained by latitude, and that occupation of temperate latitudes north of latitude 40 degrees was largely confined to interglacial periods.

中文翻译：

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散布和殖民化，长和短的时间顺序：东非以外地区人的早期更新世记录有多连续？

本文研究了更新世早期东非以外地区人类的证据。最近，大多数注意力集中在支持或反对上新世晚期扩散的证据上。来自非洲的人中有1.8 Ma。，进入亚洲甚至可能是南欧。在这里，重点扩大到包括北非，南亚和欧洲，以及在这些地区首次假定的人形出现后的证据。1.8毫安 它表明，总体而言，在中更新世之前，在这些地区中的大多数地区，人类的证据很少。因此，结论是直立人的殖民能力可能被严重高估了，即使人类在2 Ma之后不久就占领了北非，南欧和南亚的部分地区，也几乎没有殖民的迹象。毫无疑问，尽管进一步的田野调查将缓慢地填补文献记载不充分的下更新世原始记录中的许多空白，但断言在北非，欧洲和亚洲出现原始记录是自动伴随永久定居的结论为时尚早。相反，目前的数据与以下观点更为一致：东非以外的下更新世原始人种群在空间和时间上往往是不连续的；原始人的扩张受到纬度的强烈限制；对北纬40度以内的温带纬度的占领主要限于冰间期期。欧洲和亚洲随后自动达成永久定居。相反，目前的数据与以下观点更为一致：东非以外的下更新世原始人种群在空间和时间上往往是不连续的；原始人的扩张受到纬度的强烈限制；对北纬40度以内的温带纬度的占领主要限于冰间期期。欧洲和亚洲随后自动达成永久定居。相反，目前的数据与以下观点更为一致：东非以外的下更新世原始人种群在空间和时间上往往是不连续的；原始人的扩张受到纬度的强烈限制；对北纬40度以内的温带纬度的占领主要限于冰间期期。