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1.
The 1959 discovery of the hominin fossil Zinjanthropus boisei brought the world's attention to the rich records at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Subsequent excavations of archaeological level 22 (FLK Zinj) Bed I uncovered remains of Homo habilis and a high-density collection of fossils and Oldowan stone tools. The occurrence of this unusual collection of bones and tools at this specific location has been controversial for decades. We present paleoecological data that provide new insights into the origin of FLK Zinj. Our recent excavations 200 m north of the site uncovered a 0.5-m-thick tufa mound draped by Tuff IC, in the same stratigraphic horizon as level 22. Stable isotope analyses indicate that the carbonates were deposited by a freshwater spring. Phytolith analysis of the waxy clay under Tuff IC revealed abundant woody dicotyledon and palm phytoliths, indicating that the site was wooded to densely wooded. The time equivalency and close physical proximity of the two environments indicate the two are related. This study has provided the first documented evidence of springs in Bed I and these data have important implications for the interpretation of hominin behavior in meat acquisition and the ongoing debate on scavenging versus hunting.  相似文献   

2.
Recent work at FLK North (FLK N) has unearthed a new archaeological assemblage recovered with precise control of its stratigraphic position. In the present work, the technological study of the new lithic sample is described. The results show the co-occurrence in the same site of different technological behaviors. At FLK N, hominins were involved in both percussion/battering activities and, through freehand and bipolar knapping, in core reduction. However, the reconstruction of the operational sequences shows that core reduction was probably a marginal behavior, while percussion/battering activities occurred more regularly throughout the sequence. If hominins were not involved in regular carcass processing, as recent taphonomic studies suggest, then hominins' sporadic and low-impact visits to the site over a long period of time must have been driven by other activities probably linked to the exploitation of alternative resources. Plant processing could have been a plausible explanation for hominin presence at FLK N.  相似文献   

3.
From excavation at FLK North levels 1–2 in 1960–1962, Mary Leakey reported approximately 1200 Oldowan artifacts and 3300 large mammal fossils as a hominin “living floor”. Preliminary taphonomic analysis by Bunn seemed supportive, based on the presence of some cut-marked bones, the concentration of several dozen bovid individuals, and the relative abundance of limbs and mandibles over other axial elements. Recent taphonomic analysis of Leakey's entire fossil assemblage by Domínguez-Rodrigo and Barba, however, documents a minor hominin role at the site, contrasted to the dominant role of carnivores. Felids brought prey animals; hyenas scavenged from abandoned felid meals. At different times, hominins butchered several bovids and discarded artifacts at this dynamic location. Since 2006, renewed excavations at FLK North and other sites by the Olduvai Paleoanthropology and Paleoecology Project (TOPPP) have expanded artifact and fossil samples and implemented new analytical approaches to clarify taphonomic histories of the Olduvai paleolandscape. At FLK North, > 1000 new large mammal fossils from levels 1 to 2 show minimal butchery evidence amid abundant evidence of carnivore gnawing/fracture, rodent gnawing, and sediment abrasion. To help guide future excavation and analyses, we have developed several alternative working hypotheses of site formation.  相似文献   

4.
FLK North is one of the densest concentrations of fossils found in Olduvai Gorge. A recent taphonomic re-evaluation of the collection excavated by Leakey at the site suggests that it was a palimpsest in which most of the animals were accumulated and modified by carnivores. The lithic tools therefore seem to have an independent depositional history from most of the fauna. The present study, based on new excavations, expands the evidence supporting this interpretation and demonstrates a thicker deposit than was reported by Leakey, including new archaeological levels. It also shows that in the few instances where hominins butchered carcasses, meat, not marrow, was their main target. This argues against passive scavenging hypotheses, which emphasize the dietary role of marrow, and instead underscores the importance of meat in the diet of early Pleistocene hominins.  相似文献   

5.
Renewed excavations at FLK Zinj and its surrounding landscape have yielded valuable information regarding its paleoecological situation and the prehistoric behavioral function of the site. The density of materials at the main cluster of the site excavated by Leakey contrasts with the bone and lithic scatters surrounding the site. The location of FLK Zinj, situated a few hundred meters away from a freshwater spring, would have enabled hominins access to water, plants and game. The appeal of the spot for hominins (also explained by the presence of a wooded habitat) is confirmed by inferences of its redundant use prior and during the formation of the FLK Zinj paleosol, as witnessed by materials accumulated both under and on the waxy clay deposit that constitutes the FLK Zinj stratum. The single-cluster nature of the site indicates central-place behavior and evidence is provided that hominins occupied the site at a time of very low predation hazards in the area.  相似文献   

6.
The Bed-I series of Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) is a reference site in human evolution, having yielded the holotypes of Paranthropus boisei and Homo habilis, together with manufactured artefacts and abundant large and micro-fauna. Excavations in Olduvai Gorge have been recently resumed, with new aims and new results. This paper presents the results of the taphonomic analysis carried out on a fossil small-mammal assemblage recovered from FLK NW level 20, a layer overlying Tuff C, dated from 1.84 Ma. The analysis provides good evidence of a category 1 predator, most likely a barn owl, as the predator of the bone assemblage. Trampling and sediment compression might influence postdepositional breakage of the bones. This study is especially relevant since previous taphonomic analyses carried out at levels above and below this sample led to inconclusive results due to a low number of fossils (Fernández-Jalvo et al., 1998). The new sample provides new information to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental context in which early hominins inhabited.  相似文献   

7.
Discoveries of fossil Homo outside Africa predating 1.0 Ma have generated much discussion about hominin dispersal routes. However, tool-using bipeds were only one element of the inter-continental mammalian dispersals that occurred during the climatic changes of the Pliocene and Pleistocene. This paper will place hominin movements in the context of those of the wider mammalian fauna, which includes carnivores, bovids and non-human primates. The distribution of these different taxa suggests that species moved individually when the environmental conditions were right for them, rather than in multi-species waves of dispersal, and allows evaluation of the contextual evidence for the newly emerging ‘Out of Asia’ paradigm as well as the established ‘Out of Africa’ model.  相似文献   

8.
Understanding site formation processes is crucial for interpreting archaeological context patterns and hominin behaviour as these affect the preserved condition of a site and the integrity of archaeological remains. The fluvio‐lacustrine sequences in the Nihewan Basin of North China are rich sources of early Pleistocene archaeological sites, which offer an important opportunity to investigate human evolution and adapted behaviours in East Asia. Although many Palaeolithic sites have been reported from the Nihewan Basin, North China, few of them focus on site formation processes before interpreting the hominin behaviour patterns. Here, we present a site formation study of four archaeological layers (Layers 6D, 6C, 6B and 6A) in Trench 1 from the Donggutuo (namely DGT‐T1) site in the Nihewan Basin with an age of 1.1 Ma. Through the study of sedimentary contexts, spatial distributions of artefacts and fossils, intra‐assemblage category ratios, debitage size distributions, lithic abrasion, artifact orientation and planar dip, our results show that all the layers had been disturbed by low‐energy sheet wash across the lake shore setting, but to differing extents. The post‐depositional disturbance caused by water decreased from the lower to the upper layers, from Layer 6D to Layer 6A. This indicates that the archaeological remains in DGT‐T1 have not been subject to significant natural modifications and are thus suitable for studying early hominin behaviour in North China. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

9.
The present study analyses the taphonomic features of recent small mammal bone and teeth accumulations recovered from pellets generated by Strix chacoensis in a Natural Protected Area in the central Monte Desert of Mendoza, Argentina. In order to identify the taphonomic signature of this predator in the formation of zooarchaeological and palaeontological accumulations, taxonomic profiles, relative abundances, bone breakage patterns and digestive corrosion were evaluated. Taphonomic results locate S. chacoensis in modification category 2 (intermediate). Although the general taphonomic patterns detected in the present study were similar to a typical owl pattern, some differences from that pattern were detected. This sample showed lesser relative abundances of skeletal elements, greater loss of teeth and a larger number of incisors modified by digestion than those generated by other strigiforms. The comparison with reported archaeological accumulations suggested that the small mammal remains recovered in some sites from the Monte Desert may correspond to the predatory activity of S. chacoensis. The identification of the action of S. chacoensis in archaeological and palaeontological small mammal bone and teeth accumulations is a promising tool to evaluate the conservation status of native forests in the past.  相似文献   

10.
In this paper we review a number of scenarios which have been proposed to explain the first hominin “out of Africa” at the base of the Pleistocene. These are the brain expansion scenario, the cultural exclusion scenario, the migratory wave scenario and the common African home scenario. These scenarios are checked against the current evidence provided by the Georgian site of Dmanisi, which contains the oldest Eurasian hominins. Therefore, it is concluded that none of these scenarios fits with the existing evidence, and that the only real African influence in Dmanisi is restricted to early Homo itself. In order to explain the presence of early Homo at Dmanisi, it is concluded that the expansion out of Africa should have happened before the actual datum of Dmanisi, most probably linked to the spread of Mode 1 tools in Africa.  相似文献   

11.
Although hardly applied to human palaeoecology, bird fossils offer a unique opportunity for quantitative studies of the hominin habitat. Here we reconstruct the Homo habitat niche across a large area of the Palaearctic, based on a database of avian fauna for Pleistocene sites. Our results reveal a striking association between Homo and habitat mosaics. A mix of open savannah-type woodland, wetlands and rocky habitats emerges as the predominant combination occupied by Homo across a wide geographical area, from the earliest populations of the Lower Palaeolithic to the latest hunter-gatherer communities of the Upper Palaeolithic. This observation is in keeping with the view that such landscapes have had long standing selective value for hominins.  相似文献   

12.
The Lapa do Santo archaeological site, located in the Lagoa Santa region, Brazil, represents an important hunter-gatherer occupation dated from the Early and Middle Holocene. Prior studies of archaeofauna dating to this period are few and most of them only provide basic faunal identification with limited information on taphonomic processes. The main goal of this study is to identify the archaeofauna, record the taphonomic processes, and make inferences about its natural (interpreted as the death of the animal in the rockshelter area due to natural causes or due to predation) or anthropic origins. No extinct species (including megamastofauna) were identified. Taxonomic analysis indicated that most faunal remains consist of taxa that may be of mixed origin (natural or anthropic), such as microvertebrates and carnivorous mammals. The Cervidae are the main vertebrate family found in the studied material and these are likely the result of hunting. The Cervidae Ozotoceros support the presence of a fauna that is typical of savannah environments, although the assemblage contains mostly generalist fauna that can thrive in a variety of environments. Very few remains showed clear evidence for taphonomic processes related to human interaction, such as burnt bones.  相似文献   

13.
The vegetation and the climatic context in which the first hominins entered and dispersed in Europe during the Early Pleistocene are reconstructed, using literature review and a new climatic simulation. Both in situ fauna and in situ pollen at the twelve early hominin sites under consideration indicate the occurrence of open landscapes: grasslands or forested steppes. The presence of ancient hominins (Homo of the erectus group) in Europe is only possible at the transition from glacial to interglacial periods, the full glacial being too cold for them and the transition interglacial to glacial too forested. Glacial–interglacial cycles forced by obliquity showed paralleled vegetation successions, which repeated c. 42 times during the course of the Early Pleistocene (2.58–0.78 Ma), providing 42 narrow windows of opportunity for hominins to disperse into Europe.The climatic conditions of this Early Pleistocene vegetation at glacial-interglacial transitions are compared with a climatic simulation for 9 ka ago without ice sheet, as this time period is so far the best analogue available. The climate at the beginning of the present interglacial displayed a stronger seasonality than now. Forest cover would not have been hampered though, clearly indicating that other factors linked to refugial location and soils leave this period relatively free of forests. Similar situations with an offset between climate and vegetation at the beginning of interglacials repeated themselves throughout the Quaternary and benefitted the early hominins when colonising Europe.The duration of this open phase of vegetation at the glacial–interglacial transition was long enough to allow colonisation from the Levant to the Atlantic.The twelve sites fall within rather narrow ranges of summer precipitation and temperature of the coldest month, suggesting the hominins had only a very low tolerance to climate variability.  相似文献   

14.
Recent archaeological discoveries from exposures of the Cromer Forest-bed Formation at Happisburgh, UK, have radically changed interpretations of the nature and timing of early hominin occupation of northern latitudes, but this in situ archaeology is only one part of the picture. Surface finds of Pleistocene mammalian remains have been found along this coastline for centuries, with stone tools adding to this record over the past 7 years. The ex situ nature of these finds, however, means they are often seen as limited in the information they can provide. This work contributes to a growing body of research from a range of landscape and environmental contexts that seeks to demonstrate the value and importance of these ex situ assemblages. Here the focus is on Palaeolithic flint artefacts and Pleistocene mammalian remains recovered by a group of local collectors through systematic, GPS-recorded beach collection from 2013 to 2017, and their use in developing a methodology for working with ex situ Palaeolithic finds in coastal locations. The results demonstrate significant patterning that identifies unexplored exposures both onshore and offshore, considerably expanding the known extent of deposits and facilitating new insights into the wider archaeological landscape associated with the earliest occupation of northern Europe.  相似文献   

15.
Discussions of dispersals of early hominins from Africa assume that Southwest Asia and the Arabian Peninsula were the primary passageways for migrations to Eurasia. The Mediterranean is usually viewed as a barrier to early hominin movements because pre‐sapiens hominins were thought to lack the technical means or the cognitive skills to construct boats. The discovery of early Palaeolithic artefacts in an archaeological survey on the Greek island of Crete challenges this view. Here we show that Palaeolithic artefacts in the Plakias region in southwestern Crete are associated with geological contexts that can be dated to the late Middle or early Late Pleistocene. Because Crete has been separated from the mainland throughout the Pleistocene, the presence of Pleistocene age artefacts there suggests that early hominins were able to cross open water. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

16.
The phytolith content of 10 samples collected immediately under Tuff IF (~ 1.785 Ma) at FLK N and other surrounding localities (~ 2 km²) provides a direct botanical evidence for woody vegetation in the eastern margin of Olduvai Gorge during uppermost Bed I time. Observation and counting of 143 phytolith types (5 to >150 μ) reveal dense but heterogeneous woody cover (~ 40–90%) of unidentified trees and/or shrubs and palms associated to the freshwater springs surrounding FLK N, and more open formation (presumably ~ 25–70% woody cover) in the southeast at localities VEK, HWK W and HWK E. The paleovegetation is best described as groundwater palm forest/woodland or bushland, which current analogue may be found near Lake Manyara in similar hydrogeological context (freshwater springs near saline/alkaline lake). Re-evaluating the published pollen data based on this analogy shows that 70% of the pollen signal at FLK N may be attributed to thicket-woodland, Acacia groundwater woodland, gallery and groundwater forests; while < 30% is attributed to swamp herbage and grasslands. Micro-botanical, isotopic, and taphonomical studies of faunal remains converge on the same conclusion that the area surrounding FLK N, which attracted both carnivores and hominins in the early Pleistocene, was densely wooded during uppermost Bed I time.  相似文献   

17.
The Olorgesailie Formation (1.2-0.49 Ma) consists of fluvial and lacustrine rift sediments that have yielded abundant Acheulean artifacts and a fossil hominin (Homo cf. erectus). In testing prior understandings of the paleoenvironmental context, we define nine new geochemical zones. A Chemical Index of Alteration suggests increased catchment weathering during deposition of Members 1, 2, 7, 11, and 13. Biophile elements (Br, S) peak in M8-9 and lower M13 possibly reflecting increased input from soil erosion. REE data show that the Magadi Trachytes supplied most siliciclastic grains. Sixteen diatom stages indicate conductivities of 200-16,000 μS cm− 1 and pH of 7.5-9.5 for five deep-water lakes, ten shallow lakes and sixteen wetlands. These results are compared with diatom data from other sections in the basin and show aquatic spatial variability over km-scale distances. Similar floras are traceable over several kilometers for M2, M3 and M9, indicating broadly homogeneous lacustrine conditions during these times, but diatoms in other members imply variable conditions, some related to local tectonic controls. This lateral and temporal variability emphasizes the importance of carrying out stratigraphic sampling at multiple sites within a basin in efforts to define the environmental context relevant to human evolution.  相似文献   

18.
The avian family of barn owls (Tytonidae, Strigiformes) is the most geographically widespread group of owls in the world and one of the most common accumulators of small mammal bone and tooth remains recovered from archaeological and palaeontological sites. The present study analyses the taphonomic characteristics of modern barn owl pellet-derived small mammal bone and tooth accumulations at three roosting sites from the central Monte Desert, one of the most arid regions of South America. In order to identify the taphonomic signature of this predator in the formation of zooarchaeological and palaeontological accumulations, taxonomic structure, relative abundance of skeletal elements, bone and teeth breakage patterns, and digestion were evaluated. Taphonomic results locate the barn owl in modification category 1 (light modifier). Although the general taphonomic results obtained in the present study were similar to a common barn owl pattern, the three samples showed variability both among them and with other samples previously reported in different regions of the world. Very light digestion was detected on incisors, whereas the proportion of digestion on incisors was close to 20%. Cricetid and murid rodents as well as marsupials were detected. Salinomys delicatus, a scarcely known and endangered cricetid species, was recovered.  相似文献   

19.
The records of early hominins are commonly localized both temporally and spatially even in archaeologically rich basins like Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. The FLK North site was discovered in 1960, but the reason for the exact location of this dense concentration of fossils and stone tools on a lake-margin flat has not been explained. We present new geological and geochemical information from six excavations in upper Bed I, which revealed up to 1.4-m-thick carbonate deposits, attesting to the presence of freshwater springs in the area surrounding FLK North. The δ18O signatures of the tufa are typical for meteoric water that has evolved during evaporation. Tuff IF that caps the sequence was deposited on uneven topography with the highest area a low-relief ridge between two faults at the archaeological site and lowest areas being sites of groundwater discharge. The model proposed here is that rainfall on adjacent highlands was transported to the basin where faults acted as conduits for water. Similar hydrogeological settings at modern lakes Manyara and Eyasi, currently support lush groundwater forest and woodland despite arid climate. FLK North may have been an “oasis” offering freshwater and shelter for consuming meat by both carnivores and hominins.  相似文献   

20.
Bizat Ruhama, an Early Pleistocene site located in the southern coastal plain of Israel, has yielded a single archaeological horizon dating to the Matuyama chron. Recent technological and zooarchaeological studies suggest evidence of near in situ hominin occupations taking place in a semiarid climatic setting. Such an archaeological context is rare for the Early Pleistocene and must be corroborated through reconstruction of site formation processes. This paper offers a microstratigraphic view of the site based on results from a micromorphological and granulometric study aimed at reconstructing site formation processes. Results show that the bone and lithic specimens were deposited near their excavated provenience, in a depressed, seasonally waterlogged area, and were subsequently slightly displaced and buried by surface sediment. We infer that the Bizat Ruhama deposit represents one or a few hominin occupations taking place on the surface of an undulating inter‐dune depression under a semiarid Mediterranean climate. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.  相似文献   

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