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Gossa T, Hovers E. Continuity and change in lithic techno-economy of the early Acheulian on the Ethiopian highland: A case study from locality MW2; the Melka Wakena site-complex. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0277029. [PMID: 36477016 PMCID: PMC9728887 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent research has made great strides clarifying the chronology, temporal span, and geographic and technological patterning of the Acheulian in eastern Africa. However, highland occurrences of the Acheulian remain under-represented and their relationship to cultural dynamics in the Rift are still poorly understood. Recently, a stratified sequence of four archaeological layers, recording Acheulian occupations dated between ~1.6 Ma and ~1.3 Ma, has been discovered in locality MW2 of the Melka Wakena site-complex (south-central Ethiopian highlands). This database enabled a systematic exploration of the question of tempo and mode of technological changes at a local sequence, allowing, for the first time, comparison with other highland sites as well as in the Rift. The detailed techno-economic study presented in this study shows that the early Acheulian at the locality was characterized by the co-existence of lithic reduction sequences for small debitage and for flake-based Large Cutting Tool production. In the early, ~1.6 Ma assemblage, a strategy of variable raw material exploitation and technological emphasis on small debitage were coupled with production of few crude bifacial elements. These shifted at ~1.4 Ma towards a preferential and intensive exploitation of a highly knappable glassy ignimbrite and emphasis on Large Cutting Tool production, including higher investment in their techno-morphological aspects. The MW2 sequence tracks lithic technological trends observed in the Rift, with only a short time lag. Diachronic changes in the raw material economy and land use patterns may have occurred at MW2 earlier than previously reported for the Acheulian on the highlands. The behavioral dynamics gleaned from the early Acheulian assemblages at MW2 are important for our understanding of the diachronic changes in the abilities of Acheulian hominins to exploit the diverse geographic and ecological habitats of eastern Africa and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tegenu Gossa
- Human Evolution Research Center (HERC), The University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States of America
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of History and Heritage Management, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia
- * E-mail:
| | - Erella Hovers
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Affiliate Researcher, Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States of America
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Ingicco T, Reyes MC, de Vos J, Belarmino M, Albers PCH, Lipardo I, Gallet X, Amano N, van den Bergh GD, Cosalan AD, Bautista A. Taphonomy and chronosequence of the 709 ka Kalinga site formation (Luzon Island, Philippines). Sci Rep 2020; 10:11081. [PMID: 32632190 PMCID: PMC7338544 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68066-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The recently described site of Kalinga in the Philippines adds to our understanding of Early-Middle Pleistocene hominin behaviour. Yet, disentangling the natural from the anthropogenic modifications that have taken place in such an old archaeological site is challenging. In this paper we use a set of taphonomic tools at hand to rectify the distortion made by natural processes during the formation of the Kalinga site. From the description of the ribs completeness, surface damages and scattering in the excavation, one can reconstruct the butchery, transport and deposition sequence of the rhino carcass and its post-depositional disturbances and diagenetic evolution of the site. We conclude that the rhino and the stone artefacts potentially used to deflesh the carcass were transported by a mudflow from its butchery place over a few meters only and got stuck and mixed with an older faunal assemblage that was transported by a small stream.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Ingicco
- Département Homme Et Environnement, UMR 7194, Muséum National D'Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Université, Musée de L'Homme, 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75016, Paris, France.
| | - M C Reyes
- National Museum of the Philippines, Padre Burgos St., 1000, Manila, The Philippines
| | - J de Vos
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - M Belarmino
- National Museum of the Philippines, Padre Burgos St., 1000, Manila, The Philippines
| | - P C H Albers
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - I Lipardo
- Archaeological Studies Program, Albert Hall, University of the Philippines, Diliman, 1101, Quezon City, The Philippines
| | - X Gallet
- Département Homme Et Environnement, UMR 7194, Muséum National D'Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Université, Musée de L'Homme, 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75016, Paris, France
| | - N Amano
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - G D van den Bergh
- Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia
| | - A D Cosalan
- Archaeological Studies Program, Albert Hall, University of the Philippines, Diliman, 1101, Quezon City, The Philippines
| | - A Bautista
- National Museum of the Philippines, Padre Burgos St., 1000, Manila, The Philippines
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Goren-Inbar N, Belfer-Cohen A. Reappraisal of hominin group size in the Lower Paleolithic: An introduction to the special issue. J Hum Evol 2020; 144:102821. [PMID: 32497921 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Naama Goren-Inbar
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, 919051, Jerusalem Israel.
| | - Anna Belfer-Cohen
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, 919051, Jerusalem Israel
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Lotter MG. Stuck in a loop: investigating fabric patterns in the Stone Age gravel sequence at Canteen Kopje, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/0035919x.2019.1682082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Matt Geoffrey Lotter
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 525, Auckland Park, 2006, South Africa
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Prassack KA, Pante MC, Njau JK, de la Torre I. The paleoecology of Pleistocene birds from Middle Bed II, at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, and the environmental context of the Oldowan-Acheulean transition. J Hum Evol 2018; 120:32-47. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2016] [Revised: 11/07/2017] [Accepted: 11/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Technological behaviour in the early Acheulean of EF-HR (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania). J Hum Evol 2018; 120:329-377. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Revised: 12/25/2017] [Accepted: 01/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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de la Torre I, Albert RM, Macphail R, McHenry LJ, Pante MC, Rodríguez-Cintas Á, Stanistreet IG, Stollhofen H. The contexts and early Acheulean archaeology of the EF-HR paleo-landscape (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania). J Hum Evol 2018; 120:274-297. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2016] [Revised: 06/22/2017] [Accepted: 06/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Hominin raw material procurement in the Oldowan-Acheulean transition at Olduvai Gorge. J Hum Evol 2018; 120:378-401. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2016] [Revised: 11/19/2017] [Accepted: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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de la Torre I, McHenry L, Njau J. From the Oldowan to the Acheulean at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania - An introduction to the special issue. J Hum Evol 2018; 120:1-6. [PMID: 29753442 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2018] [Accepted: 03/04/2018] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ignacio de la Torre
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, WC1H 0PY London, United Kingdom.
| | - Lindsay McHenry
- Department of Geosciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 3209 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53211, USA
| | - Jackson Njau
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 E 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA; Stone Age Institute, 1392 W Dittemore Rd., Gosport, IN 47433, USA
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de la Torre I, Albert RM, Arroyo A, Macphail R, McHenry LJ, Mora R, Njau JK, Pante MC, Rivera-Rondón CA, Rodríguez-Cintas Á, Stanistreet IG, Stollhofen H, Wehr K. New excavations at the HWK EE site: Archaeology, paleoenvironment and site formation processes during late Oldowan times at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. J Hum Evol 2017; 120:140-202. [PMID: 29153333 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.07.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2016] [Revised: 06/30/2017] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This paper reports the results of renewed fieldwork at the HWK EE site (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania). HWK EE is positioned across the boundary between Lower and Middle Bed II, a crucial interval for studying the emergence of the Acheulean at Olduvai Gorge. Our excavations at HWK EE have produced one of the largest collections of fossils and artefacts from any Oldowan site, distributed across several archaeological units and a large excavation surface in four separate trenches that can be stratigraphically correlated. Here we present the main stratigraphic and archaeological units and discuss site formation processes. Results show a great density of fossils and stone tools vertically through two stratigraphic intervals (Lemuta and Lower Augitic Sandstone) and laterally across an area of around 300 m2, and highlight the confluence of biotic and abiotic agents in the formation of the assemblage. The large size and diversity of the assemblage, as well as its good preservation, qualify HWK EE as a reference site for the study of the late Oldowan at Olduvai Gorge and elsewhere in Africa. In addition, the description of the stratigraphic and archaeological sequence of HWK EE presented in this paper constitutes the foundation for further studies on hominin behavior and paleoecology in Lower and Middle Bed II.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignacio de la Torre
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, WC1H 0PY London, United Kingdom.
| | - Rosa M Albert
- ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain; ERAAUB/Departament de Historia i Arqueologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Montalegre 6-8, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Adrián Arroyo
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, WC1H 0PY London, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Macphail
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, WC1H 0PY London, United Kingdom
| | - Lindsay J McHenry
- Department of Geosciences, University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, 3209 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53211, USA
| | - Rafael Mora
- Centre D'Estudis Del Patrimoni Arqueologic de La Prehistoria, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Jackson K Njau
- Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-1405, USA; Stone Age Institute, 1392 W Dittemore Road, Gosport, Indiana 47433, USA
| | - Michael C Pante
- Department of Anthropology, Colorado State University, 1787 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Carlos A Rivera-Rondón
- Unidad de Ecología y Sistemática, Departamento de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Cra. 7 # 40-82, 110231 Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Ágata Rodríguez-Cintas
- ERAAUB/Departament de Historia i Arqueologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Montalegre 6-8, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ian G Stanistreet
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Street, Liverpool L69 3GP, United Kingdom; Stone Age Institute, 1392 W Dittemore Road, Gosport, Indiana 47433, USA
| | - Harald Stollhofen
- GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-University (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schloßgarten 5, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Karol Wehr
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, WC1H 0PY London, United Kingdom
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