Archaeology and ichnology at Gombore II-2, Melka Kunture, Ethiopia: everyday life of a mixed-age hominin group 700,000 years ago

Altamura, Flavio; Bennett, Matthew R.; D’Août, Kristiaan; Gaudzinski‐Windheuser, Sabine; Melis, Rita Teresa; Reynolds, Sally C.; Mussi, Margherita

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-21158-7

Cited by 72 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(49 reference statements)

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“…They also represent the only Neandertal handprints with the hand stencils discovered in Maltravieso (59). It is in addition one of the rare examples (24) of prints associated with numerous archeological artifacts (34,35). Thanks to this particularly large statistical sample, the size and composition of one of the Neandertal groups who made these footprints ∼80,000 y ago were directly investigated.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The composition of a Neandertal social group revealed by the hominin footprints at Le Rozel (Normandy, France)

Duveau

Bérillon

Verna

et al. 2019

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Footprints represent a unique snapshot of hominin life. They provide information on the size and composition of groups that differs from osteological and archeological remains, whose contemporaneity is difficult to establish. We report here on the discovery of 257 footprints dated to 80,000 y from the Paleolithic site at Le Rozel (Normandy, France), which represent the largest known Neandertal ichnological assemblage to date. We investigate the size and composition of a track-maker group from this large set by developing a morphometric method based on experimental footprints. Our analyses indicate that the footprints were made by a small group comprising different age classes, from early childhood to adult, with a majority of children. The Le Rozel footprints thus provide direct evidence for the size and composition of a Neandertal social group.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The composition of a Neandertal social group revealed by the hominin footprints at Le Rozel (Normandy, France)

Duveau

Bérillon

Verna

et al. 2019

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…At GDR, the spatial and temporal organization differs from that of the earlier Acheulean open-air sites in Eastern 8,9,12,13,19,20,32 and Northern Africa [43][44][45] . Indeed, the oldest evidence of butchery in Africa occurred in open-air sites, where hominins had early access to carcasses in kill-or active scavenging-sites, occasionally visited by carnivores [57][58][59][60][61][62] .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, the association of cut-marked remains and stone tools in a cave context within a taphonomically interpretable assemblage demonstrates that this important step occurred in Northern Africa at about 700 ka. Indeed, GDR is one of the few early Middle Pleistocene sites -and for now the only one in Africa -in which human animal consumption is directly associated with Acheulean stone tools manufacture in a cave 6,32,34,43 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Earliest African evidence of carcass processing and consumption in cave at 700 ka, Casablanca, Morocco

Daujeard

Falguères

Shao

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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To date, in Africa, evidence for animal processing and consumption in caves routinely used as living spaces is only documented in the late Middle Pleistocene of the North and South of the continent and postdates the Middle Pleistocene in East Africa. Here we report the earliest evidence in a North-African cave (Grotte des Rhinocéros at Casablanca, Morocco) of cut, percussion and human gnawing marks on faunal remains directly associated with lithic knapping activities in the same space and in a welldocumented stratified context. Ages for this Acheulean site are provided by the dating of herbivorous teeth to 690-720 ka and 520-550 ka (lower and upper sets) by combined Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) and U-series techniques. Traces of butchery on gazelle, alcelaphin, and zebra bones demonstrate that hominins had primary access to herbivore carcasses. Hominins brought and consumed meat in the cave, as documented by herbivore bones bearing human tooth marks concentrated in a circumscribed area of the excavation. In Africa, this site provides the earliest evidence for in situ carcass processing and meateating in cave, directly associated with lithic production and demonstrates the recurrent use by early Middle Pleistocene hominins of a North African cave site 400 000 years before that by Homo sapiens at Jebel Irhoud (Morocco).

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“…Since 1999, an Italian mission directed by Marcello Piperno (1999Piperno ( -2010, and currently by Margherita Mussi of 'La Sapienza' University, Rome, conducts in-depth research at Melka Kunture. The lithostratigraphy of the area was investigated from the beginning of the excavations, revealing at least 70 archaeological horizons (Altamura et al, 2018). About 30 of them were extensively excavated or tested (Piperno, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomorphological processes, forms and features in the surroundings of the Melka Kunture Palaeolithic site, Ethiopia

et al. 2019

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The landscape of the surroundings of the Melka Kunture prehistoric site, Upper Awash Basin, Ethiopia, were studied intensively in the last decades. Nonetheless, the area was mainly characterized under a stratigraphic/geological and archaeological point of view. However, a detailed geomorphological map is still lacking. Hence, in this study, we identify, map and visualize geomorphological forms and processes. The morphology of the forms, as well as the related processes, were remotely sensed with available high-resolution airborne and satellite sources and calibrated and validated through extensive field work conducted in 2013 and 2014. Furthermore, we integrated multispectral satellite imagery to classify areas affected by intensive erosion processes and/or anthropic activities. The Main Map at 1:15,000 scale reveals structural landforms as well as intensive water-related degradation processes in the Upper Awash Basin. Moreover, the map is available as an interactive WebGIS application providing further information and detail (www.roceeh.net/ethiopia_ geomorphological_map/).

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Archaeology and ichnology at Gombore II-2, Melka Kunture, Ethiopia: everyday life of a mixed-age hominin group 700,000 years ago

Cited by 72 publications

References 28 publications

The composition of a Neandertal social group revealed by the hominin footprints at Le Rozel (Normandy, France)

The composition of a Neandertal social group revealed by the hominin footprints at Le Rozel (Normandy, France)

Earliest African evidence of carcass processing and consumption in cave at 700 ka, Casablanca, Morocco

Geomorphological processes, forms and features in the surroundings of the Melka Kunture Palaeolithic site, Ethiopia

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