Aspects of early Pleistocene hominid behaviour east of Lake Turkana, Kenya

Abstract

Aspects of early Pleistocene hominid behaviour east of Lake Turkana, KenyaArchaeological survey and excavations in the Upper Member of the Koobi Fora Formation provide evidence of hominid activities during the early Pleistocene which date between x'2 and i'6 miUion years ago. The analysis of lithic remains from a complex of I6 excavated localities reveals a distinctive local series of stone assemblages which we propose to call the Ifarari Industry. A series of heavy-duty core scrapers comprises the major component of this industry but choppers, discoids and polyhedrons are also common. Early Acheulian-type bifaces have been recovered in small numbers from the same beds.The excavation strategy has been to sample traces of hominid activities in different sedimentary contexts. Geologic and micro-stratigraphic studies show that the archaeological sites were located in or near stream channels and in river floodplain contexts. The location of these sites provides a key to understanding the early Pleistocene man/land relationships represented in the area.Archaeological sites with associated hominid remains and hominid finds in various parts of the paleolandscape show the sympatri¢ coexistence of two hominid taxa : Homo sp. and Australopithecus c.f. boisei.

Locomotion and posture from the common hominoid ancestor to fully modern hominins, with special reference to the last common panin/hominin ancestor

“…There is direct evidence for increase in long-distance transport (whether in single journeys or additively) at the time of appearance of H. erectus. The Oldowan industries associated with australopiths at Olduvai Bed I (Leakey, 1971;Hay, 1976) document transport of the raw material for stone tool manufacture over distances of 3-12 km from the outcrops of origin, and distances of up to 20 km can similarly be documented at East Turkana (Harriss & Herbich, 1978). However, in Acheulean sites, which are associated rather with Homo erectus, evidence suggests that transport occurs more often, and over much greater distances.…”

Beyond the genus stereotype. Who were the first toolmarkers in Africa? Crossed views between archaeology and anatomy

“…Forty metres east of these paleoanthropological localities, on the same stratigraphical horizon, lies the archaeological site FxJj 38 North West. The composition of the lithic assemblage, with a large chopper component, is consistent with that of Olduvai Bed I and therefore allocated to the Oldowan (Harris & Herbich, 1978) and represents one of the type localities for the Developed Oldowan of Koobi Fora (Mana et al, 2019). These hominin remains and archaeological site belong to the KBS Member, below the base of the Okote Member and above the KBS Tuff.…”

“…1.65 +/-0.05 Ma At FxJj 20 East, in Koobi Fora Area 131, a hominin mandible with complete dentition (KNM-ER 3230) was recovered in situ from the site excavated by J.W.K. Harris in I975 in tuffaceous floodplain silts of the Okote Tuff complex (Leakey 1976;Harris and Herbich, 1978). Based on the morphologies and metrics of the mandible and teeth, KNM-ER 3230 has been assigned to Paranthropus boisei (Leakey 1976;Leakey and Walker, 1985;Wood, 1991) and dated to 1.65 +/-0.05 Ma (Feibel et al, 1989).…”

Mobility, competition, and Plio-Pleistocene hominid foraging groups

“…Variability in the use of different raw material types (i.e., lavas, quartzite) is the main focus of the following analysis. In general, raw material studies may reveal the distances over which raw materials were moved as well as the quantities and forms involved (see Harris and Herbich, 1978;Isaac, 1981;Kelly, 1992;Kuhn, 1991Kuhn, , 1995Nelson, 1991;Ports, 1994;Toth, 1982;Toth and Schick, 1994). Such information is perhaps most revealing of the magnitude of early hominid mobility.…”