Assessing functionality during the early Acheulean in level TKSF at Thiongo Korongo site (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

Panera, Joaquín; Rubio‐Jara, Susana; Domı́nguez-Rodrigo, Manuel; Yravedra, José; Quintas, Eduardo Méndez; Pérez‐González, Alfredo; Bello-Alonso, Patricia; Moclán, Abel; Baquedano, Enrique; Santonja, Manuel

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2019.09.013

Cited by 27 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…On occasions, with the application of spatial analytical tools, horizontal associations have mainly focused on the identification of distributional randomness and on a variety of density, cluster and distribution analyses. These works have mostly produced preliminary descriptive and thematic maps of density and horizontal class associations [63,65,[71][72][73][74][75].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracing the spatial imprint of Oldowan technological behaviors: A view from DS (Bed I, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

et al. 2021

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DS (David’s site) is one of the new archaeological sites documented in the same paleolandscape in which FLK 22 was deposited at about 1.85 Ma in Olduvai Gorge. Fieldwork in DS has unearthed the largest vertically-discrete archaeological horizon in the African Pleistocene, where a multi-cluster anthropogenic accumulation of fossil bones and stone tools has been identified. In this work we present the results of the techno-economic study of the lithic assemblage recovered from DS. We also explore the spatial magnitude of the technological behaviors documented at this spot using powerful spatial statistical tools to unravel correlations between the spatial distributional patterns of lithic categories. At DS, lavas and quartzite were involved in different technological processes. Volcanic materials, probably transported to this spot from a close source, were introduced in large numbers, including unmodified materials, and used in percussion activities and in a wide variety of reduction strategies. A number of volcanic products were subject to outward fluxes to other parts of the paleolandscape. In contrast, quartzite rocks were introduced in smaller numbers and might have been subject to a significantly more intense exploitation. The intra-site spatial analysis has shown that specialized areas cannot be identified, unmodified materials are not randomly distributed, percussion and knapping categories do not spatially overlap, while bipolar specimens show some sort of spatial correlation with percussion activities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracing the spatial imprint of Oldowan technological behaviors: A view from DS (Bed I, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

et al. 2021

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“…compiled published data from zooarchaeological assemblages ( n = 59, Dataset S1 ) from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania over the period 3.4 Ma to 1.2 Ma. All published and securely dated zooarchaeological sites in this interval were considered ( Dataset S1 ), including Bouri ( 24 ), Dikika ( 25 ), Konso ( 52 ), Gona ( 46 , 53 , 54 ), East Turkana ( 30 , 32 , 34 , 55 – 57 ), Hadar ( 58 ), West Turkana ( 47 , 48 ), Kanjera ( 31 ), Naiyena Engol ( 59 ), Olduvai ( 36 , 38 , 41 , 60 – 73 ), and Peninj ( 74 ). Each site was assigned to a 100-kyr temporal bin (additional details on site inclusion and binning are in SI Appendix ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

No sustained increase in zooarchaeological evidence for carnivory after the appearance ofHomo erectus

Barr

Pobiner

Rowan

et al. 2022

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

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The appearance of Homo erectus shortly after 2.0 Ma is widely considered a turning point in human dietary evolution, with increased consumption of animal tissues driving the evolution of larger brain and body size and a reorganization of the gut. An increase in the size and number of zooarchaeological assemblages after the appearance of H. erectus is often offered as a central piece of archaeological evidence for increased carnivory in this species, but this characterization has yet to be subject to detailed scrutiny. Any widespread dietary shift leading to the acquisition of key traits in H. erectus should be persistent in the zooarchaeological record through time and can only be convincingly demonstrated by a broad-scale analysis that transcends individual sites or localities. Here, we present a quantitative synthesis of the zooarchaeological record of eastern Africa from 2.6 to 1.2 Ma. We show that several proxies for the prevalence of hominin carnivory are all strongly related to how well the fossil record has been sampled, which constrains the zooarchaeological visibility of hominin carnivory. When correcting for sampling effort, there is no sustained increase in the amount of evidence for hominin carnivory between 2.6 and 1.2 Ma. Our observations undercut evolutionary narratives linking anatomical and behavioral traits to increased meat consumption in H. erectus, suggesting that other factors are likely responsible for the appearance of its human-like traits.

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“…In addition to this, as with the case of Naibor Soit Quartzite (Bello-Alonso et al 2019;de Francisco 2019), the elaboration of an experimental protocol with basalts is especially relevant in the specific case study of the Early Stone Age (ESA). With this study, we continued the traceological analysis in combination with the technological approaches observed in TK (Santonja et al 2014(Santonja et al , 2018Rubio-Jara et al 2017), understanding that both are fields of study closely united for the functional discourse (Panera et al 2019). For this same reason and paying particular attention to the great technological variety found in these archeological contexts, we also included a wide range of worked materials and movements.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental approaches to the development of use-wear traces on volcanic rocks: basalts

Bello-Alonso

Rios‐Garaizar

Panera

et al. 2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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In this paper we present the experimental results obtained for the formation of use-wear traces on four types of basalt rocks from the Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) and one from the Deba River (Spain). The objective of this study is to create a reference collection that will allow the posterior analysis and identification of archeological use-wear traces on lithic industries made on these different types of basalt, such as the Acheulean lithic industry from Thiongo Korongo site (TK) (Olduvai's Bed II, ca. 1.353 ± 0.035 Ma.). This study includes five types of basalt, under the objective of understanding in more detail the formation of the use-wear traces. Additionally, we include their individual petrographic, chemical, and traceological interpretations, allowing for an assessment of the intrinsic characteristics in relation to the development of use-wear. The final step of this process includes microscopic analysis for the detailed characterization and description of these use-wear traces. The results obtained reveal the internal structure of basalts as a significant conditioning factor in the development of use-wear traces. Despite this, we have been able to establish several criteria that discriminate between actions and different worked materials. These results offer a fundamental experimental basis for the future interpretation of use-wear traces found in archeological basalts.

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Assessing functionality during the early Acheulean in level TKSF at Thiongo Korongo site (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

Cited by 27 publications

References 72 publications

Tracing the spatial imprint of Oldowan technological behaviors: A view from DS (Bed I, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

Tracing the spatial imprint of Oldowan technological behaviors: A view from DS (Bed I, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

No sustained increase in zooarchaeological evidence for carnivory after the appearance ofHomo erectus

Experimental approaches to the development of use-wear traces on volcanic rocks: basalts

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