Ecosystem evolution and hominin paleobiology at East Turkana, northern Kenya between 2.0 and 1.4 Ma

The case of the grass‐eating suids in the Plio‐Pleistocene Turkana Basin: 3D dental topography in relation to diet in extant and fossil pigs

“…Stable carbon isotopes indicates that at least the latest K . heseloni in the Turkana Basin was mostly grazing (Cerling et al, ; Harris & Cerling, ; Patterson et al, ), but the earlier Kolpochoerus that dispersed into Africa and to the Turkana Basin might have been more like most of the extant suids, adapted to omnivorous diet and closed habitats. Our results support the interpretation that N .…”

“…heseloni in the Turkana Basin was mostly grazing Harris & Cerling, 2002;Patterson et al, 2017), but the ear- (Cerling et al, 2011). Wet-dry cycled seasonality was possibly increasing from the end of the Pliocene and introduced seasonally arid grasslands (Bobe & Behrensmeyer, 2004;Bobe & Eck, 2001), and grass was an abundant and attractive food source for species that could cope with the abrasiveness of grass and fast throughput digestion of cellulose.…”

Hominin Ecology of the Early Oldowan 2 Ma

“…The broader behavioural and environmental context of this shift remains elusive, however, due to a dearth of high-resolution chronostratigraphic and environmental datasets in direct association with archaeological remains ≥1.9Ma. Environmental information for this phase is available for a small number of sites [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] , although it is extremely fragmentary if not absent for some key localities; thus, our understanding of hominin ecology during this evolutionary period remains poor, and restricted to narrow, isolated windows in time and space. Furthermore, correlating outcrop with off-site palaeoecological information is only possible at a gross scale.…”

“…The reconstruction of hominin ecology 2.6 to 1.9 Ma ago has mostly relied on indirect approximations to past vegetation from fauna and/or stable isotopes [13][14][15][16][17] , denoting variably open grassland and gallery forest mosaics in fluviatile contexts often from restricted stratigraphic intervals 18 . Our research reconciles the earliest Oldowan stone tools from Oldupai Gorge, a key complex for the study of hominin land use [19][20][21] , with multiproxy datasets in direct association with stratified archaeological and fossil assemblages that record a sustained occupation of the same place for long periods in varied geomorphic contexts and sedimentary facies.…”

“…Our research reconciles the earliest Oldowan stone tools from Oldupai Gorge, a key complex for the study of hominin land use [19][20][21] , with multiproxy datasets in direct association with stratified archaeological and fossil assemblages that record a sustained occupation of the same place for long periods in varied geomorphic contexts and sedimentary facies. The accompanying environmental context informs Oldowan hominin ecology through indirect, classic indicators such as faunal ecology and stable isotopes from enamel (δ 13 C/δ 18 O), but also through direct evidence of vegetation physiognomy and cover, as well as regional fires, through phytolith analysis, isotopic n-alkane values, microcharcoal concentrations, and pollen spores. The results of this multidisciplinary approach are novel for the early Oldowan and expand our current understanding of hominin ecological range, bolstering some of the largest and best-studied palaeoanthropological records in the world.…”