Melka Kunture (alto Awash, Etiopía) entre 2.000.000 y 5.000 años

Mussi, Margherita; Quintas, Eduardo Méndez; Panera, Joaquín; Altamura, Flavio; Bianco, Luca Di; Briatico, Giuseppe; Mutri, Giuseppina; Piarulli, Flavia; Rubio‐Jara, Susana; Ruta, Giuseppe; Galán, Sol Sánchez-Dehesa; Domínguez, Andrea Serodio; Melis, Rita Teresa

doi:10.26754/ojs_salduie/sald.202318553

Salduie

2023

DOI: 10.26754/ojs_salduie/sald.202318553

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Melka Kunture (alto Awash, Etiopía) entre 2.000.000 y 5.000 años

Margherita Mussi¹,

Eduardo Méndez Quintas

Joaquín Panera

et al.

Abstract: Melka Kunture es un clúster de yacimientos prehistóricos situados en el altiplano etíope, a 2.000-2.200 m sobre el nivel del mar, en la cuenca alta del río Awash. El clima es más bien fresco (temperatura media anual de 17° C) y lluvioso. Los resultados palinológicos demuestran que la vegetación durante el Pleistoceno era de tipo afromontano y, por lo tanto, diferente a la de sabana que se desarrolla en cotas más bajas. Tras casi 60 años de excavaciones en 20 yacimientos y en unos 60 niveles arqueológicos disti… Show more

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Cited by 3 publications

References 17 publications

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Isotopic insights into the Early Acheulean (1.95 Ma–1.66 Ma) high-elevation paleoenvironments at Melka Kunture (Upper Awash Valley, Ethiopia)

Briatico,

Bocherens,

Bonnefille

et al. 2023

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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In this paper, we present stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of fauna tooth enamel from Garba IVD (1.95 Ma) and Gombore IB (1.66 Ma), two Early Acheulean sites of Melka Kunture (Upper Awash, Ethiopia), and discuss faunal taxonomy and fossil pollen. Our aim is to infer the diet and habitat of the fossil fauna, as well as the environment of both sites, in order to provide a broader paleoecological reconstruction. During the Pleistocene, the vegetation of the highlands of Ethiopia belonged to the Dry evergreen Afromontane Forest and grassland complex, which is distinct from the savanna of lower elevations in eastern Africa. Our carbon isotopic results indicate that all the analyzed faunal taxa were grazers consuming C4 plants, whereas oxygen isotopic results discriminate the taxa according to their semiaquatic or terrestrial habitats. These results are consistent with the taxonomic composition of the faunal assemblages and the palynological results, suggesting extended mountain grasslands in the landscape at Garba IVD. In contrast, the carbon isotopic results do not totally agree with the pollen paleoenvironmental reconstruction at Gombore IB, where the open vegetation was interrupted by forests and bushy vegetation. Stable isotope and pollen data provide different outcomes (feeding strategies vs. nearby plants) and have different temporal and spatial resolutions. This is relevant when reconstructing past environments by using independent proxies. Furthermore, isotopic comparisons with other Early Pleistocene paleontological and archaeological sites from eastern Africa indicate that all the analyzed taxa in common fed on C4 plants and that their dietary strategies were not affected by variations linked to the difference in elevations.

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Isotopic insights into the Early Acheulean (1.95 Ma–1.66 Ma) high-elevation paleoenvironments at Melka Kunture (Upper Awash Valley, Ethiopia)

Briatico,

Bocherens,

Bonnefille

et al. 2023

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Intra-tooth isotopic analysis shows seasonal variability in the high-elevation context of Melka Kunture (Upper Awash Valley, Ethiopia) during the Early Pleistocene

Briatico,

Mussi,

Melis

et al. 2024

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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The Pleistocene high-elevation environments between 2.02 and 0.6 Ma at Melka Kunture (Upper Awash Valley, Ethiopia) based upon stable isotope analysis

Briatico,

Bocherens,

Geraads

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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Pleistocene environments are among the most studied issues in paleoecology and human evolution research in eastern Africa. Many data have been recorded from archaeological sites located at low and medium elevations (≤ 1500 m), whereas few contexts are known at 2000 m and above. Here, we present a substantial isotopic study from Melka Kunture, a complex of prehistoric sites located at 2000—2200 m above sea level in the central Ethiopian highlands. We analyzed the stable carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of 308 faunal tooth enamel samples from sites dated between 2.02 and 0.6 Ma to investigate the animal diets and habitats. The carbon isotopic results indicate that the analyzed taxa had C4-dominated and mixed C3-C4 diets with no significant diachronic changes in feeding behavior with time. This is consistent with faunal and phytolith analyses, which suggested environments characterized by open grasslands (with both C3 and C4 grasses), patches of bushes and thickets, and aquatic vegetation. However, palynological data previously documented mountain forests, woodlands, and high-elevation grasslands. Additionally, the carbon isotopic comparison with other eastern African localities shows that differences in elevation did not influence animal feeding strategies and habitat partitioning, even though plant species vary according to altitudinal gradients. In contrast, the oxygen isotopic comparison suggests significant differences consistent with the altitude effect. Our approach allows us to detect diverse aspects of animal behavior, habitat, and vegetation that should be considered when reconstructing past environments.

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Melka Kunture (alto Awash, Etiopía) entre 2.000.000 y 5.000 años

Cited by 3 publications

References 17 publications

Isotopic insights into the Early Acheulean (1.95 Ma–1.66 Ma) high-elevation paleoenvironments at Melka Kunture (Upper Awash Valley, Ethiopia)

Isotopic insights into the Early Acheulean (1.95 Ma–1.66 Ma) high-elevation paleoenvironments at Melka Kunture (Upper Awash Valley, Ethiopia)

Intra-tooth isotopic analysis shows seasonal variability in the high-elevation context of Melka Kunture (Upper Awash Valley, Ethiopia) during the Early Pleistocene

The Pleistocene high-elevation environments between 2.02 and 0.6 Ma at Melka Kunture (Upper Awash Valley, Ethiopia) based upon stable isotope analysis

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