Archaeology of middle Pleistocene lacustrine and spring paleoenvironments in the Kapthurin Formation, Kenya

Johnson, Cara Roure; McBrearty, Sally

doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2012.05.001

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…For the early Pleistocene, spring sites with hominin remains are found in Turkey (Kappelman et al, 2008;Lebatard et al, 2014;Vialet et al, 2012), the Syrian desert (Jagher et al, 2015), and in Tanzania with several sites throughout the 1.89 -1.30 Ma interval at Olduvai Gorge (Ashley et al, , 2014a(Ashley et al, , 2010a(Ashley et al, , 2010b(Ashley et al, , 2010c(Ashley et al, , 2009Barboni et al, 2010;Deocampo et al, 2002;Garrett, 2017;McHenry et al, 2007), and possibly at Peninj as Typha pollen is abundant (Dominguez-Rodrigo et al, 2001). During the Middle and Upper Pleistocene, there is recurrent evidence for human presence at spring sites in the Saharan desert belt (Churcher et al, 1999;Dachy et al, 2018;Foulds et al, 2017;Hill, 2001;Kleindienst et al, 2008;McCool, 2018;Nicoll et al, 1999;Smith et al, 2007Smith et al, , 2004Wendorf et al, 1993), in northeast Ethiopia (Benito-Calvo et al, 2014;Gossa et al, 2012;Williams et al, 1977), in Kenya (Beverly et al, 2015;Johnson et al, 2009;Johnson and McBrearty, 2012;Tryon et al, 2014Tryon et al, , 2012Van Plantinga, 2011), and South Africa (Butzer, 1973;Porat et al, 2010). In South Africa, the massive tufa fan deposits spanning the length of the Ghaap Plateau escarpment (the Buxton Limeworks at Taung, and the Groot Kloof and Gorrokop at Ulco) have resulted from the dischar...…”

Section: Hominin and Archeological Sites Cooccurring With Springs Sprmentioning

confidence: 99%

Springs, palm groves, and the record of early hominins in Africa

Barboni

Ashley

Bourel

et al. 2019

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology

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Highlights• Groundwater systems locally create wet and wooded microhabitats in arid Eastern Africa.• But, how important are groundwater-fed microhabitats to the early hominin record?• Geological context, vegetation, and microfossils from modern springs were analyzed.• Fossil springs were found associated with hominin remains in >50 different localities.• Groundwater systems play essential roles at the species and ecosystem levels. AbstractHominins evolved in Africa during a period of overall regional cooling, drying and increasingly variable climate. Despite prevailing regional aridity since the mid-Miocene, data show that early hominins Sahelanthropus tchadensis, Orrorin tugenensis, and Ardipithecus ramidus lived in environments made of mosaics of grasslands, mixed grasslands, woodlands, and forests, where wooded habitats were maintained by edaphic rather than regional (climatic) humidity. Groundwater systems (springs, seeps, shallow aquifers) and surface water (rivers, lakes), locally create wetter and more wooded environments in addition to that supported by precipitation alone. However, edaphically sustained woodlands are rare to missing in most published paleoeclogical interpretations of hominin archeological sites. To explore the importance of groundwater to the record of hominins in Africa, we provide newly acquired field data from spring sites in the Awash Valley, Ethiopia, and Lake Eyasi-Lake Manyara region, Tanzania, and re-evaluate published data from the Ardipithecus-bearing Aramis Member, Ethiopia.Results show that 1) in arid Eastern Africa, a wide variety of microhabitats such as groundwaterfed wetlands, Hyphaene palm woodlands, Phoenix reclinata palm woodlands, and structurally complex and species-rich forest patches exist due to local variability of geologic, topographic and hydrologic conditions. 2) These microhabitats carry some characteristic pollen and phytolith signals, that may be easily masked by the signal of surrounding grass-dominated shrublands and grasslands. 3) The Aramis Member (Awash Valley, Ethiopia), which is to date, the best documented paleo-groundwater ecosystem, is not a riparian habitat. It is one of > 50 examples (within 22 geographically distinct areas) in Africa and the Middle East where evidence of groundwater systems co-exist with hominin and/or archeological remains. Springs are commonly localized features of limited area within a landscape, but provide ecological continuity through time and diverse microhabitats, some of which may be densely forested.At the local scale, springs create microclimates, distinctive vegetation, and increase soil nutrients, species richness, structural complexity, and provide habitat for animals. At the landscape scale, they represent hydro-refugia favoring increased connectivity among animals and allowing migrations during dry periods. We conclude that in the East African Rift where low, highly seasonal rainfall and high evaporative demand limit vegetation growth in many areas, groundwater-fed zones create diverse microhabitats and play a m...

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Section: Hominin and Archeological Sites Cooccurring With Springs Sprmentioning

confidence: 99%

Springs, palm groves, and the record of early hominins in Africa

Barboni

Ashley

Bourel

et al. 2019

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology

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“…The spring‐fed rivers of the Lake Victoria Basin add to the record of palaeoanthropological sites associated with tufa previously restricted to the Early and Middle Pleistocene (Wendorf, ; Haynes et al ., ; Nicoll et al ., ; Smith et al ., , ; Garcea & Giraudi, ; Barich & Garcea, ; Ashley et al ., , ,b,c, ; Johnson et al ., ; Johnson & McBrearty, ). The aquifers stored water during times of high rainfall, allowing for continual spring discharge which, in turn, allowed the landscape to host more diverse plant and animal communities (Cuthbert & Ashley, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recurrent spring‐fed rivers in a Middle to Late Pleistocene semi‐arid grassland: Implications for environments of early humans in the Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya

et al. 2015

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The effect of changing palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment on human evolution during the Pleistocene is debated, but hampered by few East African records directly associated with archaeological sites prior to the Last Glacial Maximum. Middle to Late Pleistocene deposits on the shoreline of eastern Lake Victoria preserve abundant vertebrate fossils and Middle Stone Age artefacts associated with riverine tufas at the base of the deposits, which are ideal for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. New data from tufas identified on Rusinga Island and on the mainland near Karungu, Kenya are provided from outcrop, thin sections, mineralogical, stable isotopic and U-series dating analyses. Tufa is identified in four sites: Nyamita (94Á0 AE 3Á3 and 111Á4 AE 4Á2 ka); Kisaaka, Aringo (455 AE 45 ka); and Obware. The age ranges of these tufa deposits demonstrate that spring-fed rivers were a recurrent, variably preserved feature on the Pleistocene landscape for ca 360 kyr. Poor sorting of clastic facies from all sites indicates flashy, ephemeral discharge, but these facies are commonly associated with barrage tufas, paludal environments with d 13 C values of ca 10& indicative of C 3 plants and fossil Hippopotamus, all of which indicate a perennial water source. Other tufa deposits from Nyamita, Obware and Aringo have a mixed C 3 /C 4 signature consistent with a semi-arid C 4 grassland surrounding these spring-fed rivers. The d 18 O values of tufa from Nyamita are on average ca 1& more negative than calcite precipitated from modern rainfall in the region, suggesting greater contribution of depleted monsoonal input, similar to the Last Glacial Maximum. Microdebitage and surface-collected artefacts indicate that early modern humans were utilizing these spring-fed rivers. The presence of springÀfed rivers would have afforded animals a reliable water source, sustaining a diverse plant and animal community in an otherwise arid environment. 1611

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“…This is seen in tool type frequencies (Pope, 2002;Sharon et al, 2011), technological strategies (Clark, 2001;Schick and Clark, 2003;McPherron, 2003;Archer and Braun, 2010), and morphology (Gamble and Marshall, 2001;Lycett, 2008). Moreover, some assemblages (e.g., GnJh 42 and GnJh 50 sites in the Middle Pleistocene Kapthurin Formation of Kenya) actually lack the typical tool types of the Acheulean, such as handaxes and cleavers (Diez-Martín and Eren, 2012;Johnson and McBrearty, 2012). This has led some researchers to recognize the need to form a more balanced focus on exploring a truly holistic version of the Acheulean concept (Tryon and Potts, 2011;DiezMartín and Eren, 2012;Johnson and McBrearty, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, some assemblages (e.g., GnJh 42 and GnJh 50 sites in the Middle Pleistocene Kapthurin Formation of Kenya) actually lack the typical tool types of the Acheulean, such as handaxes and cleavers (Diez-Martín and Eren, 2012;Johnson and McBrearty, 2012). This has led some researchers to recognize the need to form a more balanced focus on exploring a truly holistic version of the Acheulean concept (Tryon and Potts, 2011;DiezMartín and Eren, 2012;Johnson and McBrearty, 2012). Current emphasis on the small-medium sized d ebitage component at Acheulean sites exemplifies this more holistic approach, as it helps our understanding of the overall technological innovations and adaptations at these sites (de la Torre and Mora, 2005;Tryon and Potts, 2011;Diez-Martín and Eren, 2012;Johnson and McBrearty, 2012;Gallotti, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This has led some researchers to recognize the need to form a more balanced focus on exploring a truly holistic version of the Acheulean concept (Tryon and Potts, 2011;DiezMartín and Eren, 2012;Johnson and McBrearty, 2012). Current emphasis on the small-medium sized d ebitage component at Acheulean sites exemplifies this more holistic approach, as it helps our understanding of the overall technological innovations and adaptations at these sites (de la Torre and Mora, 2005;Tryon and Potts, 2011;Diez-Martín and Eren, 2012;Johnson and McBrearty, 2012;Gallotti, 2013). However, the study of handaxe-bearing assemblages in China has been constrained by an initial focus on surface collections and the Large Cutting Tools (LCTs) within them (Hou et al, 2000;Norton et al, 2006;Petraglia and Shipton, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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