Fossil mammals and artefacts from the Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia

Abstract

A review of fossil mammalian faunas from the Middle Awash indicates they span most of the later Neogene and document evolutionary change in several mammalian groups, especially Primates, Proboscidea and Artiodactyla. Oldowan artefacts first appear in the late Pliocene, while Acheulian and later industries and apparent occupation sites occur in Pleistocene beds.

Plio-Pleistocene terrestrial mammal assemblage from Konso, southern Ethiopia

“…Whereas the former displays clear, progressive adaptations to grazing, as shown by the increased length, hypsodonty, and complexity of the third molars, as well as the reduction of the premolars (Harris and White 1979), K. phillipi sp. nov. and K. majus retained their overall unspecialized dental morphologies from the apparent origin of the lineage ~2.6 Ma up to the last known occurrence of K. majus around 0.1 Ma (Kalb et al 1982a;Gilbert 2008; Middle Awash research project unpublished data). During this period, lateral pillars apparently increased in height relative to crown length, and enamel became more rugose as an anchor for thicker cementum, phenomena also observed in the living Hylochoerus.…”

Dynamic landscapes and human dispersal patterns: tectonics, coastlines, and the reconstruction of human habitats

“…Habitat reconstructions based on the analysis of sediments demonstrate that a range of vegetation types was probably present during the time of hominin occupation, including, swamps, seasonal (Manighetti et al, 2001;Rowland et al, 2007;Ayele et al, 2007). pans or 'playas', and more closed, wooded regions (Johanson et al, 1982;Kalb, Jolly et al, 1982;Radosevich et al, 1992;WoldeGabriel, et al, 1994WoldeGabriel, et al, , 2001Semaw et al, 2005). However, the relationship of these features to the original topography is difficult to establish in the present-day landscape because of the substantial changes that have been caused by active rifting over the past 2 Ma.…”

Variation in the Early and Middle Pleistocene: The phylogenetic relationships of Ceprano, Bodo, Daka, Kabwe and Buia

“…Bodo has been named H. sapiens rhodesiensis (Kalb et al, 1982); a subspecies of H. sapiens (Groves, 1989;Adefris, 1992) and, conditionally, H. erectus (Stringer, 1984). The shortest trees in this analysis show Bodo on a branch with, amongst others, H. rhodesiensis.…”