Hominid environments at Hadar from paleosol studies in a framework of Ethiopian climate change

Aronson, James L.; Hailemichael, Million; Savin, Samuel M.

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.04.004

Cited by 43 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Mean annual rainfall was estimated from fossil pollen assemblages through statistical comparison with an extensive modern pollen data set linked to modern climatic parameters (Bonnefille et al, 2004). Values ranged from 750 to 1200 mm/yr, significantly two or three times greater during the Pliocene than today, a result in agreement with isotopic estimates (Aronson et al, 2008). Mean annual temperature was estimated 21-22°C, slightly cooler than today but still indicating tropical conditions.…”

Section: Palaeobotanical Data From Lower Pliocene Hominid Sitesmentioning

confidence: 79%

Cenozoic vegetation, climate changes and hominid evolution in tropical Africa

Bonnefille

2010

Global and Planetary Change

247

227

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Section: Palaeobotanical Data From Lower Pliocene Hominid Sitesmentioning

confidence: 79%

Cenozoic vegetation, climate changes and hominid evolution in tropical Africa

Bonnefille

2010

Global and Planetary Change

247

227

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“…Paleosol carbonate stable isotopic data document statistically significant trends towards a dominance of C 4 vegetation through time for both the Afar (R 2 = 0.344, p < 0.001) and Turkana Basins (R 2 = 0.186, p < 0.001) from 3.5 to 1.5 Ma (data from Cerling et al 1988;Levin et al 2004Levin et al , 2011Wynn 2004;Wynn et al 2006;Quade et al 2004;Quinn et al 2007;Aronson et al 2008;Passey et al 2010). However, the timing of the major shift to C 4 -dominated vegetation differs between the basins, with the major shift to C 4 -dominated environments in the LAV occurring across the Busidima Unconformity Surface (2.9-2.7 Ma, Quade et al 2004;Levin et al 2004Levin et al , 2011.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Fossil Giraffidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from Lee Adoyta, Ledi-Geraru, and Late Pliocene Dietary Evolution in Giraffids from the Lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia

et al. 2016

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The giraffid fossils recovered from~2.8-2.6 million year old (Ma) sediments from Lee Adoyta, Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia, are described here. Sivatherium maurusium and Giraffa cf. G. gracilis are the two identified taxa, with the former being more abundant than the latter. We interpret this skew of relative abundance to be of paleoenvironmental significance, as Sivatherium is rare and Giraffa is common in the adjacent, but older sediments of the Hadar Formation at Hadar (~3.4 to 2.95 Ma), which was characterized by wooded and well-watered habitats through most of its sequence. Stable carbon isotope analyses show that Giraffa remained an obligate browser throughout the lower Awash Valley (LAV) sequence while Sivatherium underwent a dietary transition from a browser in the Hadar Formation to a grazer at Lee Adoyta. This dietary shift in Sivatherium reflects local environmental change through time in the LAVas open habitats spread during the late Pliocene. A compilation of isotopic data from other sites in eastern Africa shows that the LAV dietary shift in Sivatherium occurred roughly one million years earlier than in the Turkana Basin, Kenya, reflecting a spatiotemporally staggered expansion of C 4 vegetation across eastern Africa.

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“… Data from Levin et al (2004) , Quade et al (2004) , Aronson, Hailemichael & Savin (2008) , and Cerling et al (2011) . …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Pleistocene large mammals from Maka’amitalu, Hadar, lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia

Rowan

Lazagabaster

Campisano

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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The Early Pleistocene was a critical time period in the evolution of eastern African mammal faunas, but fossil assemblages sampling this interval are poorly known from Ethiopia’s Afar Depression. Field work by the Hadar Research Project in the Busidima Formation exposures (~2.7–0.8 Ma) of Hadar in the lower Awash Valley, resulted in the recovery of an early Homo maxilla (A.L. 666-1) with associated stone tools and fauna from the Maka’amitalu basin in the 1990s. These assemblages are dated to ~2.35 Ma by the Bouroukie Tuff 3 (BKT-3). Continued work by the Hadar Research Project over the last two decades has greatly expanded the faunal collection. Here, we provide a comprehensive account of the Maka’amitalu large mammals (Artiodactyla, Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Primates, and Proboscidea) and discuss their paleoecological and biochronological significance. The size of the Maka’amitalu assemblage is small compared to those from the Hadar Formation (3.45–2.95 Ma) and Ledi-Geraru (2.8–2.6 Ma) but includes at least 20 taxa. Bovids, suids, and Theropithecus are common in terms of both species richness and abundance, whereas carnivorans, equids, and megaherbivores are rare. While the taxonomic composition of the Maka’amitalu fauna indicates significant species turnover from the Hadar Formation and Ledi-Geraru deposits, turnover seems to have occurred at a constant rate through time as taxonomic dissimilarity between adjacent fossil assemblages is strongly predicted by their age difference. A similar pattern characterizes functional ecological turnover, with only subtle changes in dietary proportions, body size proportions, and bovid abundances across the composite lower Awash sequence. Biochronological comparisons with other sites in eastern Africa suggest that the taxa recovered from the Maka’amitalu are broadly consistent with the reported age of the BKT-3 tuff. Considering the age of BKT-3 and biochronology, a range of 2.4–1.9 Ma is most likely for the faunal assemblage.

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Hominid environments at Hadar from paleosol studies in a framework of Ethiopian climate change

Cited by 43 publications

References 74 publications

Cenozoic vegetation, climate changes and hominid evolution in tropical Africa

Cenozoic vegetation, climate changes and hominid evolution in tropical Africa

Fossil Giraffidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from Lee Adoyta, Ledi-Geraru, and Late Pliocene Dietary Evolution in Giraffids from the Lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia

Early Pleistocene large mammals from Maka’amitalu, Hadar, lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia

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