Were Olduvai Hominins making butchering tools or battering tools? Analysis of a recently excavated lithic assemblage from BK (Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

Martín, Fernando Diéz; Sánchez, Policarpo; Domı́nguez-Rodrigo, Manuel; Mabulla, Audax; Barba, Rebeca

doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2009.03.001

Cited by 103 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…No evidence for a large body of water and no amphibious or woodland animals were found, attesting to an open and uniform environment with patchy water sources and trees during the time of occupation, much like the region today. In this ecological setting, Bizat Ruhama markedly differs from other Early Pleistocene sites in the Levant and Africa, in which preferable settings were on lake-margin or riverbanks and fauna indicate mosaic environments of woodlands, open areas, and water bodies (e.g., Bar-Yosef 2006;Bar-Yosef and Goren-Inbar 1993;Bar-Yosef and Tchernov 1972;Belmaker 2006Belmaker , 2009Chavaillon and Berthelet 2004;Ditchfield et al 1999;Feibel 2001Feibel , 2004Feibel et al 1989Feibel et al , 1991Goren-Inbar et al 2000;Guerin et al, 1993;Haas 1966;Horowitz 1996;Isaac 1997;Leakey 1971;Leakey and Leakey 1978;Martinez-Navarro 2004;Plummer et al 2009;Raynal et al 2004;Sikes 1994;Tchernov et al 1994). Bizat Ruhama thus widens our knowledge about Early Pleistocene non-Acheulian hominins' ecological range and demonstrates that, equipped with a simple toolkit, they were capable of adapting to a broad spectrum of environments.…”

Section: Anthropogenic Versus Natural Agents In the Formation Of The mentioning

confidence: 76%

“…The data from Olduvai, Koobi For a, and ʹUbeidiya show that the density in Plio-Pleistocene open-air sites is usually within the same range. It rarely exceeds 30-40 pieces per meter in a horizon up to 50cm thick (Bar-Yosef and Goren-Inbar 1993;Isaac 1997;Kroll and Isaac 1984;Leakey 1971) and in only a few cases such as FxJj 20AB and FxJj i8NS in Koobi Fora, Lokalalei 2C in West Turkana, and A. L. 894, Hadar, Ethiopia (Delagnes and Roche 2005;Goldman-Neuman and Hovers 2009;Kroll and Isaac 1984) does it exceed 100 stone artifacts per square meter.…”

Section: Figure 18 Br At5 Horizontal Distribution Of Artifacts By Rmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Archaeological and experimental studies show that heavily rounded and abraded stone artifacts in open-air sites either occur within coarse-grained fluvial contexts or indicate long transportation from their original locations by high-velocity and long-duration flows (e.g., Bar-Yosef and Goren-Inbar 1993;Harding et al 1987;Isaac 1997;Schick 1986;Petraglia and Nash 1987;Petraglia and Potts 1994). Since numerous factors influence the degree to which a stone tool is abraded (texture and hardness of material, …”

Section: The Surface Condition Of the Artifactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Large numbers of Early Pleistocene artifacts in primary depositional context were reported only from Dmanisi in Georgia and 'Ubeidiya in Israel (Bar-Yosef and Goren-Inbar 1993;Bar-Yosef and Tchernov 1972;de Lumley et al 2005;Gabunia and Vekua 1995; Gabunia et al 2000). In other Early Pleistocene occurrences either the number of artifacts, or the size of the excavated areas are very small, or the context of the artifacts is questionable (Arzarello et al 2006; Carbonell et al 1999Carbonell et al , 2008 Chauhan 2009;Dennell …”

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confidence: 99%

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The earliest evidence of hominin presence outside of Africa is scarce. Although it is clear that hominins reached Eurasia at the beginning of the Early Pleistocene, equipped with an Oldowan-like tool-kit, the Eurasian Early Pleistocene archaeological record is actually limited to a few occurrences, many of which are not in primary archaeological context. Consequently, much of the paleoecological and behavioral aspects of the earliest occupation of Eurasia remain poorly understood. Here we report on the renewed excavations at the Early Pleistocene core-and-flake site of Bizat Ruhama, Israel, located on the southern coastal plain of the southern Levant. The site yielded several lithic and faunal assemblages in primary anthropogenic context and is dated to the Matuyama paleomagnetic chron (1.96-0.78 Ma), based on paleomagnetic and faunal evidence.The results of the current study at Bizat Ruhama reveal a spatially extensive single-horizon open-air occurrence with indications for fast burial and good preservation of the original site features. The Bizat Ruhama industry shows no Acheulian affinities and exhibits technological simplicity. However, it demonstrates the hominin ability to adapt to unfavorable raw material conditions. Technological simplicity and absence of bifacial and discoidal knapping suggest that the site represents Mode 1 dispersal out of Africa. The faunal assemblage of the site was accumulated primarily by anthropogenic agents, preserving signs of hominin butchery. Geological and faunal evidence indicate open homogeneous semi-arid environment with no evidence for river or lake in the immediate surroundings, thereby broadening our knowledge of the range of habitats exploited by early hominins and their adaptive skills. Altogether, the results point to short-term hominin occupation and suggest that animal carcasses were processed in place, along with knapping activities. INTRODUCTION Early Pleistocene hominin sites in Eurasia are scarce, but their importance for studying the first dispersals out of Africa, and for illustrating early hominin adaptations and life ways, is immense. Currently, the evidence for the earliest hominin presence in Eurasia derives from Dmanisi in Georgia, dated to 1.78 Ma (Ferring et al. 2008; Gabunia et al. 2000) and the lowest level of Majuangou in the Nihewan basin, China, dated to 1.66 Ma (Zhu et al. 2004). Both occurrences yielded simple core-and-flake assemblages comparable with East African Mode 1 assemblages (de Lumley et al. 2005;Zhu et al. 2004). Given that the age of the earliest known Acheulian sites in Africa is 1.65-1.5 Ma (Asfaw et al. 1992;Roche et al. 2003;Semaw et al. 2008), it seems that the earliest out-of-Africa sorties took place before the emergence of the Acheulian lithic technology.Although the interpretation of the timing of the earliest out-of-Africa dispersal and the technological affinities of the earliest migrants seem to be quite compelling, the Eurasian Early Pleistocene record de facto is extremely sparse. Large numbers of Early Pleis...

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Section: Anthropogenic Versus Natural Agents In the Formation Of The mentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Figure 18 Br At5 Horizontal Distribution Of Artifacts By Rmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: The Surface Condition Of the Artifactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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“…in the Olduvai sites: [26,[60][61][62][63]), as no evidence for this type of technique was observed within the lithic assemblages of GBY. It should also be stressed that, while the removal of flakes from anvils has been shown to be spontaneous in the African record, where any evidence of conchoidal fracturing is lacking [57,60,62], at GBY all the flake scars on the anvils display clear features of direct percussion.…”

Section: (B) Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new type of anvil in the Acheulian of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov, Israel

Goren‐Inbar

Sharon

Alperson-Afil

et al. 2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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We report here on the identification and characterization of thin basalt anvils, a newly discovered component of the Acheulian lithic inventory of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov (GBY). These tools are an addition to the array of percussive tools (percussors, pitted stones and anvils) made of basalt, flint and limestone. The thin anvils were selected from particularly compact, horizontally fissured zones of basalt flows. This type of fissuring produces a natural geometry of thick and thin slabs. Hominins at GBY had multiple acquisition strategies, including the selection of thick slabs for the production of giant cores and cobbles for percussors. The selection of thin slabs was carried out according to yet another independent and targeted plan. The thinness of the anvils dictated a particular range of functions. The use of the anvils is well documented on their surfaces and edges. Two main types of damage are identified: those resulting from activities carried out on the surfaces of the anvils and those resulting from unintentional forceful blows ( accidents de travaille ). Percussive activities that may have been associated with the thin anvils include nut cracking and the processing of meat and bones, as well as plants.

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The 1‐million‐year‐old quartz assemblage from Pont‐de‐Lavaud (Centre, France) in the European context

Despriée

Moncel

Arzarello

et al. 2018

J Quaternary Science

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The Pont-de-Lavaud site, located in the Centre Region of France (Creuse Valley), yielded a quartz lithic assemblage composed of a few hundred artefacts with cores, pebble tools, flakes and flake-tools, mixed with several thousand debris items and pebbles. The archaeological site is covered by a fossil fluvial deposit from the Creuse River (sheet I, with a relative altitude of þ 90/105 m), dated by Electron Spin Resonance at the site itself to around 1 Ma. We will focus in this paper on the lithic assemblage with clear anthropogenic features to describe the technological strategies applied to quartz pebbles, with the help of experiments. The core technology is based on short 'cha^nes op eratoires' on local quartz aimed at producing pointed end-products on pebbles and flakes. The methods and techniques include both the bipolar technique on an anvil and direct percussion with a hard hammer. The reduction sequences were strongly conditioned by the morphology and the physical characteristics of the raw material. Few flakes are retouched. The Pont-de-Lavaud lithic assemblage is one example of the diversity of the 1-Ma European industries. The assemblage shows techno-cultural behavioural variability at this period and adaptation to raw material constraints. Comparisons with series where the use of quartz is widespread demonstrate the ability of hominins to use stones of varying quality and to adapt technology to the raw material in zones located beyond the 45th parallel north.

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Were Olduvai Hominins making butchering tools or battering tools? Analysis of a recently excavated lithic assemblage from BK (Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

Cited by 103 publications

References 27 publications

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A new type of anvil in the Acheulian of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov, Israel

The 1‐million‐year‐old quartz assemblage from Pont‐de‐Lavaud (Centre, France) in the European context

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