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Geochronology and physical context of Oldowan site formation at Kanjera South, Kenya

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2018

P. W. DITCHFIELD ,
E. WHITFIELD ,
T. VINCENT ,
T. PLUMMER ,
D. BRAUN ,
A. DEINO ,
F. HERTEL ,
J. S. OLIVER ,
J. LOUYS  and
L. C. BISHOP
P. W. DITCHFIELD*
Affiliation:
Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK
E. WHITFIELD
Affiliation:
Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, James Parsons Building, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK
T. VINCENT
Affiliation:
Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, James Parsons Building, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK
T. PLUMMER
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Queens College, CUNY & NYCEP, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY 11367, USA
D. BRAUN
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, George Washington University, 2110 G Sreet, NW Washington DC 20052, USA
A. DEINO
Affiliation:
Berkeley Geochronology Center, 2455 Ridge Road, Berkeley CA 94709, USA
F. HERTEL
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge CA 91330, USA
J. S. OLIVER
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, Earth & Mineral Sciences Museum, Pennsylvania State University, 151 Standing Stone Lane, State College PA16802, USA
J. LOUYS
Affiliation:
Research Centre in Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, 4111, AU
L. C. BISHOP
Affiliation:
Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, James Parsons Building, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK
*
†Author for correspondence: [email protected]
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Abstract

Oldowan sites in primary geological context are rare in the archaeological record. Here we describe the depositional environment of Oldowan occurrences at Kanjera South, Kenya, based on field descriptions and granulometric analysis. Excavations have recovered a large Oldowan artefact sample as well as the oldest substantial sample of archaeological fauna. The deposits at Kanjera South consist of 30 m of fluvial, colluvial and lacustrine sediments. Magneto- and biostratigraphy indicate the Kanjera South Member of the Kanjera Formation was deposited during 2.3–1.92 Ma, with 2.0 Ma being a likely age for the archaeological occurrences. Oldowan artefacts and associated fauna were deposited in the colluvial and alluvial silts and sands of beds KS1–3, in the margins of a lake basin. Field descriptions and granulometric analysis of the sediment fine fraction indicate that sediments from within the main archaeological horizon were emplaced as a combination of tractional and hyperconcentrated flows with limited evidence of debris-flow deposition. This style of deposition is unlikely to significantly erode or disturb the underlying surface, and therefore promotes preservation of surface archaeological accumulations. Hominins were repeatedly attracted to the site locale, and rapid sedimentation, minimal bone weathering and an absence of bone or artefact rounding further indicate that fossils and artefacts were quickly buried.

Keywords

OldowangeochronologypalaeoenvironmentKanjeraKenya
Type
Original Article
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 156 , Issue 7 , July 2019 , pp. 1190 - 1200
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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