Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T02:33:57.110Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A spring and wooded habitat at FLK Zinj and their relevance to origins of human behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Gail M. Ashley ,
Doris Barboni ,
Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo ,
Henry T. Bunn ,
Audax Z.P. Mabulla ,
Fernando Diez-Martin ,
Rebeca Barba  and
Enrique Baquedano
Gail M. Ashley*
Affiliation:
Dept of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8066, USA
Doris Barboni
Affiliation:
CEREGE (UMR6635 CNRS/Université Aix-Marseille), BP80, F-13545 Aix-en-Provence cedex 4, France
Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo
Affiliation:
Dept. of Prehistory, Complutense University of Madrid Ciudad Universitaria s/n 28040 Madrid, Spain IDEA (Instituto de Evolución en África), Museo de los Orígenes, Plaza de San Andrés 2, 28005, Madrid, Spain
Henry T. Bunn
Affiliation:
Dept. of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Audax Z.P. Mabulla
Affiliation:
Archaeology Unit, P.O. Box 35050, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Fernando Diez-Martin
Affiliation:
Dept. of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Valladolid, Plaza del Campus s/n 47011 Valladolid, Spain
Rebeca Barba
Affiliation:
Dept. of Prehistory, Complutense University of Madrid Ciudad Universitaria s/n 28040 Madrid, Spain
Enrique Baquedano
Affiliation:
IDEA (Instituto de Evolución en África), Museo de los Orígenes, Plaza de San Andrés 2, 28005, Madrid, Spain Museo Arqueológico Regional de Madrid, Plaza delas Bernardas, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: + 1 732 445 3374. E-mail address:[email protected] (G.M. Ashley).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The 1959 discovery of the hominin fossil Zinjanthropus boisei brought the world's attention to the rich records at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Subsequent excavations of archaeological level 22 (FLK Zinj) Bed I uncovered remains of Homo habilis and a high-density collection of fossils and Oldowan stone tools. The occurrence of this unusual collection of bones and tools at this specific location has been controversial for decades. We present paleoecological data that provide new insights into the origin of FLK Zinj. Our recent excavations 200 m north of the site uncovered a 0.5-m-thick tufa mound draped by Tuff IC, in the same stratigraphic horizon as level 22. Stable isotope analyses indicate that the carbonates were deposited by a freshwater spring. Phytolith analysis of the waxy clay under Tuff IC revealed abundant woody dicotyledon and palm phytoliths, indicating that the site was wooded to densely wooded. The time equivalency and close physical proximity of the two environments indicate the two are related. This study has provided the first documented evidence of springs in Bed I and these data have important implications for the interpretation of hominin behavior in meat acquisition and the ongoing debate on scavenging versus hunting.

Keywords

SpringPhytolithsPalm treesOldowanTufaHominin
Type
Special Issue Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 74 , Issue 3 , November 2010 , pp. 304 - 314
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alexandre, A., Meunier, J.-D., Lézine, A.-M., Vincens, A., and Schwartz, D. Phytoliths indicators of grasslands dynamics during the late Holocene in intertropical Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (1997). 213–219.Google Scholar
Ashley, G.M. Orbital rhythms, monsoons, and playa lake response, Olduvai Basin, equatorial East Africa ( 1.85–1.75). Geology 35, (2007). 1091–1094.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashley, G. M. (2009). The Olduvai Spring System: Freshwater resources at Olduvai Gorge (1.85–1.75 Ma) provided an important ecologicial niche. In “50th Golden Anniversaries of Zinjanthropus discovery and the current establishments of Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, Tanzania." Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Arusha International Conference Center, Arusha, Tanzania.Google Scholar
Ashley, G.M., and Hay, R.L. Sedimentation patterns in a Plio-Pleistocene volcaniclastic rift-margin basin, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Sedimentation in Continental Rifts. SEPM Special Publication (2002). SEPM, 107–122.Google Scholar
Ashley, G.M., and Liutkus, C.M. Tracks, trails and trampling by large vertebrates in a rift valley paleo-wetland, lowermost Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Ichnos 9, (2002). 23–32.Google Scholar
Ashley, G.M., Tactikos, J.C., and Owen, R.B. Hominin use of springs and wetlands: paleoclimate and archaeological records from Olduvai Gorge (1.79–174 Ma). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 272, (2008). 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barboni, D., and Bremond, L. Phytoliths of East African grasses: an assessment of their environmental and taxonomic significance based on floristic data. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 158, (2009). 29–41.Google Scholar
Barboni, D., Bremond, L., and Bonnefille, R. Comparative study of modern phytolith assemblages from inter-tropical Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 246, (2007). 454–470.Google Scholar
Barboni, D., Ashley, G.M., Dominguez-Rodrigo, M., Mabulla, A.Z., Bunn, H.T., and Baquedano, E. Phytoliths infer locally dense and heterogeneous paleovegetation at FLK North and surrounding localities during upper Bed I time, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Quaternary Research 74, (2010). 344–354.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Behrensmeyer, A.K., and Laporte, L.F. Footprints of a Pleistocene hominid in Northern Kenya. Nature 289, (1981). 364–366.Google Scholar
Binford, L.R. Bones: Ancient Men, Modern Myths. (1981). Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Blumenschine, R.J., and Masao, F.T. Living sites at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania? Preliminary landscape archaeology results in the basal Bed II lake-margin zone. Journal of Human Evolution 21, (1991). 451–462.Google Scholar
Blumenschine, R.J., Peters, C.R., Masao, F.T., Clarke, R.J., Deino, A.L., Hay, R.L., Swisher, C.C., Stanistreet, I.G., Ashley, G.M., McHenry, L.J., Sikes, N.E., van der Merwe, N.J., Tactikos, J.C., Cushing, A.E., Deocampo, D.M., Njau, J.K., and Ebert, J.I. Lake Pliocene Homo and hominid land use from western Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Science 299, (2003). 1217–1221.Google Scholar
Bonnefille, R., and Riollet, G. Palynologie, végétation et climats de Bed I et Bed II à Olduvai, Tanzanie. Leakey, R.E., and Ogot, B.A. Proc. 8th Pan-African Congress of Prehistory and Quaternary Studies. (1980). The International Louis Leakey Memorial Institute for African Prehistory, Nairobi. 123–127.Google Scholar
Bremond, L., Alexandre, A., Hely, C., and Guiot, J. A phytolith index as a proxy of tree cover density in tropical areas: Calibration with Leaf Area Index along a forest-savanna transect in southeastern Cameroon. Global and Planetary Change 45, (2005). 277–293.Google Scholar
Bremond, L., Alexandre, A., Wooller, M.J., Hely, C., Williamson, D., Schafer, P.A., Majule, A., and Guiot, J. Phytolith indices as proxies of grass subfamilies on East African tropical mountains. Global and Planetary Change 61, (2008). 209–224.Google Scholar
Bunn, H. T. (1982). “Meat-eating and human evolution: studies on the diet and subsistence for meat-eating by Plio-Pleistocene hominids in East Africa,". Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Califormia, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Bunn, H.T. Meat Made us Human. Ungar, P. Evolution of the Human Diet. (2007). Oxford University Press, Oxford. 191–211.Google Scholar
Bunn, H.T., and Kroll, E.M. Systematic butchery by Plio-Pleistocene hominids at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Current Anthropology 27, (1986). 431–452.Google Scholar
Bunn, H.T., Kroll, E.M., and Bartram, L.E. Variability in bone assemblage formation from Hadza hunting, scavenging and carcass processing. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 7, (1988). 412–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cerling, T.E., and Quade, J. Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotopes in Soil Carbonates. Swart, P.K., Lohmann, K.C., McKenzie, J., and Savin, S. Climate Change in Continental Isotopic Records. Geophysical Monograph (1993). 217–231.Google Scholar
Cerling, T.E., Wang, Y., and Quade, J. Global ecological change in the late Miocene: expansion of C4 ecosystems. Nature 361, (1993). 344–345.Google Scholar
Coplen, T.B., Kendall, C., and Hopple, J. Comparison of stable isotope refernce samples. Nature 302, (1983). Google Scholar
deMenocal, P.B. Plio-Pleistocene African climate. Science 270, (1995). 53–59.Google Scholar
Deocampo, D.M. Sedimentary structures generated by Hippopotamus amphibius in a lake-margin wetland, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. Palaios 17, (2002). 212–217.Google Scholar
Deocampo, D.M. Hydrogeochemistry in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, and implications for land use in a World Heritage Site. Applied Geochemistry 19, (2004). 755–767.Google Scholar
Deocampo, D.M., Cuadros, J., Wing-Dudek, T., Olives, J., and Amouric, M. Saline lake diagenesis as revealed by coupled mineralogy and geochemistry of multiple ultrafine clay phases: Pliocene Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. American Journal of Science 309, (2009). 834–868.Google Scholar
Dominguez-Rodrigo, M., Barba, R., and Egelund, C.P. Deconstructing Olduvai ; A taphonomic study of the Bed I sites. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology Series. (2007). Springer, AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands. 337+xvi Google Scholar
Domínguez-Rodrigo, M., Barba, R., and Egelund, C.P. Deconstructing Olduvai: A taphonomic study of the Bed I sites. (2007). Springer, AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Domínguez-Rodrigo, M., Bunn, H.T., Mabulla, A.Z.P., Ashley, G.M., Diez-Martin, F., Barboni, D., Prendergast, M.E., Yravedra, J., Barba, R., Sanchez, A., Baquedano, E., and Pickering, T.R. New excavations at the FLK Zinjanthropus site and its surrounding landscape and their behavioral implications. Quaternary Research 74, (2010). 315–332.Google Scholar
Dunnell, R.C., and Dancey, W.S. The siteless survey: a regional scale data collection strategy. Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory 6, (1983). 267–287.Google Scholar
Faith, J.T., Domínguez-Rodrigo, M., and Gordon, A.D. Long distance carcass transport at Olduvai Gorge? A quantitative examination of Bed I skeletal element abundances. Journal of Human Evolution 56, (2009). 247–256.Google Scholar
Fernandez-Jalvo, Y., Denys, C., Andrews, P., Williams, T., Dauphin, Y., and Humphreys, L. Taponomy and palaeoecology of Olduvai Bed-I (Pleistocene, Tanzania). Journal of Human Evolution 34, (1998). 137–172.Google Scholar
Gabunia, L., Vekua, A., Lordkipanidze, D., Swisher, C.C., Ferring, R., Justus, A., Nioradze, M., Tvsatchretidze, M., Anton, S.C., Bosinski, G., Joris, O., Lumtey, M., Majsuradze, G., and Mouskhelishvili, A. Earliest Pleistocene hominid cranial remains from Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia: taxonomy, geological setting, and age. Science 288, (2000). 1019–1025.Google Scholar
Geis, J.W. Biogenic silica in selected species of deciduous angiosperms. Soil Sciences 116, (1973). 113–119.Google Scholar
Gentry, A.W., and Gentry, A. Fossil bovidae (mammalian) from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Bulletin of the British Museum London 29, (1978). 289–446.Google Scholar
Hay, R.L. Lithofacies and environments of Bed I, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Quaternary Research 3, (1973). 541–560.Google Scholar
Hay, R.L. Geology of the Olduvai Gorge. (1976). University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Hay, R.L. Olduvai Gorge: A Case History in the Interpretation of Hominid Paleoenvironments in East Africa. Laporte, L.F. Establishment of a geologic framework for paleoanthropology. Geological Society of America Special Paper (1990). Geological Society of America, Boulder, Colorado. 23–37.Google Scholar
Hay, R.L., and Kyser, T.K. Chemical sedimentology and paleoenvironmental history of Lake Olduvai, a Pleistocene lake in northern Tanzania. Geological Society of America Bulletin 113, (2001). 1505–1521.Google Scholar
Hitchcock, R., and Bleed, P. Each According to Need and Fashion: Spear and Arrow Use among San Hunters Of The Kalahari. Knecht, H. Projectile Technology. (1997). Plenum Press, New York. 345–368.Google Scholar
Hodson, M.J., White, P.J., Mead, A., and Broadley, M.R. Phylogenetic variations in the silicon composition of plants. Annals of Botany 96, (2005). 1027–1046.Google Scholar
Hover, V.C., and Ashley, G.M. Geochemical signatures of paleodepositional and diagenetic environments: a STEM/AEM study of authigenic clay minerals from an arid rift basin, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Clays and Clay Minerals 51, (2003). 231–251.Google Scholar
Isaac, G.L. The food-sharing behavior of protohuman hominids. Scientific American 238, (1978). Google Scholar
Isaac, G.L. Bones in Contention: Competing Explanations for the Juxtaposition of Early Pleistocene Artifacts and Faunal Remains. Clutton-Brock, J., and Grigson, C. Animals and Archaeology I: Hunters and their Prey. (1983). Oxford, 3–19.Google Scholar
Isaac, G.L. The archaeology of human origins : studies of Lower Pleistocene in East Africa, 1971–1981. Advances in World Archaeology 3, (1984). 1–87.Google Scholar
Jaeger, J.J. Les rongeurs (mammalia, Rodentia) du Pleistocene inferieur d'Olduvai Bed I (Tanzanie), 1ere partie : Les Murides. Savage, R.J.G., and Coryndon, S.C. Fossil Vertebrates of Africa. (1976). Academic Press, London. 57–120.Google Scholar
Kappelman, J. Plio-Pleistocene environments of Bed Iand lower Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 48, (1984). 171–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leakey, M.D. Olduvai Gorge: Excavations in Beds I and II; 1960–1963. (1971). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.Google Scholar
Liutkus, C.M., Wright, J.D., Ashley, G.M., and Sikes, N.E. Paleoenvironmental interpretation of lake-margin deposits using δ13C and δ18O results from Early Pleistocene carbonate rhizoliths, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Geology 33, (2005). 377–380.Google Scholar
McHenry, L.J. Characterization and corrrelation of altered Plio-Pleistocene tephra using a “multiple technique” approach: case study at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. (2004). Rutgers University, Google Scholar
McHenry, L.J. Phenocryst composition as a tool for correlating fresh and altered tephra, Bed I, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Stratigraphy 2, (2005). 101–115.Google Scholar
Mercader, J., Bennett, T., Esselmont, C., Simpson, S., and Walde, D. Phytoliths in woody plants from the Miombo woodlands of Mozambique. Annals of Botany 104, (2009). 91–113.Google Scholar
Pentecost, A. Travertine. (2005). Springer-Verlag, Berlin.Google Scholar
Piperno, D.R. Phytoliths: A Comprehensive Guide for Archaeologists and Paleoecologists. (2006). AltaMira Press, Lanham.Google Scholar
Plummer, T.W., Bishop, L.C., Ditchfield, P.W., Ferraro, J.V., Kingston, J.D., and Hertel, F. The environmental context of Oldowan hominid activities at Kanjera South, Kenya. Hovers, E., and Braun, D. Interdisciplinary approaches to the Oldowan. (2009). New York, NY, Springer. 149–160.Google Scholar
Potts, R. Early hominid activities at Olduvai. (1988). Aldine de Gruyter, New York.Google Scholar
Rose, L., and Marshall, F. Meat eating, hominid sociality, and home base revisited. Current Anthropology 37, (1996). 307–338.Google Scholar
Sikes, N.E. Early hominid habitat preferences in East Africa: Paleosol carbon isotopic evidence. Journal of Human Evolution 27, (1994). 23–45.Google Scholar
Sikes, N.E., and Ashley, G.M. Stable isotopic signatures of pedogenic carbonates as indicators of paleoecology in the Plio-Pleistocene (upper Bed I) western margin of Olduvai Basin, Tanzania. Journal of Human Evolution 53/5, (2007). 574–594.Google Scholar
Strömberg, C.A.E. The Origin and Spread of Grass-Dominated Ecosystems during the Tertiary of North America and How It Relates to the Evolution of Hypsodonty in Equids. (2003). University of California, Google Scholar
Tomlinson, P.B. Anatomy of the Monocotyledons. (1961). Oxford University Press, London.Google Scholar