9 research outputs found
Melka Kunture (alto Awash, EtiopĂa) entre 2.000.000 y 5.000 años
Melka Kunture es un clĂșster de yacimientos prehistĂłricos situados en el altiplano etĂope, a 2.000-2.200 m sobre el nivel del mar, en la cuenca alta del rĂo Awash. El clima es mĂĄs bien fresco (temperatura media anual de 17° C) y lluvioso. Los resultados palinolĂłgicos demuestran que la vegetaciĂłn durante el Pleistoceno era de tipo afromontano y, por lo tanto, diferente a la de sabana que se desarrolla en cotas mĂĄs bajas. Tras casi 60 años de excavaciones en 20 yacimientos y en unos 60 niveles arqueolĂłgicos distintos, la secuencia arqueolĂłgica identificada incluye el Olduvayense, Achelense, Middle Stone Age y Late Stone Age. TambiĂ©n se han descubierto fĂłsiles de homininos en asociaciĂłn directa con industrias lĂticas de diferentes tecnocomplejos. AdemĂĄs, se conocen niveles icnolĂłgicos, que proporcionan informaciĂłn sobre la vida y el comportamiento de homininos y fauna. La investigaciĂłn sobre la adaptaciĂłn de los homininos al clima y al entorno de las tierras altas es relevante para entender cĂłmo y cuĂĄndo se produjo el primer poblamiento de Europa
OpenSource Geotechnologies for the Enhancement of Tourism and the Territory
The systems integrated in GIS environment have become part of territory management and revolutionised georeferenced data processing as one of the measures that technologically help disseminate knowledge about cultural heritage and protect it. This is the context in which the experimental project for Parco Nazionale CirceoâPNC (Sabaudia-LT) was set up. The project is aimed at a new form of disseminating cultural information and enhancing the territory for an innovative tourism strategy
Gombore II (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia): A new approach to formation processes and spatial patterns of an Early Pleistocene Acheulean site
To assess the integrity of Pleistocene archaeological sites is crucial in the analysis of human behaviour. Most of
the Early Palaeolithic sites are in active fluvial environments where it is necessary to understand the degree of
sedimentary disturbance. The analysis of the formation processes through geoarchaeological and geostatistical
techniques offers new tools to evaluate if the archaeological assemblage is in autochthonous or allochthonous
position. Gombore II, â850 Ka, within the archaeological and paleontological complex of Melka Kunture
(Ethiopia), extends over estimated 1000 m2 and yielded a large number of Acheulean artefacts, fossil mammal
bones and two fossil hominin remains. The geomorphological setting and deposition patterns of high-energy
sedimentation in a fluvial channelized environment are similar to those of many other Early Palaeolithic African
sites. This is traditionally described as producing a disturbed record, with the fortuitous association of faunal
remains and lithic industry driven by fluvial processes. To assess this hypothesis, we analyse here the formation
processes and the spatial patterning of the remains. We apply geoarchaeological (orientation and fabric) and
spatial tests (density, grouping, k-means) to the mapped archaeological surfaces and to a present-day fluvial
surface. We observe substantial differences in geoarchaeological features and spatial patterning between the
archaeological record (lithic materials and faunal remains) and the natural clasts of both the archaeological
deposit and the bed of the present-day river. This suggests different depositional processes or temporal events.
We conclude that the remains produced by the hominins did not haphazardly accumulate after extensive erosion
and re-sedimentation. They rather preserve a reasonable degree of taphonomic and spatial integrity and are
possibly representative of different activities
Fossil footprints at Gombore (Melka Kunture, Upper Awash, Ethiopia): a rare snapshot of Pleistocene environments
Gombore is a gully of the Melka Kunture archaeological complex, at 2000 m asl in the Upper Awash Valley of Ethiopia. During the last decades, many sites were unearthed along the fluvial incision, revealing a long archaeological record from ~1.7 Ma up to the time of the Middle Pleistocene Transition, i.e. over approximately one million years. In recent years, the research of the Italian Archaeological Mission brought to light layers containing fossil footprints. At Gombore II OAM and Gombore II-1 (0.85 Ma), Gombore II-2 and Gombore X (0.7 Ma), as well as at Gombore III (0.6 Ma), sediments turbated by biogenic structures have been evidenced both during excavations and through the revision of original pictures kept in the archives of the Mission. Overall, ichnosurfaces are quite rare in the Pleistocene record. This is the first time they are reported from Ethiopia. Footprints are a first-hand source to reconstruct past environments. They provide direct evidence of the behavioral patterns of species that happen to be underrepresented or not represented at all in the fossil record, producing a different picture of the prevailing animals in the general environment. We underline that special attention is required to identify and investigate this precious but fragile record, as well as a specific methodology and a documentation protocol supported by modern technolog
After the emergence of the Acheulean at Melka Kunture (Upper Awash, Ethiopia): From Gombore IB (1.6 Ma) to Gombore IÎł (1.4Â Ma), Gombore IÎŽ (1.3Â Ma) and Gombore II OAM Test Pit C (1.2Â Ma)
International audienceWhile the emergence of the Acheulean is well documented in East Africa at ~1.7 Ma, subsequent developments are less well understood and to some extent controversial. Here, we provide robust evidence regarding the time period between 1.6 Ma and 1.2 Ma, based on an interdisciplinary approach to the stratigraphic sequences exposed in the Gombore gully of Melka Kunture, in the upper Awash Valley of Ethiopia. Throughout the Pleistocene, the environment differed significantly from elsewhere in Africa because of the elevation at 2000 m asl, the cooler and rainy climate, the Afromontane vegetation, the development of endemic animal species, and the recurrent impact of volcanic activity. At Gombore IB, dated ~1.6 Ma, remains of Homo erectus/ergaster have been discovered, associated with a rich early Acheulean assemblage. The techno-typological analysis of the lithic record from Gombore IÎł (~1.4 Ma) and Gombore IÎŽ (~1.3 Ma), where substantial areas have been excavated, and the contrasting evidence from Gombore OAM Test Pit C (~1.2 Ma), suggest that the scarcity or lack of large flakes and large cutting tools at the two earlier sites is possibly not just the outcome of sampling bias, but rather of the adaptation of H. erectus/ergaster to the local resources, in a relatively isolated environment. The sites of Gombore gully provide new evidence on the complex pattern of human evolution and adaptation in East Africa during the Lower Pleistocene
After the emergence of the Acheulean at Melka Kunture (Upper Awash, Ethiopia): From Gombore IB (1.6 Ma) to Gombore IÎł (1.4 Ma), Gombore IÎŽ (1.3 Ma) and Gombore II OAM Test Pit C (1.2 Ma)
While the emergence of the Acheulean is well documented in East Africa at ~1.7 Ma, subsequent developments are less well understood and to some extent controversial. Here, we provide robust evidence regarding the time period between 1.6 Ma and 1.2 Ma, based on an interdisciplinary approach to the stratigraphic sequences exposed in the Gombore gully of Melka Kunture, in the upper Awash Valley of Ethiopia. Throughout the Pleistocene, the environment differed significantly from elsewhere in Africa because of the elevation at 2000 m asl, the cooler and rainy climate, the Afromontane vegetation, the development of endemic animal species, and the recurrent impact of volcanic activity. At Gombore IB, dated ~1.6 Ma, remains of Homo erectus/ergaster have been discovered, associated with a rich early Acheulean assemblage. The techno-typological analysis of the lithic record from Gombore IÎł (~1.4 Ma) and Gombore IÎŽ (~1.3 Ma), where substantial areas have been excavated, and the contrasting evidence from Gombore OAM Test Pit C (~1.2 Ma), suggest that the scarcity or lack of large flakes and large cutting tools at the two earlier sites is possibly not just the outcome of sampling bias, but rather of the adaptation of H. erectus/ergaster to the local resources, in a relatively isolated environment. The sites of Gombore gully provide new evidence on the complex pattern of human evolution and adaptation in East Africa during the Lower Pleistocene
Une vue dâensemble sur Melka Kunture, grand complexe de sites plĂ©istocĂšnes dans la vallĂ©e supĂ©rieure de lâAwash (Ăthiopie)
International audienceMelka Kunture is a cluster of Pleistocene sites, extending over ÎŁ100 km2 between 2000 and 2200 m asl, in the upper Awash Valley of Ethiopia. Starting around 2 million-years ago, the archaeological sequence includes sites with lithic productions of the Oldowan, Early Acheulean, middle Acheulean, final Acheulean, Early Middle Stone Age, Middle Stone Age and Late Stone Age. All over the Pleistocene, the climate was rainy and cooler than at the lower elevations of the Rift Valley, allowing the development of Afromontane vegetation. Hippopotamuses are ubiquitous and dominant in terms of biomass, but Alcelaphini are well represented, notably with genus Connochaetes and genus Damaliscus. Hominin fossils have been discovered in association with the Oldowan, the Early Acheulean, the middle Acheulean and the Early Middle Stone Age. Animal tracks and hominin footprints have also been documented, the latter ones in layers dated between 1.2 and 0.7 million-years.Melka Kunture est un complexe de sites palĂ©olithiques qui sâĂ©tend sur une centaine de km2 dans la vallĂ©e supĂ©rieure de lâAwash (Ăthiopie), entre 2000 et 2200 m dâaltitude. Ă partir dâil y a 2 millions dâannĂ©es, il y a de nombreux sites avec productions lithiques de lâOldowayen, de lâAcheulĂ©en infĂ©rieur (Early Acheulean), de lâAcheulĂ©en moyen et de lâAcheulĂ©en final, et enfin du Middle Stone Age initial (Early Middle Stone Age) et du Middle Stone Age, suivis par le Late Stone Age. Le climat, frais et pluvieux a permis le dĂ©veloppement dâune riche vĂ©gĂ©tation de type afromontagnard. Les restes dâhippopotames sont omniprĂ©sents et dominent en termes de biomasse, mais les Alcelaphini sont bien reprĂ©sentĂ©s, notamment avec les genres Connochaetes et Damaliscus. Des restes fossiles dâhomininĂ©s ont Ă©tĂ© dĂ©couverts en association directe avec lâOldowayen, lâAcheulĂ©en infĂ©rieur, lâAcheulĂ©en moyen et le Middle Stone Age initial. Des empreintes dâanimaux et dâhomininĂ©s ont Ă©galement Ă©tĂ© trouvĂ©es, cesderniĂšres dans des niveaux datĂ©s entre 1,2 et 0,7 millions dâannĂ©es