Ichnological and archaeological evidence from Gombore II OAM, Melka Kunture, Ethiopia: An integrated approach to reconstruct local environments and biological presences between 1.2 and 0.85 Ma

New ichnological data are available at the prehistoric site of Melka Kunture, Upper Awash Valley in Ethiopia. Excavation of new test pits enabled us to explore the volcanic and fluvio-lacustrine sequence at the Gombore II Open Air Museum archaeological site (ca. 0.85 Ma). This has allowed a detailed reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment and of the fauna present in the time interval between 1.2 and 0.85 Ma. Various-sized mammals, birds, molluscs as well as hominins left tracks throughout the sequence, and document a varied fauna and associated behaviours. Most of the hominin tracks were made by young individuals on the basis of size and are some of the earlier child tracks to be reported. The mollusc traces document the presence and orientation of water streams which, according to the associated vertebrate traces, were visited by hominins, mammals and birds. Most of these traces were found within levels traditionally considered barren for archaeology, yet they all document life activity and are always in situ. This confirms the potential of the ichnological research as an important complementary tool for archaeological investigations

Late Triassic ichnoassemblage from a playa-lake system of the Coastal Meseta, Morocco: Palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological implications

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Here we present the first comprehensive ichnotaxonomic analysis of a Late Triassic playa system from the Sidi Saïd Maachou Basin, Coastal Meseta (Western Meseta, Morocco). The Late Triassic deposits consist of sediments deposited in various nonmarine environments dominated by dry red-bed facies. These deposits yielded, so far, an ichnoassemblage consisting of the invertebrate ichnogenera Cochlichnus, Cruziana, Diplichnites, Rusophycus, Palaeophycus, and Taenidium associated with the tetrapod tracks Brachychirotherium and Rhynchosauroides. These invertebrate and vertebrate trace fossils are preserved in concave epirelief and convex hyporelief on upper and lower surfaces of laminated mudstones and fine-grained sandstones. The invertebrate ichnofossils were probably made subaqueously and indicate different behaviours of the tracemakers: walking (cursichnium, Acripes), resting (cubichnium, Rusophycus) and combined locomotion-feeding or plowing (pascichnium, Cruziana). Additionally, many other fossils are collected from the same formation, including plant impressions, rhizoliths and fish scales. The invertebrate ichnoassemblage described herein is referred to the Scoyenia ichnofacies, which indicates opportunistic behaviours in temporarily or periodically inundated nonmarine environments, such as playa systems, floodplains and lake margins. The invertebrate ichnoassemblage reported here is the first well documented from the Sidi Saïd Maachou Basin and the Late Triassic of Morocco in general. The strata have a high potential to yield other ichnoassemblages, therefore further exploration is needed