Chronology

Journal ArticleThe boundaries of the Lower Omo Basin have been mapped by Fuchs (1939) and by Butzer (1970, 1971) in a general way. The structural features and physiography of the eastern and central part of the Lower Omo Basin are best expressed on the maps of Davidson et al. (1973). Walsh and Dodson (1969) have mapped the geology of the North Turkana District of Kenya. East of Lake Turkana the geology is summarized by Vondra and Bowen (1976), and Vondra, Burggraf and White (1978). The Ilemi Triangle in southern Sudan remains poorly known geologically, but some information is presented by Fuchs (1939), and by Arambourg (1943). More recently Baker et al. (1972) and Cerling and Powers (1977) have provided general summaries of the structural evolution of this part of East Africa

The lower Omo basin

Journal ArticleThe boundaries of the Lower Omo Basin have been mapped by Fuchs (1939) and by Butzer (1970, 1971) in a general way. The structural features and physiography of the eastern and central part of the Lower Omo Basin are best expressed on the maps of Davidson et al. (1973). Walsh and Dodson (1969) have mapped the geology of the North Turkana District of Kenya. East of Lake Turkana the geology is summarized by Vondra and Bowen (1976), and Vondra, Burggraf and White (1978). The Ilemi Triangle in southern Sudan remains poorly known geologically, but some information is presented by Fuchs (1939), and by Arambourg (1943). More recently Baker et al. (1972) and Cerling and Powers (1977) have provided general summaries of the structural evolution of this part of East Africa

La vallée de l'Escaut à Pont-à-Chin

The sudden opening of a karst pipe in the abandoned bed of the Scheldt River has exposed 8 m ofHolocene deposits; their stratigraphy, archaeological contents, fossil fauna and flora are studied here. A well dated early occupation is from the First Iron Age to Early La Tène (around 650-450 B.C.), a second one from Roman times (around 50-200 A.D.); they permit a close control of the14 C dates, which are systematically too old, due to reworking in the stream. Vertebrate and molluscan assemblages are discussed separatel

First GIS analysis of modern stone tools used by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in Bossou, Guinea, West Africa

Stone tool use by wild chimpanzees of West Africa offers a unique opportunity to explore the evolutionary roots of technology during human evolution. However, detailed analyses of chimpanzee stone artifacts are still lacking, thus precluding a comparison with the earliest archaeological record. This paper presents the first systematic study of stone tools used by wild chimpanzees to crack open nuts in Bossou (Guinea-Conakry), and applies pioneering analytical techniques to such artifacts. Automatic morphometric GIS classification enabled to create maps of use wear over the stone tools (anvils, hammers, and hammers/anvils), which were blind tested with GIS spatial analysis of damage patterns identified visually. Our analysis shows that chimpanzee stone tool use wear can be systematized and specific damage patterns discerned, allowing to discriminate between active and passive pounders in lithic assemblages. In summary, our results demonstrate the heuristic potential of combined suites of GIS techniques for the analysis of battered artifacts, and have enabled creating a referential framework of analysis in which wild chimpanzee battered tools can for the first time be directly compared to the early archaeological record.Leverhulme Trust [IN-052]; MEXT [20002001, 24000001]; JSPS-U04-PWS; FCT-Portugal [SFRH/BD/36169/2007]; Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Researc

Fossils from Mille-Logya, Afar, Ethiopia, elucidate the link between Pliocene environmental changes and Homo origins

Several hypotheses posit a link between the origin of Homo and climatic and environmental shifts between 3 and 2.5 Ma. Here we report on new results that shed light on the interplay between tectonics, basin migration and faunal change on the one hand and the fate of Australopithecus afarensis and the evolution of Homo on the other. Fieldwork at the new Mille-Logya site in the Afar, Ethiopia, dated to between 2.914 and 2.443 Ma, provides geological evidence for the northeast migration of the Hadar Basin, extending the record of this lacustrine basin to Mille-Logya. We have identified three new fossiliferous units, suggesting in situ faunal change within this interval. While the fauna in the older unit is comparable to that at Hadar and Dikika, the younger units contain species that indicate more open conditions along with remains of Homo. This suggests that Homo either emerged from Australopithecus during this interval or dispersed into the region as part of a fauna adapted to more open habitats.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio