Disentangling hominin and carnivore activities near a spring at FLK North (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania) |
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| Authors: | M. Domí nguez-Rodrigo, A.Z.P. Mabulla, H.T. Bunn, F. Diez-Martin, E. Baquedano, D. Barboni, R. Barba, S. Domí nguez-Solera, P. S nchez, G.M. Ashley,J. Yravedra |
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| Affiliation: | a IDEA (Instituto de Evolución en África), Museo de los Orígenes, Plaza de San Andrés 2, 28005 Madrid, Spain;b Department of Prehistory, Complutense University, Prof. Aranguren s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain;c Archaeology Unit, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35050, Tanzania;d Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1180 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA;e Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Valladolid, Plaza del Campus s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain;f Museo Arqueológico Regional, Plaza de las Bernardas s/n, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain;g CEREGE (UMR6635 CNRS/Université Aix-Marseille), BP80, F-13545 Aix-en-Provence cedex 4, France;h Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, 610 Taylor Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA |
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| Abstract: | FLK North is one of the densest concentrations of fossils found in Olduvai Gorge. A recent taphonomic re-evaluation of the collection excavated by Leakey at the site suggests that it was a palimpsest in which most of the animals were accumulated and modified by carnivores. The lithic tools therefore seem to have an independent depositional history from most of the fauna. The present study, based on new excavations, expands the evidence supporting this interpretation and demonstrates a thicker deposit than was reported by Leakey, including new archaeological levels. It also shows that in the few instances where hominins butchered carcasses, meat, not marrow, was their main target. This argues against passive scavenging hypotheses, which emphasize the dietary role of marrow, and instead underscores the importance of meat in the diet of early Pleistocene hominins. |
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| Keywords: | Taphonomy Palimpsest Cut marks Tooth marks Skeletal part representation Trampling Meat-eating |
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