Co-occurrence of Acheulian and Oldowan artifacts with Homo erectus cranial fossils from Gona, Afar, Ethiopia

Bibliographic Collection: 
APE
Publication Type: Journal Article
Authors: Semaw, Sileshi; Rogers, Michael J.; Simpson, Scott W.; Levin, Naomi E.; Quade, Jay; Dunbar, Nelia; McIntosh, William C.; Cáceres, Isabel; Stinchcomb, Gary E.; Holloway, Ralph L.; Brown, Francis H.; Butler, Robert F.; Stout, Dietrich; Everett, Melanie
Year of Publication: 2020
Journal: Science Advances
Volume: 6
Issue: 10
Pagination: eaaw4694
Date Published: 2020/03/01
Publication Language: eng
Abstract:

Although stone tools generally co-occur with early members of the genus Homo, they are rarely found in direct association with hominins. We report that both Acheulian and Oldowan artifacts and Homo erectus crania were found in close association at 1.26 million years (Ma) ago at Busidima North (BSN12), and ca. 1.6 to 1.5 Ma ago at Dana Aoule North (DAN5) archaeological sites at Gona, Afar, Ethiopia. The BSN12 partial cranium is robust and large, while the DAN5 cranium is smaller and more gracile, suggesting that H. erectus was probably a sexually dimorphic species. The evidence from Gona shows behavioral diversity and flexibility with a lengthy and concurrent use of both stone technologies by H. erectus, confounding a simple “single species/single technology” view of early Homo.

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw4694
Short Title: Sci Adv
Export: