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9781402061509

Deconstructing Olduvai

by ; ;
  • ISBN13:

    9781402061509

  • ISBN10:

    1402061501

  • Format: Hardcover
  • Copyright: 2007-09-01
  • Publisher: Springer Verlag
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Summary

The Olduvai Bed I archaeological sites, dating back to almost 2 million years, have been at the epicenter of the debate on how early humans behaved. This book presents a new analytical approach which, after having been applied to these sites, has produced unexpected results: the association of stone tools and faunal remains at most Olduvai Bed I sites is accidental and not related to hominid behavior. Only at one site, FLK Zinj, is this association intentional. Through careful taphonomic analysis of this site, coupled with detailed experimental work, it is possible to rule out the hypothesis that hominids were passive scavengers. Hominids were targeting meat in the exploitation of animals, which they probably obtained through some degree of predation, and their behavior seems to have been more advanced than previously thought.

Author Biography

Manuel Dom+¡nguez-Rodrigo is a professor of Archaeology in the Department of Prehistory of the Complutense University, Madrid. He is co-editor of Journal of Taphonomy. He has been the head of research projects on human evolution conducted in Peninj, Eyasi and Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania), as well as having participated in research conducted in Gona (Ethiopia) and Swartkrans (South Africa). He is associate researcher of the National Museums of Kenya.Rebeca Barba got her doctorate in Archaeology in the Complutense University under the supervision of MDR. She has conducted research in Peninj and Olduvai. He is associate researcher of the National Museums of Kenya.Charles P. Egeland recently recieved his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Indiana University in Bloomington. In addition to his work in Tanzania, he has conducted field and lab research in South Africa, Kenya, Germany and several U.S. states.

Table of Contents

The "home base" debatep. 1
The hunting-versus-scavenging debatep. 11
The "physical attribute" taphonomic approachp. 23
Geological and paleoecological overview of Olduvai Gorgep. 33
New estimates of tooth-mark and percussion-mark frequencies at the FLK Zinjanthropus level : the carnivore-hominid-carnivore hypothesis falsified (I)p. 39
The behavioral meaning of cut marks at the FLK Zinj level : the carnivore-hominid-carnivore hypothesis falsified (II)p. 75
A cautionary tale about early archaeological sites : a reanalysis of FLK North 6p. 101
A palimpsest at FLK North 1-2 : independent carnivore - and hominid - made bone accumulationsp. 127
A taphonomic study of FLK North 3 and 4 : a felid-hyaenid and hominid palimpsestp. 165
Zooarchaeology and taphonomy of FLK North 5p. 191
Natural background bone assemblages and their ravaging stages in Olduvai Bed Ip. 201
FLK North North 1 : "living floor" or natural accumulation?p. 217
Zooarchaeology and taphonomy of FLK North North 2p. 229
Reanalysis of FLK North North 3 : yet another case of a palimpsest?p. 239
Zooarchaeology and taphonomy of the DK sitep. 253
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

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