Disentangling hominin and carnivore activities near a spring at FLK North (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

• Published in: Quaternary research 2010-11, Vol.74 (3), p.363-375
• Main Authors: Domínguez-Rodrigo, M., Mabulla, A.Z.P., Bunn, H.T., Diez-Martin, F., Baquedano, E., Barboni, D., Barba, R., Domínguez-Solera, S., Sánchez, P., Ashley, G.M., Yravedra, J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Archaeology and Prehistory; Bioclimatology; Biodiversity; Biodiversity and Ecology; Botanics; Carcasses; Climatology; Collection; Continental interfaces, environment; Cut marks; Deposition; Deposits; Diets; Earth Sciences; Ecology, environment; Ecosystems; Environment and Society; Environmental Sciences; Fossils; Global Changes; Humanities and Social Sciences; Life Sciences; Meat; Meat-eating; Other; Paleontology; Palimpsest; Populations and Evolution; Scavenging; Sciences of the Universe; Skeletal part representation; Special Issue Articles; Springs; Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy; Taphonomy; Tooth marks; Trampling; Vegetal Biology
• ISSN: 0033-5894; 1096-0287
• DOI: 10.1016/j.yqres.2010.07.004

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.