A surge in obsidian exploitation more than 1.2 million years ago at Simbiro III (Melka Kunture, Upper Awash, Ethiopia)
Margherita Mussi
(1)
,
Eduardo Mendez-Quintas
(2)
,
Doris Barboni
(3, 4)
,
Hervé Bocherens
(5)
,
Raymonde Bonnefille
(4)
,
Giuseppe Briatico
(1)
,
Denis Geraads
(6)
,
Rita Melis
(7)
,
Joaquin Panera
(8)
,
Laura Pioli
(7)
,
Andrea Serodio Domínguez
(2)
,
Susana Rubio Jara
(8)
1
UNIROMA -
Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" = Sapienza University [Rome]
2 University of Vigo [ Pontevedra]
3 IFP - Institut Français de Pondichéry
4 CEREGE - Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement
5 Department of Geosciences [Tübingen]
6 CR2P - Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris
7 UniCa - Università degli Studi di Cagliari = University of Cagliari
8 UCM - Universidad Complutense de Madrid = Complutense University of Madrid [Madrid]
2 University of Vigo [ Pontevedra]
3 IFP - Institut Français de Pondichéry
4 CEREGE - Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement
5 Department of Geosciences [Tübingen]
6 CR2P - Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris
7 UniCa - Università degli Studi di Cagliari = University of Cagliari
8 UCM - Universidad Complutense de Madrid = Complutense University of Madrid [Madrid]
Margherita Mussi
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 793124
- ORCID : 0000-0001-9393-9591
Eduardo Mendez-Quintas
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 1217634
- ORCID : 0000-0001-8272-873X
Doris Barboni
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 11791
- IdHAL : doris-barboni
- ORCID : 0000-0001-7753-1254
- IdRef : 069049696
Hervé Bocherens
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 1148219
- ORCID : 0000-0002-0494-0126
- IdRef : 076022463
Denis Geraads
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 1033277
- IdHAL : denisgeraads
- ORCID : 0000-0003-2475-8011
Joaquin Panera
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 1217635
- ORCID : 0000-0002-3268-7439
Résumé
Pleistocene archaeology records the changing behaviour and capacities of early hominins. These behavioural changes, for example, to stone tools, are commonly linked to environmental constraints. It has been argued that, in earlier times, multiple activities of everyday life were all uniformly conducted at the same spot. The separation of focused activities across different localities, which indicates a degree of planning, according to this mindset characterizes later hominins since only 500,000 years ago. Simbiro III level C, in the upper Awash valley of Ethiopia, allows us to test this assumption in its assemblage of stone tools made only with obsidian, dated to more than 1.2 million years (Myr) old. Here we first reconstruct the palaeoenvironment, showing that the landscape was seasonally flooded. Following the deposition of an accumulation of obsidian cobbles by a meandering river, hominins began to exploit these in new ways, producing large tools with sharp cutting edges. We show through statistical analysis that this was a focused activity, that very standardized handaxes were produced and that this was a stone-tool workshop. We argue that at Simbiro III, hominins were doing much more than simply reacting to environmental changes; they were taking advantage of new opportunities, and developing new techniques and new skills according to them.
Domaines
Sciences de l'Homme et SociétéFormat du dépôt | Notice |
---|---|
Type de dépôt | Article dans une revue |
Résumé |
en
Pleistocene archaeology records the changing behaviour and capacities of early hominins. These behavioural changes, for example, to stone tools, are commonly linked to environmental constraints. It has been argued that, in earlier times, multiple activities of everyday life were all uniformly conducted at the same spot. The separation of focused activities across different localities, which indicates a degree of planning, according to this mindset characterizes later hominins since only 500,000 years ago. Simbiro III level C, in the upper Awash valley of Ethiopia, allows us to test this assumption in its assemblage of stone tools made only with obsidian, dated to more than 1.2 million years (Myr) old. Here we first reconstruct the palaeoenvironment, showing that the landscape was seasonally flooded. Following the deposition of an accumulation of obsidian cobbles by a meandering river, hominins began to exploit these in new ways, producing large tools with sharp cutting edges. We show through statistical analysis that this was a focused activity, that very standardized handaxes were produced and that this was a stone-tool workshop. We argue that at Simbiro III, hominins were doing much more than simply reacting to environmental changes; they were taking advantage of new opportunities, and developing new techniques and new skills according to them.
|
Titre |
en
A surge in obsidian exploitation more than 1.2 million years ago at Simbiro III (Melka Kunture, Upper Awash, Ethiopia)
|
Auteur(s) |
Margherita Mussi
1
, Eduardo Mendez-Quintas
2
, Doris Barboni
3, 4
, Hervé Bocherens
5
, Raymonde Bonnefille
4
, Giuseppe Briatico
1
, Denis Geraads
6
, Rita Melis
7
, Joaquin Panera
8
, Laura Pioli
7
, Andrea Serodio Domínguez
2
, Susana Rubio Jara
8
1
UNIROMA -
Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" = Sapienza University [Rome]
( 229915 )
- Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma
- Italie
2
University of Vigo [ Pontevedra]
( 462421 )
- Campus Universitario, s/n, 36310 Vigo, Pontevedra
- Espagne
3
IFP -
Institut Français de Pondichéry
( 90735 )
- French Institute of Pondicherry
UMIFRE 21 CNRS-MAEE 11 Saint Louis Street Pondicherry 605 001
- Inde
4
CEREGE -
Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement
( 1002357 )
- Europôle Méditerranéen de l'Arbois - Avenue Louis Philibert - BP 80 - 13545 Aix-en-Provence cedex 4
- France
5
Department of Geosciences [Tübingen]
( 230955 )
- University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074 Tübingen
- Allemagne
6
CR2P -
Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris
( 541953 )
- Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle - 8 rue Buffon - CP 38 - 75005 Paris
- France
7
UniCa -
Università degli Studi di Cagliari = University of Cagliari
( 204422 )
- Via Università, 40 - 09124 Cagliari
- Italie
8
UCM -
Universidad Complutense de Madrid = Complutense University of Madrid [Madrid]
( 48181 )
- Avda. de Séneca, 2, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid
- Espagne
|
Langue du document |
Anglais
|
Nom de la revue |
|
Date de publication |
2023-01-19
|
Vulgarisation |
Non
|
Comité de lecture |
Oui
|
Audience |
Internationale
|
Public visé |
Scientifique
|
Volume |
7
|
Numéro |
3
|
Page/Identifiant |
337-+
|
Domaine(s) |
|
DOI | 10.1038/s41559-022-01970-1 |
Pubmed Id | 36658266 |
UT key WOS | 000916062900001 |
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