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Plummer, TW, Oliver, JS, Finestone, EM, Ditchfield, PW, Bishop, L, Blumenthal, SA, Lemorini, C, Caricola, I, Bailey, SE, Herries, AIR, Parkinson, JA, Whitfield, E, Hertel, F, Kinyanjui, RN, Vincent, TH, Li, Y, Louys, J, Frost, SR, Braun, DR, Reeves, JS , Early, EDG, Onyango, B, Lamela-Lopez, R, Forrest, FL, He, H, Lane, TP, Frouin, M, Nomade, S, Wilson, EP, Bartilol, SK, Rotich, NK and Potts, R (2023) Expanded geographic distribution and dietary strategies of the earliest Oldowan hominins and Paranthropus. Science, 379 (6632). pp. 561-566. ISSN 0036-8075
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Plummer et al. article Final combined.pdf - Accepted Version Download (4MB) | Preview |
Abstract
The oldest Oldowan tool sites, ca. 2.6 million years ago (Ma), have previously been confined to Ethiopia’s Afar Triangle. We describe sites at Nyayanga, Kenya, dated to 3.032-2.581 Ma, and expand this distribution by over 1300 km. Furthermore, we found two hippopotamid butchery sites associated with mosaic vegetation and a C4 grazer-dominated fauna. Tool flaking proficiency was comparable to younger Oldowan assemblages, but pounding activities were more common. Tool use-wear and bone damage indicate plant and animal tissue processing. Paranthropus sp. teeth, the first from southwestern Kenya, possessed carbon isotopic values indicative of a diet rich in C4 foods. We argue that the earliest Oldowan was more widespread than previously known, used to process diverse foods including megafauna, and associated with Paranthropus from its onset.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Additional Information: | This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here by permission of the AAAS for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Science on Vol 279, Issue 6632 10 Feb 2023, DOI: 10.1126/science.abo7452 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | General Science & Technology |
| Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology |
| Divisions: | Biological & Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19) |
| Publisher: | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| SWORD Depositor: | A Symplectic |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Feb 2023 09:27 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Feb 2024 17:08 |
| DOI or ID number: | 10.1126/science.abo7452 |
| URI: | https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/18616 |
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