New zooarchaeological data from Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania: implications for hominid behavior in the Early Pleistocene

Abstract

The nature of early hominid carnivory and the function of early archaeological sites have important implications for Plio-Pleistocene hominid behavioral ecology, yet there is a lack of consensus on many key issues. In part, this reflects a paucity of published primary data on the earliest archaeofaunas. Here new zooarchaeological data are reported from three Early Pleistocene assemblages in Bed II, Olduvai Gorge: BK, HWK E 1–2 and MNK (Main). In the context of experimental, natural and archaeological control samples, data are reported on stone tool and tooth marks, skeletal part frequencies focusing on variability in long bone meat- and marrow-yields, and measures of long bone fragmentation and portion representation. Results suggest the bone assemblages at HWK E 1–2 refer to bone-crunching carnivores, not hominids, and were accumulated in low competition settings (e.g., refuge locations). Given evidence for a wooded vegetation and for stone tool discard throughout the basal Bed II paleosol (equivalent to HWK E 1), this calls into question the basic tenet of the woodland scavenging models of hominid foraging and implies that stone tool-using hominids and bone-crunching carnivores foraged in the same general habitat. BK and, more equivocally, MNK (Main) resemble primary hominid accumulations scavenged by bone-crunching carnivores after hominid meat- and marrow-processing was accomplished. Inferred aspects of hominid carnivorous foraging include: (1) early carcass acquisition; (2) focus on long bone meat rather than marrow; (3) focus on larger (size 3/4) animals; (4) exploitation of a variety of carcass resources. Broader comparisons to the artefact sites from Bed I, Olduvai Gorge, and to the Turkana Basin in northern Kenya suggest that hominid behavioral variability may have significantly increased starting approximately 1·7 Ma.