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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
The first evidence of cut marks and usewear traces from the Plio-Pleistocene locality of El-Kherba (Ain Hanech), Algeria: Implications for early hominin subsistence activities circa 1.8 Ma
Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 64, No. 2, Year 2013
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Description
The current archaeological data on early hominin subsistence activities in Africa are derived chiefly from Sub-Saharan Plio-Pleistocene sites. The recent studies at El-Kherba (Ain Hanech) in northeastern Algeria expand the geographic range of evidence of hominin subsistence patterns to include the earliest known archaeological sites documented in North Africa. Dated to 1.78 million years ago (Ma), excavations from El-Kherba yielded an Oldowan industry associated with a savanna-like fauna contained in floodplain deposits. The faunal assemblage is dominated by large and medium-sized animals (mainly adults), especially equids, which are represented by at least 11 individuals. The mammalian archaeofauna preserves numerous cut-marked and hammerstone-percussed bones. Made of primarily limestone and flint, the stone assemblage consists of core forms, débitage, and retouched pieces. Evidence of usewear traces is found on several of the flint artifacts, indicating meat processing by early hominins. Overall, our subsistence analysis indicates that early hominins were largely responsible for bone modification at the site, which is also corroborated by other relevant taphonomic evidence. Moreover, at 1.78 Ma, the cutmarked bones recovered from El-Kherba represent the earliest known evidence for ancestral hominin butchery activities and large animal foraging capabilities in northern Africa. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.
Authors & Co-Authors
Sahnouni, Mohamed
Spain, Burgos
Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre la Evolución Humana Cenieh
Algeria, Algiers
Centre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques
United States, Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington
Rosell, Jordi
Spain, Tarragona
Universitat Rovira I Virgili
Spain, Tarragona
Instituto Catalán de Paleoecología Humana y Evolución Social
Van der Made, Jan
Spain, Madrid
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
Vergès, Josep María
Spain, Tarragona
Universitat Rovira I Virgili
Spain, Tarragona
Instituto Catalán de Paleoecología Humana y Evolución Social
Ollé, Andreu
Spain, Tarragona
Universitat Rovira I Virgili
Spain, Tarragona
Instituto Catalán de Paleoecología Humana y Evolución Social
Kandi, Nadia
Algeria, Algiers
Université D’alger 2
Harichane, Zoheir
Algeria, Algiers
Centre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques
Derradji, Abdelkader El Kader
Algeria, Algiers
Université D’alger 2
Medig, Mohamed
Algeria, Algiers
Université D’alger 2
Statistics
Citations: 71
Authors: 9
Affiliations: 7
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.10.007
ISSN:
00472484
Study Locations
Multi-countries
Algeria