Paleolandscape variation and early Pleistocene hominid activities: Members 1 and 7, Olorgesailie formation, Kenya

Paleolandscape research tests for variation in the spatial distribution of hominid artefacts and establishes the association of hominid activities with paleoenvironmental features over distances of 100s to 1000s of meters. This approach requires (1) precise definition of narrow stratigraphic intervals based on sedimentary criteria that can be documented over a broad area, and (2) excavation of these intervals in order to establish taphonomic and paleoenvironmental contexts. In this report, excavations of three target intervals within the early Pleistocene deposits (992 to 780 ka) of the Olorgesailie basin are described. Assessment of time-averaging and paleolandscape structure shows that each target interval represents a relatively brief period (≤ 1000 yrs) and exhibits a unique distribution of environmental features (e.g., topographic gradients, channels, soil development). Stone artefacts and fossilized animal bones are distributed nonrandomly in each interval, and include clusters that were five to 293 times more densely concentrated than the laterally equivalent background scatter. A paleosol in upper Member 1 preserves a relatively continuous distribution of artefacts and fossils, in contrast with the more patchy distribution in two intervals of lower Member 7. We infer that the difference between the two members reflects a real variation in hominid land use-either a response to local environmental differences or perhaps a change through time in hominid interaction with the environment. By expanding the comparative analysis to diverse basins, it should be possible to test for broader evolutionary change in hominid activities. Examples drawn from East African Pliocene and early Pleistocene sites suggest that evolutionary change in land use entailed (1) wider ranging of hominids and longer distances of stone transport, (2) expansion of tool-assisted behaviors to a wider diversity of environmental settings, and (3) more strongly focused placement of particular artefact forms (e.g., bifaces) in different areas of the landscape in response to specific environmental features, such as lava outcrops, stream channels, and lake margins.