151. The expansion of the Acheulian to the Southeastern Ethiopian Highlands: Insights from the new early Pleistocene site-complex of Melka Wakena.
- Author
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Hovers, Erella, Gossa, Tegenu, Asrat, Asfawossen, Niespolo, Elizabeth M., Resom, Angesom, Renne, Paul R., Ekshtain, Ravid, Herzlinger, Gadi, Ketema, Natnael, and Martínez-Navarro, Bienvenido
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UPLANDS , *SEA level , *SOCIAL evolution , *FLOODPLAINS , *FOSSIL hominids - Abstract
Current models of early hominin biological and cultural evolution are shaped almost entirely by the data accumulated from the East African Rift System (EARS) over the last decades. In contrast, little is known about the archaeological record from the high-elevation regions on either side of the Rift. Melka Wakena is a newly discovered site-complex on the Southeastern Ethiopian Highlands (SEH) (>2300 m above mean sea level) just east of the central sector of the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER), where eight archaeological and two paleontological localities were discovered to date. Nine archaeological horizons from three localities were tested so far, all dated to the second half of the early Pleistocene (∼1.6 to >0.7 Ma). All the lithic assemblages belong to the Acheulian technocomplex. Here we report on geochronological, stratigraphic, paleontological and lithic technological aspects of the tested localities and contextualize them in the broader framework of hominin cultural evolution in eastern Africa. Findings from Melka Wakena, assessed against the backdrop of the few other highland sites (Melka Kunture and Gadeb), support a scenario of expansion rather than dispersal from the Rift to the highlands. When considered in the context of the Rift-highlands interface, results of the first-phase research at Melka Wakena help to parse existing general models into archaeologically testable hypotheses and demonstrate the site's potential to contribute to research of early prehistory and to understanding the dynamics of early Pleistocene hominin populations in eastern Africa. • Initial investigations at the new early Pleistocene site-complex Melka Wakena, southeastern Ethiopian Highlands (>2300 m above sea level). • Several stratified Acheulian localities on a dynamic flood plain, dated by 40Ar/39Ar between 1.6 Ma and >0.7 Ma. • Lithic production consists of locally-made small flakes, large flakes. Spatially segmented reduction and shaping of Large Cutting Tools. • Reconstruction of extensive Acheulian land-use of the floodplain, based on fauna, sedimentology and material culture evidence. • This addition to the few known early Pleistocene highland sites contributes to understanding highland-Rift Valley occupation dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
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