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Wetland Diagenesis and Traces of Early Hominids, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Daniel M. Deocampo ,
Robert J. Blumenschine  and
Gail M. Ashley
Daniel M. Deocampo*
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, 08854-8066
Robert J. Blumenschine
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901-1414
Gail M. Ashley
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, 08854-8066
*
1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, MRC 119, Washington, DC 20560-0119. E-mail: deocampo.dan@nmnh.si.edu.
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Abstract

Lateral variations in whole-rock and clay geochemistry of basal Bed II claystones in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, reflect water quality differences across the Eastern Lacustrine Plain ∼1.75 myr ago. Bulk Ba/Sr and (Na2O+K2O+MgO)/Al2O3 range from 1.4 to 4.2 and from 0.7 to 1.4, respectively, and indicate leaching of lacustrine claystones beneath freshwater wetlands at times following lake retreat. Bulk MgO/Al2O3 (0.3–1.0) and molar Mg/Al (0.5–3.9) ratios of <0.2-μm clays reflect alteration of Mg-rich lacustrine clays. These indicators point to freshest conditions near Locality 43 of Hay (1976; HWK-East; Leakey, 1971), moderate conditions to the east (Locality 40-MCK), and high salinity and alkalinity to the west (Localities 85-VEK, 45-FLK).

Clay geochemistry and artifact abundances are well correlated (r=−0.67, p<0.005), suggesting a relationship between paleo-water quality and hominid paleoecology. This pattern is consistent with predictions of greatest artifact discard/loss around freshwater sources where scavanging opportunities were greatest for hominids. This quantifies a relationship between artifact density distribution and a paleoecological proxy over landscape scales for the first time in Early Stone Age archaeology. In contrast, fossil bone abundance is uncorrelated (r=0.14, p=0.6), reflecting more complex taphonomic processes. Quantitative tests of landscape-scale land-use models are important for understanding early hominid behavior and its evolution.

Keywords

Olduvaidiagenesisclay mineralsearly hominidslandscape paleoanthropology
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 57 , Issue 2 , March 2002 , pp. 271 - 281
Copyright
University of Washington

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