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Paleoenvironmental and paleoecological reconstruction of a freshwater oasis in savannah grassland at FLK North, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Gail M. Ashley ,
Doris Barboni ,
Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo ,
Henry T. Bunn ,
Audax Z.P. Mabulla ,
Fernando Diez-Martin ,
Rebeca Barba  and
Enrique Baquedano
Gail M. Ashley*
Affiliation:
Dept. of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8066, USA
Doris Barboni
Affiliation:
CEREGE (UMR6635 CNRS/Université Aix-Marseille), BP80, F-13545 Aix-en-Provence cedex 4, France
Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo
Affiliation:
Dept. of Prehistory, Complutense University of Madrid Ciudad Universitaria s/n 28040 Madrid, Spain IDEA (Instituto de Evolución en África), Museo de los Orígenes, Plaza de San Andrés 2, 28005 Madrid, Spain
Henry T. Bunn
Affiliation:
Dept. of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Audax Z.P. Mabulla
Affiliation:
Archaeology Unit, P.O. Box 35050, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Fernando Diez-Martin
Affiliation:
Dept. of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Valladolid, Plaza del Campus s/n 47011 Valladolid, Spain
Rebeca Barba
Affiliation:
Dept. of Prehistory, Complutense University of Madrid Ciudad Universitaria s/n 28040 Madrid, Spain
Enrique Baquedano
Affiliation:
Museo Arqueológico Regional de Madrid, Plaza de las Bernardas, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain IDEA (Instituto de Evolución en África), Museo de los Orígenes, Plaza de San Andrés 2, 28005 Madrid, Spain
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: +1 732 445 3374. E-mail address:gmashley@rci.rutgers.edu (G.M. Ashley).
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Abstract

The records of early hominins are commonly localized both temporally and spatially even in archaeologically rich basins like Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. The FLK North site was discovered in 1960, but the reason for the exact location of this dense concentration of fossils and stone tools on a lake-margin flat has not been explained. We present new geological and geochemical information from six excavations in upper Bed I, which revealed up to 1.4-m-thick carbonate deposits, attesting to the presence of freshwater springs in the area surrounding FLK North. The δ18O signatures of the tufa are typical for meteoric water that has evolved during evaporation. Tuff IF that caps the sequence was deposited on uneven topography with the highest area a low-relief ridge between two faults at the archaeological site and lowest areas being sites of groundwater discharge. The model proposed here is that rainfall on adjacent highlands was transported to the basin where faults acted as conduits for water. Similar hydrogeological settings at modern lakes Manyara and Eyasi, currently support lush groundwater forest and woodland despite arid climate. FLK North may have been an “oasis” offering freshwater and shelter for consuming meat by both carnivores and hominins.

Keywords

SpringsPhytolithsHomininsPaleoenvironmentGroundwater forestEast AfricaStable isotopes
Type
Special Issue Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 74 , Issue 3 , November 2010 , pp. 333 - 343
Copyright
University of Washington

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