| Title |
Environmental dynamics during the onset of the Middle Stone Age in eastern Africa
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Science, March 2018
|
| DOI | 10.1126/science.aao2200 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Richard Potts, Anna K Behrensmeyer, J Tyler Faith, Christian A Tryon, Alison S Brooks, John E Yellen, Alan L Deino, Rahab Kinyanjui, Jennifer B Clark, Catherine M Haradon, Naomi E Levin, Hanneke J M Meijer, Elizabeth G Veatch, R Bernhart Owen, Robin W Renaut |
| Abstract |
Development of the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) before 300 thousand years ago (ka) raises the question of how environmental change influenced the evolution of behaviors characteristic of earlyHomo sapiensWe use temporally well-constrained sedimentological and paleoenvironmental data to investigate environmental dynamics before and after the appearance of the early MSA in the Olorgesailie Basin, Kenya. In contrast to the Acheulean archeological record in the same basin, MSA sites are associated with a dramatically different faunal community, more pronounced erosion-deposition cycles, tectonic activity, and enhanced wet-dry variability. As early as 615 ka, aspects of Acheulean technology in this region imply that greater stone material selectivity and wider resource procurement coincided with an increased pace of land-lake fluctuation, potentially anticipating the adaptability of MSA hominins. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 52 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 12 | 23% |
| Spain | 4 | 8% |
| United Kingdom | 3 | 6% |
| Finland | 2 | 4% |
| Canada | 2 | 4% |
| Italy | 2 | 4% |
| South Africa | 1 | 2% |
| Mexico | 1 | 2% |
| Djibouti | 1 | 2% |
| Other | 5 | 10% |
| Unknown | 19 | 37% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 42 | 81% |
| Scientists | 7 | 13% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 4% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 2% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 178 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 178 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 40 | 22% |
| Researcher | 25 | 14% |
| Student > Master | 21 | 12% |
| Professor | 15 | 8% |
| Student > Bachelor | 11 | 6% |
| Other | 38 | 21% |
| Unknown | 28 | 16% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Earth and Planetary Sciences | 28 | 16% |
| Arts and Humanities | 28 | 16% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 25 | 14% |
| Social Sciences | 19 | 11% |
| Environmental Science | 14 | 8% |
| Other | 27 | 15% |
| Unknown | 37 | 21% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 676. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 10 August 2021.
All research outputs
#31,692
of 25,837,817 outputs
Outputs from Science
#1,374
of 83,358 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#718
of 354,663 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Science
#34
of 1,270 outputs
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