Title |
Environmental dynamics during the onset of the Middle Stone Age in eastern Africa
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Published in |
Science, March 2018
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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. |
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Finland | 2 | 4% |
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South Africa | 1 | 2% |
Mexico | 1 | 2% |
Djibouti | 1 | 2% |
Other | 5 | 10% |
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Demographic breakdown
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Scientists | 7 | 14% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 4% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 2% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
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Unknown | 178 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
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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% |
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Environmental Science | 14 | 8% |
Other | 27 | 15% |
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