Research study Findings and Implications
In this study, Margherita Mussi and associates evaluate the geochronological context of the Garba IV website and re-assess the taxonomic affinity of the fossil mandible. Using synchrotron imaging to analyze the internal morphology of the unerupted teeth in the Garba IV mandible, Mussi et al. validate that it came from H. erectus..
Integrating initial argon-argon dates for the sites stratigraphy with a more just recently published magnetostratigraphic analysis, the authors argue that the fossil is around 2 million years old, making it one of the earliest H. erectus specimens yet discovered and the just one in clear association with an abundant Oldowan lithic market.
The overlying Acheulean tool-bearing strata, which date to ~ 1.95 million years ago, represent the earliest recognized evidence of Acheulean lithic innovation. According to Mussi et al., the findings demonstrate that by 2 million years ago, H. erectus adapted early and quickly to a high-altitude mountain environment, very first producing Oldowan innovation and after that Acheulean technology.
Recommendation: “Early Homo erectus lived at high altitudes and produced both Oldowan and Acheulean tools” by Margherita Mussi, Matthew M. Skinner, Rita T. Melis, Joaquín Panera, Susana Rubio-Jara, Thomas W. Davies, Denis Geraads, Hervé Bocherens, Giuseppe Briatico, Adeline Le Cabec, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Agness Gidna, Raymonde Bonnefille, Luca Di Bianco and Eduardo Méndez-Quintas, 12 October 2023, Science.DOI: 10.1126/ science.add9115.
Current research indicates that 2 million years ago, Homo erectus populated the high-altitude Ethiopian highlands, producing innovative Oldowan and Acheulean tools. This finding, based upon a reexamined fossil from 1981, underscores the species early flexibility and technological progression.
2 million years in the past, Homo erectus ventured beyond East Africas lowland savannas into the high-altitude areas of the Ethiopian highlands. Now, a brand-new research study reveals that they created both Oldowan and Acheulean tools in these areas. It also reconsiders an early hominin fossil at first found in 1981, using fresh point of views on the evolutionary journey, migratory patterns, and adaptive capabilities of early human ancestors.
In Africa, the minimal number of hominin fossils discovered in direct association with stone tools has actually impeded efforts to connect Homo habilis and Homo erectus with specific stone tool industries, namely Oldowan or Acheulean.
One region crucial to studying this question is a collection of sites called the Melka Kunture complex– a cluster of prehistoric sites on the highlands of Ethiopia at an elevation of ~ 2000 meters above water level. In 1981, a fossilized baby mandible was found at the Garba IV website and in direct association with Oldowan lithic tools. The hominin species the fossil represents has actually been the topic of dispute.
2 million years in the past, Homo erectus ventured beyond East Africas lowland savannas into the high-altitude locations of the Ethiopian highlands. Now, a brand-new study exposes that they developed both Oldowan and Acheulean tools in these regions. In 1981, a fossilized baby mandible was found at the Garba IV website and in direct association with Oldowan lithic tools.