Late Pliocene Homo and hominid land use from Western Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.

Blumenschine, Robert J; Peters, Charles R; Masao, Fidelis T; Clarke, Ronald J; Deino, Alan L; Hay, Richard L; Swisher, Carl C; Stanistreet, Ian G et al. · Science · 2003

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Excavation in the previously little-explored western portion of Olduvai Gorge indicates that hominid land use of the eastern paleobasin extended at least episodically to the west. Finds included a dentally complete Homo maxilla (OH 65) with lower face, Oldowan stone artifacts, and butchery-marked bones dated to be between 1.84 and 1.79 million years old. The hominid shows strong affinities to the KNM ER 1470 cranium from Kenya (Homo rudolfensis), a morphotype previously unrecognized at Olduvai. ER 1470 and OH 65 can be accommodated in the H. habilis holotype, casting doubt on H. rudolfensis as a biologically valid taxon.

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