Patterns of early hominid site use at Olduvai Gorge

Abstract: Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, preserves an almost unprecedented record of early hominid bio-behavioral evolution. As such, it provides a unique opportunity to document spatio-temporal variability in hominid behavior. New taphonomic data reveal that hominids played little or no role in the formation of the faunal assemblages from many of the sites excavated by Mary Leakey from Beds I and II. In fact, the faunas from only two sites, FLK 22 from Bed I and BK from Bed II, can be considered as largely the result of hominid subsistence activities. This finding has important implications for interpretations of the Olduvai lithics and for patterns of hominid subsistence in the paleo-Olduvai basin. Taphonomic proxies of competition also suggest that hominids concentrated their stone-tool-using activities in lower competition settings during Bed I times, while higher competition settings were exploited in greater frequency during Bed II times. The pattern that emerges is one of variability in site use by Plio-Pleistocene hominids in the Olduvai basin