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Cited by 359Pleistocene-Era Hominins and ArchaeologyPrimate Behavior and EcologyArchaeology and Rock Art Studies

Flaked stones and old bones: Biological and cultural evolution at the dawn of technology

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Plummer, Thomas·2004·American Journal of Physical Anthropology
DOI 10.1002/ajpa.20157
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Abstract

The appearance of Oldowan sites ca. 2.6 million years ago (Ma) may reflect one of the most important adaptive shifts in human evolution. Stone artifact manufacture, large mammal butchery, and novel transport and discard behaviors led to the accumulation of the first recognized archaeological debris. The appearance of the Oldowan sites coincides with generally cooler, drier, and more variable climatic conditions across Africa, probably resulting in a net decrease in woodland foods and an increase in large mammal biomass compared to the early and middle Pliocene. Shifts in plant food resource availability may have provided the stimulus for incorporating new foods into the diet, including meat from scavenged carcasses butchered with stone tools. Oldowan artifact form varies with clast size, shape, raw material physical properties, and flaking intensity. Oldowan hominins preferred hard raw materials with good fracture characteristics. Habitual stone transport is evident from technological analysis, and raw material sourcing to date suggests that stone was rarely moved more than 2-3 km from source. Oldowan debris accumulation was spatially redundant, reflecting recurrent visitation of attractive points on the landscape. Thin archaeological horizons from Bed I Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, were probably formed and buried in less than 10 years and document hominin processing of multiple carcasses per year. Transport beyond simple refuging behavior is suggested by faunal density at some site levels. By 2.0 Ma, hominin rank within the predatory guild may have been moderately high, as they probably accessed meaty carcasses through hunting and confrontational scavenging, and hominin-carnivore competition appears minimal at some sites. It is likely that both Homo habilis sensu stricto and early African H. erectus made Oldowan tools. H. habilis sensu stricto was more encephalized than Australopithecus and may foreshadow H. erectus in lower limb elongation and some thermoregulatory adaptations to hot, dry climatic conditions. H. erectus was large and wide-ranging, had a high total energy expenditure, and required a high-quality diet. Reconstruction of H. erectus reproductive energetics and socioeconomic organization suggests that reproductively active females received assistance from other group members. This inference, combined with archaeological evidence for acquisition of meaty carcasses, suggests that meat would have been a shared food. This is indirectly confirmed by nutritional analysis suggesting that the combination of meat and nutritionally dense plant foods was the likely diet fueling body size increase and encephelization in Homo. Most discussion of Oldowan hominin behavior and ecology, including that presented here, is based on materials from a few sites. There is a critical need to analyze additional large, primary-context lithic and faunal assemblages to better assess temporal, geographic, and environmental variability in Oldowan behavior.

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  • Rudimentary hunting and gathering economies appeared with the emergence of the genus Homo and are believed to have been important in supporting early brain expansion.

    “Rudimentary hunting and gathering economies appeared with the emergence of the genus Homo and are believed to have been important in supporting early brain expansion (49)(50)(51).”

    From Metabolic costs and evolutionary implications of human brain development (2014) · cites this paper as [50]

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Authors
Plummer, T.
Affiliations
Queens College, CUNY (US)
Corresponding author
Plummer, Thomas
ORCID
Plummer, Thomas
Venue
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2004
Volume
125
Issue
S39
Pages
118-164
ISSN
  • 0002-9483 (ISSN-L)
  • 1096-8644
DOI
10.1002/ajpa.20157
OpenAlex
W2053601983
Cited by
359
References
365
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 22
FWCI
11.66
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
doi.wiley.com/10.1002/tdm_license_1.1 (tdm, 4261 d)
Locations
  • American Journal of Physical Anthropology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • Wenner-Gren Foundation
  • Leakey Foundation
  • National Geographic Society
  • City University of New York
  • Research Foundation of The City University of New York
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
  • Social Sciences › Archeology › Archaeology and Rock Art Studies
Keywords
Oldowan, Olduvai Gorge, hominin evolution, lithic technology, butchery, scavenging, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, encephalization, meat consumption, raw material procurement, stone transport, animal density, reproductive energetics, social organization, Pliocene climate
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Physiological, Africa, Eastern, Animals, Carnivora, Diet, Diffusion of Innovation, Energy Metabolism, Environment, Biological Evolution, Female, Humans, Male, Models, Theoretical, Paleontology, Predatory Behavior, Social Behavior, Transportation, Hominidae, Body Size, History, Ancient, Tool Use Behavior

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