Koobi Fora (Other Keyword)
1-7 (7 Records)
Recent reviews have identified the control of fire as a important innovation in the history of human adaptation. The FxJj20 Main-Extension-0 locality, an oxidized sediment feature, may be associated with hominin-controlled fire. This locality was recovered from sediments in the Okote Member, of the Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya. Radiometric age estimates on associated tephra indicate that the locality is likely 1.5-1.64 Ma. This locality is associated with multiple sedimentary anomalies that were...
Excavations at FxJj20Main-Extension-0, a possible fire feature associated with Oldowan artifacts at Koobi Fora, Kenya (2016)
Clear evidence of hominin-controlled fire in the Earlier Stone Age archaeological record is sparse. Many indicators used to identify anthropogenic control of fire are not present or do not preserve from Early Pleistocene sediments (e.g. hearthstones, charcoal, ash). The 1972-4 excavations at FxJj20Main and FxJj20East localities of the Okote Mbr. (1.5-1.64 Ma) of the Koobi Fora Fm. recovered sediment features that appear to be reddened by an anomalous oxidation process. These are among the...
Hominin land use of and movement in the Koobi Fora Formation (Kenya) (2017)
The occurrence of large densities of lithic and fossil material in Early Pleistocene contexts have been the focus of much interest. Several hypotheses modeling hominin foraging strategies have been generated to explain their formation. Assemblage formation is often hypothesized to be the result of particular land use strategies that relate to the movement and discard of stone artifacts. These hypotheses are difficult to test because they rely on ethnographic models of human movement, yet they...
Landscape Survey of Potential Combustion Features at FxJj20 Site Complex in Koobi Fora, Kenya (2017)
Previous research in the Koobi Fora Formation, Marsabit District, Kenya identified nine delineated areas where the sediment was lithified and rubefied. These features derived from the excavation of the archaeological site of FxJj20-Main in the Lower Okote Member, which dates between 1.5 and 1.64 Ma. Previously, similar features in archaeological sites have been recovered with material that exhibit evidence of having been exposed to high temperatures. These features are discrete, isolated,...
Lithic Analysis of GaJj17: a Middle Stone Age Locality in Koobi Fora, northern Kenya (2017)
The Koobi Fora region in eastern Turkana, northern Kenya, is known for its preservation of Plio-Pleistocene hominin fossils. However very little is known about the Middle Stone Age (MSA) from this region. Fossil and genetic evidence suggest modern humans originated in eastern Africa ~200ka, adding to the significance of this time period and region. In 2016, we excavated site GaJj17, an MSA site located in Area 104 of Koobi Fora. Here we present lithic analysis of recovered in situ and surface...
Ongoing Excavations at FxJj20Main-Extension-0, Koobi Fora, Kenya (2017)
Original excavation of FxJj20 sites in Koobi Fora, Kenya revealed nine oxidized patches described as combustion features associated with artifacts. Here we describe new excavations at a nearby new locality described as FxJj20Main-Ext-0. This excavation extends previous work in order to explore potential combustion features with newer techniques. Three squares adjacent to a reddened feature yielded 18 bones and 33 stone artifacts. All bone was fragmented. Most stone artifacts were basalt. Nearest...
Site Formation Analysis of Middle Stone Age Locality GaJj17 in the Koobi Fora Formation, Northern Kenya (2017)
The Koobi Fora Formation (KF Fm.) of the Turkana Basin in Kenya is comprised of a Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary sequence that has produced unprecedented paleoanthropological discoveries. Previous work in the KF Fm. reported an archaeological locality, GaJj17, exhibiting in situ Middle Stone Age (MSA) material eroding from an indurated sandstone. Understanding the depositional context of this locality required further geologic study as few MSA localities are represented in the KF Fm. This is due...