NEW ZOOARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA FROM BED-II, OLDUVAI GORGE, TANZANIA - IMPLICATIONS FOR HOMINID BEHAVIOR IN THE EARLY PLEISTOCENE

The nature of early hominid carnivory and the function of early archae ological sites have important implications for Plio-Pleistocene homini d behavioral ecology, yet there is a lack of consensus on many key iss ues. In part, this reflects a paucity of published primary data on the earliest archaeofaunas. Here new zooarchaeological data are reported from three Early Pleistocene assemblages in Bed II, Olduvai Gorge: BK, HWK E 1-2 and MNK (Main). In the context of experimental, natural and archaeological control samples, data are reported on stone tool and t ooth marks, skeletal part frequencies focusing on variability in long bone meat- and marrow-yields, and measures of long bone fragmentation and portion representation. Results suggest the bone assemblages at HW K E 1-2 refer to bone-crunching carnivores, not hominids, and were acc umulated in low competition settings (e.g., refuge locations). Given e vidence for a wooded vegetation and for stone tool discard throughout the basal Bed II paleosol (equivalent to HWK E 1), this calls into que stion the basic tenet of the woodland scavenging models of hominid for aging and implies that stone tool-using hominids and bone-crunching ca rnivores Foraged in the same general habitat. BK and, more equivocally , MNK (Main) resemble primary hominid accumulations scavenged by bone- crunching carnivores after hominid meat- and marrow-processing was acc omplished. Inferred aspects of hominid carnivorous foraging include: ( 1) early carcass acquisition; (2) focus on long hone meat rather than marrow; (3) focus on larger (size 3/4) animals; (4) exploitation of a variety of carcass resources. Broader comparisons to the artefact site s from Bed I, Olduvai Gorge, and to the Turkana Basin in northern Keny a suggest that hominid behavioral variability may have significantly i ncreased starting approximately 1 . 7 Ma. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limi ted