Palaeoanthropological research at Gona (Ethiopia) and Ain Hanech (Algeria)

Abstract

The Gona study area in the Afar, Ethiopia; and the Ain Hanech/Ain Boucherit study area, and other Pleistocene sites in Algeria have produced important early Oldowan, Acheulian and Late Pleistocene archaeological materials. The Gona early Oldowan is dated to c. 2.6 million years ago (Ma), and the earliest Oldowan at Ain Boucherit is dated to ca. 2.4 Ma. The archaeological evidence from the two geographically widely separated areas suggests the possibility that the beginnings of systematic manufacture of early Oldowan stone artifacts may have begun in both East and North Africa at the same time or the manufacture and use of stone tools may have spread quickly from East to North Africa. Faunal remains associated with the early Oldowan from Gona and Ain Boucherit bear evidence of cutmarks, providing direct evidence that ancestral humans used these early stone artifacts for processing animal carcasses for meat. Furthermore, Acheulian Large Cutting tools (LCTs) with similar age were recovered in both the Gona and Ain Hanech study areas. A number of sites at Gona yielded Acheulian LCTs dated > 1.6 Ma (close to 1.7 Ma), and similar technology was documented in the capping strata at Ain Hanech and dated to ca. 1.67 Ma. At Gona two sites document co-occurrence of Mode 1 (Oldowan) and Mode II artifacts (Acheulian), both associated with Homo erectus crania (dated to 1.6-1.5 Ma, and 1.2 Ma, respectively). Tighennif (formerly Ternifine) in Algeria is an important site where several hominin fossils assigned to Homo erectus have been recovered at the end of the 19th Century. Recent excavations at the site have yielded LCTs estimated to ca. 1.2 Ma. The younger Mid-Late Pleistocene deposits at Gona and a number of other sites in Algeria, including Errayah, and Tablelbala Tachengit are known for producing Late Acheulian implements made with the Kombewa technique. Recent investigations at Gona have revealed the presence of numerous Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Late Stone Age (LSA) sites dated to intervals within the last 200,000 yrs ago (Ka). The youngest archaeological site with microliths, ostrich eggshell beads and groundstones at Gona is dated to 13 Ka. In addition to Homo erectus, Gona is also known for yielding important early hominins including Ardipithecus kadabba dated to ~6.3 Ma and Ardipithecus ramidus dated to 4.7-4.3 Ma. Ardipithecus is known only in two study areas in Africa, at Gona and in the Middle Awash, where it was first identified. Thus, the major discoveries made from the Gona and the Algerian sites have contributed enormously for our understanding of the emergence of hominins, and the beginnings of stone tool technology. The evidence combined is key for investigating and understanding the biological and cultural evolution of our ancestors over the past > 6.0 Ma. This paper highlights the major archaeological and hominin discoveries from the Gona and Ain Hanech/Ain Boucherit and Ternifine study areas.