Chronology of the Acheulean to Middle Stone Age transition in eastern Africa
- PMID: 29545510
- DOI: 10.1126/science.aao2216
Chronology of the Acheulean to Middle Stone Age transition in eastern Africa
Abstract
The origin of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) marks the transition from a highly persistent mode of stone toolmaking, the Acheulean, to a period of increasing technological innovation and cultural indicators associated with the evolution of Homo sapiens We used argon-40/argon-39 and uranium-series dating to calibrate the chronology of Acheulean and early MSA artifact-rich sedimentary deposits in the Olorgesailie basin, southern Kenya rift. We determined the age of late Acheulean tool assemblages from 615,000 to 499,000 years ago, after which a large technological and faunal transition occurred, with a definitive MSA lacking Acheulean elements beginning most likely by ~320,000 years ago, but at least by 305,000 years ago. These results establish the oldest repository of MSA artifacts in eastern Africa.
Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
Comment in
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Advances in human behaviour came surprisingly early in Stone Age.Nature. 2018 Mar 22;555(7697):424-425. doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-03244-y. Nature. 2018. PMID: 29565410 No abstract available.
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