Archaeology
From WikiDemocracy
Australopithecus fossils found east of the Great Rift Valley
New fossils from Kenya suggest that an early hominid species— Australopithecus afarensis—lived far eastward beyond the Great Rift Valley and much farther than previously thought. An international team of paleontologists led by Emma Mbua of Mount Kenya University and Masato Nakatsukasa of Kyoto University report findings of fossilized teeth and forearm bone from an adult male and two infant A. afarensis from an exposure eroded by the Kantis River in Ongata-Rongai, a settlement in the outskirts of Nairobi.
The Rift Valley and the Archaeological Evidence of the First Humans
East Africa?s Rift Valley has proven a rich source of information about our distant ancestors. Fossil finds there, including the famous Lucy and Turkana Boy, have permanently altered our understanding of how modern humans evolved. Readers will learn about the other hominins?such as the species "Homo erectus" and the genus "Australopithecus"?who help fill out the human family tree. The engaging text explains how archaeologists? discoveries of bones, tools, early art, evidence of hearths, and other evidence has furthered our understanding of the origins of modern humans. A timeline helps readers understand the chronology of the topic.
Olduvai Gorge
The Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge in Tanzania is one of the most important paleoanthropological localities in the world; the many sites exposed by the gorge have proven invaluable in furthering understanding of early human evolution. A steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley that stretches across East Africa, it is about 48 km (30 mi) long, and is located in the eastern Serengeti Plains within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the Olbalbal ward located in Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region, about 45 kilometres (28 miles) from Laetoli, another important archaeological locality of early human occupation.
Olorgesailie, Kenya
Early humans lived in the Olorgesailie region, in what is now the southern Kenya, between 1.2 million and 490,000 years ago. Excavations at Olorgesailie show the habitats and animals these early humans encountered, the handaxe tools they made, and the climate challenges they met.
=====Sedimentation and environmental dynamics of the Tunka rift valley (Baikal region) in the Late Pleistocene-Holocene based on the analysis of lithological and rock magnetic properties of the deposits from Upper Paleolithic sites Author links open overlay panel===== by Galina G. Matasova 6/21 ScienceDirect
The Tunka depression is a valley in the Baikal rift system. It contains several Paleolithic archaeological sites, however, the number of finds varies sharply across the different sections of the valley.
Great Rift Valley
Geologically, the Great Rift Valley formed due to the tectonic movement of African and Arabian plates, creating a unique environment that has undergone significant climatic fluctuations over millions of years. These climate changes have influenced human evolution by impacting resources and habitats, compelling early humans to adapt. Recent studies in the Jordan Rift Valley have revealed evidence of ancient tool-making societies and migration patterns that provide insight into human dispersal from Africa. Overall, the Great Rift Valley remains a vital site for ongoing research into human prehistory, evolution, and the historical interplay between climate and migration.
Kenya Archaeological Sites
Kenya is renowned for its sites depicting the life of early man, with many the sites showcasing the various stages of the development and evolution of early man. Although not as famous as the legendary Olduvai Gorge on the plains of Tanzania, the sites in Kenya are as dramatic as anywhere else in Africa.
Report on the 1973 Archaeological Survey of Central Ethiopian Rift Valley
Earliest human remains in eastern Africa dated to more than 230,000 years ago
by Sarah Collins UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
The age of the oldest fossils in eastern Africa widely recognised as representing our species, Homo sapiens, has long been uncertain. Now, dating of a massive volcanic eruption in Ethiopia reveals they are much older than previously thought.
The Leakey Family
by Louis Leakey The Leakey Foundation
Louis and Mary Leakey were monumental figures in the field of paleoanthropology and their groundbreaking discoveries helped shape our understanding of human origins. Now, the Leakey family is synonymous with the study of human evolution, with three generations making important contributions to science.
=====Elemental fingerprinting of Kenya Rift Valley ochre deposits for provenance studies of rock art and archaeological pigments Author links open overlay panel===== by Andrew M. Zipkin 12/2/17 ScienceDirect
The Kenya Rift Valley contains many ochre sources that are currently used by indigenous peoples for adornment, rituals, and art. Ochre pigments occur in rock art and archaeological sites spanning over 250,000 years. Chemical analysis for provenience of geological sources is the first step in the process of reconstructing provenance of archaeological artifacts for cultural heritage, archaeological, and paleoanthropological research.
The Rift
We are restless even in death. Entombed in stone, our most distant ancestors still travel along Earth’s subterranean passageways. One of them, a man in his 20s, began his journey around 230,000 years ago after collapsing into marshland on the lush edge of a river delta feeding a vast lake in East Africa’s Rift Valley. He became the earth in which he lay as nutrients leached from his body and his bone mineralised into fossil. Buried in the sediment of the Rift, he moved as the earth moved: gradually, inexorably.
Rift Valley in East Africa (ca. 5,000,000 B.C.E.)
by Kayomi Wada 10/1/10 BLACK PAST
Site of some of the oldest hominid fossils, The Great Rift Valley in East Africa refers to a massive land depression, formed approximately twenty million years ago when two parallel fault lines pulled apart. The rift stretches along East Africa from the Jordan River Valley in southwest Asia to Central Mozambique, and is of such scale that Rift Valley is clearly visible in photographs of earth taken from space.
Career/life as an archeologist inquiry
Hello everyone! I am a 17 year old who is planning college majors and such currently. I really want to study archaeology or anthropology, but have been urged by numerous friends and family to study something else or to double major for fear of not being able to get a job or make a good living.
The CENIEH is part of a Spanish-Eritrean project which studies archaeological sites in the Rift Valley
The geochronologist from CENIEH Davinia Moreno carries out the dating studies in the most recent excavation and prospecting campaign of the project “Cradle of humanity: Eritrea-Rift Valley”, financed by the Palarq Foundation and managed by Fundación Atapuerca
=====Later Stone Age toolstone acquisition in the Central Rift Valley of Kenya: Portable XRF of Eburran obsidian artifacts from Leakey's excavations at Gamble's Cave II Author links open overlay panel===== by Ellery Frahm 4/18 ScienceDirect
The complexities of Later Stone Age environmental and behavioral variability in East Africa remain poorly defined, and toolstone sourcing is essential to understand the scale of the social and natural landscapes encountered by earlier human populations. The Naivasha-Nakuru Basin in Kenya's Rift Valley is a region that is not only highly sensitive to climatic changes but also one of the world's most obsidian-rich landscapes.
Staff Seminar on Pastoral-Neolithic Communities, Central Rift Valley, Kenya
by Department of History & Archeology UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
Dr. Nyanchoga is a Senior Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, University of Nairobi. He, also, coordinates PhD in Archaeology and BA Tourism programmes in the Department. Nyanchoga holds a PhD in Archaeology from the University of Nairobi. His general research interests are in Environmental Archaeology and that of Heritage Tourism.
Chinese and Kenyan researchers find Stone Age ‘production line’ for tools in Rift Valley
A team of Chinese and Kenyan archaeologists have uncovered a Stone Age “production line” that used sophisticated techniques to produce “standardised” tools.
Ubeidiya prehistoric site
Prehistoric human remains starting from about 1.7 Mya (million years ago)[6][failed verification], more recently redated biochronologically to 1.5 Mya,[3] were discovered in the excavations, within about 60 layers of soil within which were found human bones and remains of ancient animals. These include some of the oldest human remains outside Africa and more than 10,000 ancient stone tools[verification needed].
Coffee's Epic Journey
by Ilana Herzig ARCHAEOLOGY MAGAZINE
Coffea arabica, the flowering evergreen plant whose vibrant red berries, when dried and roasted, are used to make millions of cups of coffee each morning, originated in the forests of Paleolithic East Africa.
