Cᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
Eastern Africa along the Eastern Rift Valley
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Australopithecus boisei is described as an exceptionally robust Australopithecus species occurring in final Pliocene and earlier Pleistocene deposits of eastern Africa. Its documented distribution follows sedimentary localities adjacent to the Eastern Rift Valley, including Olduvai Gorge, Peninj, Chesowanja, East Rudolf, and the Omo basin. The holotype is a nearly complete cranium from Olduvai Gorge, recovered in association with an Oldowan occupation surface and stone artefacts. At several localities, the species occurs alongside other hominid remains, although behavioural associations and some specimen identifications remain debated.
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Australopithecus boisei is characterized in the extract as an exceptionally robust species occurring in deposits assigned to the final Pliocene and earlier Pleistocene. Its documented distribution is restricted to eastern Africa and is concentrated in sedimentary settings adjacent to the Eastern Rift Valley. The listed localities include Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, Peninj and Chesowanja, East Rudolf in Kenya, and the Omo basin.
The holotype is an almost complete cranium with a full maxillary dentition from a young adult individual. It was recovered at Olduvai Gorge from site FLK, in Bed I sediments associated with a land surface near the southeastern margin of an ancient lake. The stratigraphic position, radiometric age, and geomagnetic placement of the find are described as exceptionally well documented.
The FLK surface preserved an ancient hominid occupation site with patterned distributions of vertebrate remains and associated artefacts belonging to an Oldowan stone industry. Additional remains were later found on or near the same site, including cranial fragments, upper teeth, a molar, and substantial tibial and fibular remains. Some of these specimens were considered to represent hominids other than Australopithecus boisei, raising the possibility of a direct temporal and spatial association between two early hominid taxa.
Hominid remains from several other Olduvai localities were considered very probably to represent Australopithecus boisei. The broader eastern African sample includes cranial, dental, and postcranial material from multiple stratigraphic horizons in the East Rudolf and Omo regions. The extract presents the species as frequently associated with another hominid species and with lithic materials, but it cautions that the interpretation of culturally patterned behaviour remains a matter of debate.
The Olduvai evidence is especially significant because the holotype was recovered from a surface interpreted as an occupation site rather than from an isolated fossil deposit. Vertebrate remains were distributed in patterns and stone artefacts were present, creating an archaeological setting in which hominid activity could be investigated. At the same time, the attribution of nearby remains and the identity of the hominid responsible for the behaviour cannot be treated as fully resolved.
The species therefore combines a distinctive anatomical identity with an archaeological record marked by interpretive caution. Its robust cranial form and wide eastern African fossil distribution are central features, while its relationship to other hominids and to Oldowan activities requires careful separation of secure finds from debated associations.
Australopithecus boisei is represented across several eastern African fossil sequences. Evidence cited here comes from Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, Chesowanja and East Rudolf in Kenya, Peninj in the Natron basin, and the Omo succession in southern Ethiopia. The East Rudolf record is especially substantial, comprising remains attributed to nearly fifty individuals distributed through several members of the Koobi Fora Formation.
At East Rudolf, the species occurs in the Lower Member and in both lower and upper parts of the Upper Member. This sample spans about a million years, described as extending from approximately 1 million to perhaps 2 million years before the present, depending on the proposed age of the KBS Tuff. At Olduvai, the cited material documents the taxon from near the base of Bed I to close to the top of Bed II, a span of almost three-quarters of a million years.
The Omo succession provides a more limited but important record. The first firm documentation is assigned to Member E of the Shungura Formation, at about 2.1 million years ago, and includes a partial mandible, associated permanent teeth, and a complete ulna. Later evidence consists mainly of isolated or associated teeth and mandibles in Members F and G; the species has not been securely documented in younger Omo horizons.
The Koobi Fora sample includes complete and partial crania, maxillae, mandibles, isolated and associated teeth, humeri, femora, and tibiae. Assigning postcranial bones is not always straightforward because several hominid taxa occur in the East Rudolf succession and comparable Australopithecus material remains incomplete. Associations of cranial, jaw, and limb remains in the same fossiliferous horizons nevertheless support some assignments.
Several East Rudolf assemblages contain clusters of hominid remains in floodplain and distributary palaeo-environments. These include settings above the Middle Tuff in the Ileret area, a context below the Lower Tuff in Area 6A, and a channel above the KBS Tuff near Koobi Fora. The evidence is considered compatible with an association between Australopithecus boisei and fluvial habitats, including gallery forest and riverine bush, although lake-margin environments were also used.
Cᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
Eastern Africa along the Eastern Rift Valley
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Australopithecus boisei is described as an exceptionally robust Australopithecus species occurring in final Pliocene and earlier Pleistocene deposits of eastern Africa. Its documented distribution follows sedimentary localities adjacent to the Eastern Rift Valley, including Olduvai Gorge, Peninj, Chesowanja, East Rudolf, and the Omo basin. The holotype is a nearly complete cranium from Olduvai Gorge, recovered in association with an Oldowan occupation surface and stone artefacts. At several localities, the species occurs alongside other hominid remains, although behavioural associations and some specimen identifications remain debated.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Australopithecus boisei is characterized in the extract as an exceptionally robust species occurring in deposits assigned to the final Pliocene and earlier Pleistocene. Its documented distribution is restricted to eastern Africa and is concentrated in sedimentary settings adjacent to the Eastern Rift Valley. The listed localities include Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, Peninj and Chesowanja, East Rudolf in Kenya, and the Omo basin.
The holotype is an almost complete cranium with a full maxillary dentition from a young adult individual. It was recovered at Olduvai Gorge from site FLK, in Bed I sediments associated with a land surface near the southeastern margin of an ancient lake. The stratigraphic position, radiometric age, and geomagnetic placement of the find are described as exceptionally well documented.
The FLK surface preserved an ancient hominid occupation site with patterned distributions of vertebrate remains and associated artefacts belonging to an Oldowan stone industry. Additional remains were later found on or near the same site, including cranial fragments, upper teeth, a molar, and substantial tibial and fibular remains. Some of these specimens were considered to represent hominids other than Australopithecus boisei, raising the possibility of a direct temporal and spatial association between two early hominid taxa.
Hominid remains from several other Olduvai localities were considered very probably to represent Australopithecus boisei. The broader eastern African sample includes cranial, dental, and postcranial material from multiple stratigraphic horizons in the East Rudolf and Omo regions. The extract presents the species as frequently associated with another hominid species and with lithic materials, but it cautions that the interpretation of culturally patterned behaviour remains a matter of debate.
The Olduvai evidence is especially significant because the holotype was recovered from a surface interpreted as an occupation site rather than from an isolated fossil deposit. Vertebrate remains were distributed in patterns and stone artefacts were present, creating an archaeological setting in which hominid activity could be investigated. At the same time, the attribution of nearby remains and the identity of the hominid responsible for the behaviour cannot be treated as fully resolved.
The species therefore combines a distinctive anatomical identity with an archaeological record marked by interpretive caution. Its robust cranial form and wide eastern African fossil distribution are central features, while its relationship to other hominids and to Oldowan activities requires careful separation of secure finds from debated associations.
Australopithecus boisei is represented across several eastern African fossil sequences. Evidence cited here comes from Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, Chesowanja and East Rudolf in Kenya, Peninj in the Natron basin, and the Omo succession in southern Ethiopia. The East Rudolf record is especially substantial, comprising remains attributed to nearly fifty individuals distributed through several members of the Koobi Fora Formation.
At East Rudolf, the species occurs in the Lower Member and in both lower and upper parts of the Upper Member. This sample spans about a million years, described as extending from approximately 1 million to perhaps 2 million years before the present, depending on the proposed age of the KBS Tuff. At Olduvai, the cited material documents the taxon from near the base of Bed I to close to the top of Bed II, a span of almost three-quarters of a million years.
The Omo succession provides a more limited but important record. The first firm documentation is assigned to Member E of the Shungura Formation, at about 2.1 million years ago, and includes a partial mandible, associated permanent teeth, and a complete ulna. Later evidence consists mainly of isolated or associated teeth and mandibles in Members F and G; the species has not been securely documented in younger Omo horizons.
The Koobi Fora sample includes complete and partial crania, maxillae, mandibles, isolated and associated teeth, humeri, femora, and tibiae. Assigning postcranial bones is not always straightforward because several hominid taxa occur in the East Rudolf succession and comparable Australopithecus material remains incomplete. Associations of cranial, jaw, and limb remains in the same fossiliferous horizons nevertheless support some assignments.
Several East Rudolf assemblages contain clusters of hominid remains in floodplain and distributary palaeo-environments. These include settings above the Middle Tuff in the Ileret area, a context below the Lower Tuff in Area 6A, and a channel above the KBS Tuff near Koobi Fora. The evidence is considered compatible with an association between Australopithecus boisei and fluvial habitats, including gallery forest and riverine bush, although lake-margin environments were also used.
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