Under the supervision of Dr. Sally McBrearty, Cara Roure will excavate three Middle Pleistocene archaeological sites in the Kapthurin Formation, Kenya, in order to document land use patterns and subsistence behavior of Middle Pleistocene hominids, specifically H. rhodesiensis. The Kapthurin Formation, west of Lake Baringo in the Kenya Rift Valley, consists of a succession of artifact- and fossil-rich sedimentary members that span most of the Middle Pleistocene. The formation contains many documented archaeological and fossil localities, some of which have yielded fossil remains of H. rhodesiensis, considered the direct precursor to modern H. sapiens. This project focuses on the interval associated with the hominid fossils, from 543 to ka. Detailed paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the basin during this interval has identified a range of contemporaneous microhabitats around a saline lake, a fresh water spring and a riverine system. A site from each of these environmental types will be excavated to supply a sample of behavior across varied habitats. GIS will provide an integrated format within which archaeological data can be related to environmental and spatial variability to create a model of ranging and land use patterns for H. rhodesiensis. Patterns identified in the data will then be compared to those documented for Early Pleistocene hominids and modern foragers in Africa.
This project has multiple levels of significance for archaeology and evolutionary anthropology. The understanding of the origins of modern H. sapiens' behavioral adaptation is of key importance. This adaptation is most easily recognized as the evolution of the cognitive capacity for symbolic behavior. A current debate now focuses on the origins of such behavior. A long held view is that this capacity appeared suddenly and late as a "behavioral revolution," long after the origin of anatomically modern H. sapiens. Challenging this, a new hypothesis poses that the modern behavioral adaptation arose gradually but much earlier, in the Middle Pleistocene of Africa. This project is unique in its documentation of land use patterns of African later Middle Pleistocene hominids and will contribute to understanding of origin and evolution of our species. The results will be directly applicable to the ongoing debate regarding the origins of behavioral adaptation of modern H. sapiens in the African Middle Pleistocene.
The interdisciplinary nature of this research emphasizes the need for collaboration between many specialties including geology, archaeology, paleontology, GIS, and museum studies. Roure's project is being run in close collaboration with the National Museums of Kenya and will employ museum staff. Roure will be providing field training for Kenyan excavators, and two junior graduate students from the University of Connecticut. Outreach includes working with students at Rectory School (USA) and Loberer Primary School, located in the study area to better understand prehistory and evolution (through classes and textbooks). Results of this project will be applicable to dissemination in academic journals over several disciplines including archaeology, evolutionary anthropology, and geology. However, this work will also impact both undergraduate and secondary education as there is an intense interest in the origins of our species.
