title: Environment and behavior of 2.5-million-year-old Bouri hominids.
abstract: The Hata Member of the Bouri Formation is defined for Pliocene sedimentary outcrops in the Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia. The Hata Member is dated to 2.5 million years ago and has produced a new species of Australopithecus and hominid postcranial remains not currently assigned to species. Spatially associated zooarchaeological remains show that hominids acquired meat and marrow by 2.5 million years ago and that they are the near contemporary of Oldowan artifacts at nearby Gona. The combined evidence suggests that behavioral changes associated with lithic technology and enhanced carnivory may have been coincident with the emergence of the Homo clade from Australopithecus afarensis in eastern Africa.
authors.affiliation: Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Heinzelin
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Renne
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: WoldeGabriel
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Beyene
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vrba
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet; D005002:Ethiopia; D005580:Fossils; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D049690:History, Ancient; D015186:Hominidae; D006801:Humans