title: Late Pliocene Homo and hominid land use from Western Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.
abstract: Excavation in the previously little-explored western portion of Olduvai Gorge indicates that hominid land use of the eastern paleobasin extended at least episodically to the west. Finds included a dentally complete Homo maxilla (OH 65) with lower face, Oldowan stone artifacts, and butchery-marked bones dated to be between 1.84 and 1.79 million years old. The hominid shows strong affinities to the KNM ER 1470 cranium from Kenya (Homo rudolfensis), a morphotype previously unrecognized at Olduvai. ER 1470 and OH 65 can be accommodated in the H. habilis holotype, casting doubt on H. rudolfensis as a biologically valid taxon.
authors.affiliation: Center for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Anthropology, 131 George Street, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1414, USA. rjb@rci.rutgers.edu
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Blumenschine
authors.forename: Charles R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: Fidelis T
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Masao
authors.forename: Ronald J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: Alan L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Deino
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Hay
authors.forename: Carl C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Swisher
authors.forename: Ian G
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Stanistreet
authors.forename: Gail M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Ashley
authors.forename: Lindsay J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: McHenry
authors.forename: Nancy E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Sikes
authors.forename: Nikolaas J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Van Der Merwe
authors.forename: Joanne C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Tactikos
authors.forename: Amy E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Cushing
authors.forename: Daniel M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Deocampo
authors.forename: Jackson K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Njau
authors.forename: James I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Ebert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003817:Dentition; D004777:Environment; D005147:Facial Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005580:Fossils; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008437:Maxilla / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D010161:Paleodontology; D010163:Paleontology; D012621:Seasons; D012886:Skull / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D013636:Tanzania; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology