title: The Origin of The Acheulean: The 1.7 Million-Year-Old Site of FLK West, Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania).
abstract: The appearance of the Acheulean is one of the hallmarks of human evolution. It represents the emergence of a complex behavior, expressed in the recurrent manufacture of large-sized tools, with standardized forms, implying more advance forethought and planning by hominins than those required by the precedent Oldowan technology. The earliest known evidence of this technology dates back to c. 1.7 Ma. and is limited to two sites (Kokiselei [Kenya] and Konso [Ethiopia]), both of which lack functionally-associated fauna. The functionality of these earliest Acheulean assemblages remains unknown. Here we present the discovery of another early Acheulean site also dating to c. 1.7 Ma from Olduvai Gorge. This site provides evidence of the earliest steps in developing the Acheulean technology and is the oldest Acheulean site in which stone tools occur spatially and functionally associated with the exploitation of fauna. Simple and elaborate large-cutting tools (LCT) and bifacial handaxes co-exist at FLK West, showing that complex cognition was present from the earliest stages of the Acheulean. Here we provide a detailed technological study and evidence of the use of these tools on the butchery and consumption of fauna, probably by early Homo erectus sensu lato.
authors.affiliation: Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Valladolid, Pza. del Campus, s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Diez-Martín
authors.affiliation: Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Valladolid, Pza. del Campus, s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sánchez Yustos
authors.affiliation: Department of Geodynamics, Complutense University, c/José Antonio Novás 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Uribelarrea
authors.affiliation: Museo Arqueológico Regional, Plaza de las Bernardas s/n, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.|IDEA (Instituto de Evolución en África), Museo de los Orígenes, Plaza de San Andrés 2, 28005 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Baquedano
authors.affiliation: NERC Argon Isotope Facility, Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), East Kilbride, Scotland, G75 0QF, UK.
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Mark
authors.affiliation: Archaeology Unit, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35050 Tanzania.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mabulla
authors.affiliation: Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Valladolid, Pza. del Campus, s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fraile
authors.affiliation: Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Valladolid, Pza. del Campus, s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duque
authors.affiliation: Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Valladolid, Pza. del Campus, s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Díaz
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, CENIEH. Pza. Sierra de Atapuerca s/n, 09002 Burgos, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pérez-González
authors.affiliation: Department of Prehistory, Complutense University, Prof. Aranguren s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yravedra
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, USA.
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Egeland
authors.affiliation: Department of Prehistory, Complutense University, Prof. Aranguren s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Organista
authors.affiliation: IDEA (Instituto de Evolución en África), Museo de los Orígenes, Plaza de San Andrés 2, 28005 Madrid, Spain.|Department of Prehistory, Complutense University, Prof. Aranguren s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Domínguez-Rodrigo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005580:Fossils; D005844:Geology; D006801:Humans; D013636:Tanzania; D013997:Time Factors; D053001:Tool Use Behavior