PALEOANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN ETHIOPIA

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The present study primarily focussed on paleoanthropological field research at Konso and laboratory anaylses of its geological, paleontological and archeologcial materials. More limited research was undertaken regarding the paleoanthropology of the Weyto region, and of hominid remains recently recovered from other sites in Ethiopia. Our main results regarding the Konso sites are summarized as follows. The chronostratigraphic framework of the entire study area was established, especially with detailed accounts of the stratigraphy, chronology, and sedimentology of the core research area. Over 3000 paleontological specimens were systematically collected, and the entire faunal assemblage of over 7500 mammalian remains have been curated and taxonomically evaluated. We now have a reliable characterization of the abundant Konso fauna from the circa 1.4 and 1.9 myr levels. These fauna are distinct from known time-equivalents of eastern Africa in many ways, and will be further evaluated in the near future. Seven hominid specimens were recovered. We focussed our morphological analyses on the A.boisei remains, the results of which have been published. The archeological program of the present study focussed on evaluating the time-transgressive trends in lithic technology at Konso. An early Acheulean assemblage of primitive aspect was confirmed to first occur at the 1.7 myr level, followed by extensive and more varaiable early Acheulean assemblages at 1.5 to 1.4 myr, finally leading to a more refined typical Acheulean technology at an estimated age of younger than 1.3 myr.