4.3 Review

Omo revisited - Evaluating the technological skills of Pliocene hominids

Journal

CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY
Volume 45, Issue 4, Pages 439-465

Publisher

UNIV CHICAGO PRESS
DOI: 10.1086/422079

Keywords

-

Categories

Ask authors/readers for more resources

The Omo archaeological sites in southern Ethiopia, dated to some 2.3 million years ago, provide some of the earliest evidence for tool use by hominids. In recent years we have witnessed the appearance of a new paradigm based on data from sites such as Cona and West Turkana; rather than as having clumsily experimented with a new technology, the early tool makers are seen as having recognized the principles of conchoidal fracture and having had the knowledge and technical skills required for knapping. The Omo sites are situated in a chronological range similar to those of Cona, Hadar, West Turkana, and Kanjera and should contribute significantly to the debate on the nature of early technologies. This paper presents the first review of the Omo lithic collections in decades and attempts to place these assemblages in context in the framework of Pliocene archaeology.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.3
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available