RT Journal Article
T1 On meat eating and human evolution: A taphonomic analysis of BK4b (Upper Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania), and its bearing on hominin megafaunal consumption
A1 Domínguez Rodrigo, Manuel
A1 Bunn, Henry T.
A1 Mabulla, Audax
A1 Baquedano, Enrique
A1 Uribelarrea del Val, David
A1 Pérez González, Alfredo
A1 Gidna, Agnes Onna
A1 Yravedra Sainz De Los Terreros, José
A1 Díez Martín, Fernando
A1 Egeland, Charles Peter
A1 Barba, Rebeca
A1 Arriaza, María del Carmen
A1 Organista, Elia
A1 Ansón, Marco
A1 Uribelarrea Del Val, David
AB Recent archaeological work at BK has uncovered abundant taphonomic evidence of megafaunal exploitation by 1.34 Ma hominins. Butchery of small, medium-sized and large carcasses at the site indicate that meat consumption was a crucial adaptive element in the behavior of Homo erectus. Current debates on the role played by meat in this early stage of the evolution of the genus Homo confront cost signaling interpretations against dietary/physiological interpretations of meat eating and its relation to brain evolution. BBK (including all the archaeological levels) contains the largest amount of hominin-modified bones and butchered animals documented in the Early Pleistocene archaeological record. This evidence supports that meat consumption was tightly linked to the physiology that shaped the evolution of our genus. Hunting was an integral part of the adaptive behavior of H. erectus although megafaunal exploitation may have included more opportunistic behaviors. Site organization also suggests that this species may have exhibited a different within-site spatial organization, which differed from previous hominins, as documented at sites such as FLK Zinj. This unveils the need of new behavioral models to explain the functionality of Acheulian central-place sites.
PB Elsevier
SN 1040-6182
YR 2014
FD 2014-02-16
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/34299
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/34299
LA eng
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN)
NO Comunidad de Madrid
DS Docta Complutense
RD 10 abr 2025