Book contents
- African Paleoecology and Human Evolution
- African Paleoecology and Human Evolution
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Modern Africa and Overview of Late Cenozoic Paleoenvironments
- Part II Southern Africa
- Part III Eastern and Central Africa
- 15 Hominid Paleoenvironments in Tropical Africa from the Late Miocene to the Early Pleistocene
- 16 Mammal Paleoecology from the Late Early Pleistocene Sites of the Dandiero Basin (Eritrea), With Emphasis on the Suid Record
- 17 The 6-Million-Year Record of Ecological and Environmental Change at Gona, Afar Region, Ethiopia
- 18 The Hadar Formation, Afar Regional State, Ethiopia: Geology, Fauna, and Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions
- 19 Fossil Vertebrates and Paleoenvironments of the Pliocene Hadar Formation at Dikika, Ethiopia
- 20 Miocene to Pliocene Stratigraphy and Paleoecology of Galili, Ethiopia
- 21 Melka Kunture, Ethiopia: Early Pleistocene Faunas of the Ethiopian Highlands
- 22 Early Pleistocene Fauna and Paleoenvironments at Konso, Ethiopia
- 23 Paleontology and Geology of the Mursi Formation
- 24 Mammalian Diversity Patterns and Paleoecology in the Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia
- 25 Paleoecology and Paleoenvironments of Early Quaternary Faunal Assemblages from the Nachukui Formation in Kenya: Insights from the West Turkana Archeological Project
- 26 Early Hominins and Paleoecology of the Koobi Fora Formation, Lake Turkana Basin, Kenya
- 27 Early Pliocene Faunal Assemblages from the Tugen Hills, Kenya: A Comparison of Field Collection Methods and Some Implications for Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction
- 28 The Southern Chemeron Formation, Tugen Hills, Kenya: A Review and a Paleoecological Analysis of the Bovid Fauna
- 29 Fauna and Paleoenvironments of the Homa Peninsula, Western Kenya
- 30 Mammalian Fauna of the Olorgesailie Basin and Southern Kenya Rift
- 31 Context and Environments of the Lower Pleistocene Hominins of Peninj, Tanzania
- 32 Paleoecology and Vertebrate Taphonomy of DK Site (Bed I), Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
- 33 Lower Bed II Olduvai Basin, Tanzania: Wetland Sedge Taphonomy, Seasonal Pasture, and Implications for Hominin Scavenging
- 34 Paleoecology of Laetoli, Tanzania
- 35 The Paleoenvironment of the Plio-Pleistocene Chiwondo Beds of Northern Malawi
- Part IV Northern Africa
- Volume References
- Index
- Plate Section (PDF Only)
34 - Paleoecology of Laetoli, Tanzania
from Part III - Eastern and Central Africa
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 May 2022
- African Paleoecology and Human Evolution
- African Paleoecology and Human Evolution
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Modern Africa and Overview of Late Cenozoic Paleoenvironments
- Part II Southern Africa
- Part III Eastern and Central Africa
- 15 Hominid Paleoenvironments in Tropical Africa from the Late Miocene to the Early Pleistocene
- 16 Mammal Paleoecology from the Late Early Pleistocene Sites of the Dandiero Basin (Eritrea), With Emphasis on the Suid Record
- 17 The 6-Million-Year Record of Ecological and Environmental Change at Gona, Afar Region, Ethiopia
- 18 The Hadar Formation, Afar Regional State, Ethiopia: Geology, Fauna, and Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions
- 19 Fossil Vertebrates and Paleoenvironments of the Pliocene Hadar Formation at Dikika, Ethiopia
- 20 Miocene to Pliocene Stratigraphy and Paleoecology of Galili, Ethiopia
- 21 Melka Kunture, Ethiopia: Early Pleistocene Faunas of the Ethiopian Highlands
- 22 Early Pleistocene Fauna and Paleoenvironments at Konso, Ethiopia
- 23 Paleontology and Geology of the Mursi Formation
- 24 Mammalian Diversity Patterns and Paleoecology in the Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia
- 25 Paleoecology and Paleoenvironments of Early Quaternary Faunal Assemblages from the Nachukui Formation in Kenya: Insights from the West Turkana Archeological Project
- 26 Early Hominins and Paleoecology of the Koobi Fora Formation, Lake Turkana Basin, Kenya
- 27 Early Pliocene Faunal Assemblages from the Tugen Hills, Kenya: A Comparison of Field Collection Methods and Some Implications for Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction
- 28 The Southern Chemeron Formation, Tugen Hills, Kenya: A Review and a Paleoecological Analysis of the Bovid Fauna
- 29 Fauna and Paleoenvironments of the Homa Peninsula, Western Kenya
- 30 Mammalian Fauna of the Olorgesailie Basin and Southern Kenya Rift
- 31 Context and Environments of the Lower Pleistocene Hominins of Peninj, Tanzania
- 32 Paleoecology and Vertebrate Taphonomy of DK Site (Bed I), Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
- 33 Lower Bed II Olduvai Basin, Tanzania: Wetland Sedge Taphonomy, Seasonal Pasture, and Implications for Hominin Scavenging
- 34 Paleoecology of Laetoli, Tanzania
- 35 The Paleoenvironment of the Plio-Pleistocene Chiwondo Beds of Northern Malawi
- Part IV Northern Africa
- Volume References
- Index
- Plate Section (PDF Only)
Summary
Laetoli in northern Tanzania is one of the most important paleontological and paleoanthropological sites in eastern Africa. Fossils were first discovered in the area in the 1930s, but its significance for hominin evolution was only appreciated after Mary Leakey’s research began in the 1970s (Leakey and Harris, 1987). The site has yielded fossil hominins from the Upper Laetolil Beds (referred to as ULB; dated to 3.6–3.85 Ma), Upper Ndolanya Beds (referred to as UNB; dated to 2.66 Ma), and Upper Ngaloba Beds (>200 ka). The sample of hominins from the ULB is relatively small (just over 30 specimens), but is one of the largest and geologically oldest samples of Australopithecus afarensis (Harrison, 2011a). Moreover, the material includes the holotype of Praeanthropus (Garusi I) and the lectotype of A. afarensis (L.H. 4) (Hennig, 1948; Weinert, 1950; Şenyürek, 1955; Johanson et al., 1978b; Harrison, 2011a). Laetoli is also important for preserving trails of hominin footprints (Hay and Leakey, 1982; Leakey and Harris, 1987), which were presumably made by A. afarensis. The footprint trails corroborate inferences based on the postcranial anatomy that bipedalism was an important component of the terrestrial locomotor behavior of Pliocene hominins (Leakey and Hay, 1979; Day and Wickens, 1980; White, 1980a; Charteris et al., 1981, 1982; M.D. Leakey, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1987a; Hay and Leakey, 1982; Stern and Susman, 1983; Susman et al., 1984, 1985; Tuttle, 1987, 2008; Latimer et al., 1987; White and Suwa, 1987; Tuttle et al., 1990, 1991, 1992; Latimer, 1991; Susman and Stern, 1991; McHenry, 1986, 1991, 1994; Feibel et al., 1996; Agnew and Demas, 1998; Stern, 2000; Ward, 2002; Meldrum, 2004; Schmid, 2004; Harcourt-Smith and Aiello, 2004; Sellers et al., 2005; Berge et al., 2006; Raichlen et al., 2008, 2010; Crompton et al., 2012; Harcourt-Smith, 2015).
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- African Paleoecology and Human Evolution , pp. 435 - 452Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022
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