From
https://paleoanthropology.org/ojs/index.php/paleo/article/view/1140/1087
Taphonomy of a Seasonal Riverine Habitat:
The First Year of the Zambia RiftValley
Research Project
The Luangwa River in Zambia is one of the
last major undammed rivers in Africa. For
more than 700km, it flows unimpeded through
a northeast–southwest oriented valley that
is a southern extension of the Eastern
African Rift System. Major central African
river valleys would have provided
biogeographical connections for ancient
hominins and other mammalian groups,
offering dispersal corridors into and across
regions with variable environments. The
Luangwa Valley is thus an important potential
analogue for understanding ecosystems
associated with human evolution. Here, we
report the results of taphonomic
investigations of the Luangwa mammalian
community in South Luangwa National Park by
the Zambia Rift Valley Research Project
(ZRVRP). Following the skeletal survey
methods of Behrensmeyer, in 2023 the ZRVRP
initiated the first systematic taphonomy/bone
walk survey sampling a seasonal riverine
habitat in Africa. We also initiated an
isotopic investigation of modern and ancient
mammals living in South Luangwa. During our
initial season, we surveyed floodplain,
woodland, and grassland habitats and
collected both fossil and modern materials.
Preliminary results suggest that across
habitats, skeletal elements were most often
preserved from large taxa (size III or IV).
In habitats with less tree cover, skeletal
elements from size II animals were
recovered, perhaps reflecting selective
predation by smaller-bodied predators.
Across size classes and habitats, we most
often recovered dense elements that are
likely to be preserved, such as vertebral
bodies, horncores, pelves, carpals, and
tarsals. These data suggest that taphonomic
analyses of South Luangwa communities will
contribute to hypotheses about how hominins
and other mammals used different habitats
within a seasonal riverine environment
through time.
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