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  • Re: Oldovan tools associated with Paranthropus

    From Pandora@21:1/5 to All on Fri May 2 18:40:25 2025
    Op 02-05-2025 om 17:28 schreef erik simpson:

    Expanded geographic distribution and dietary strategies of the earliest Oldowan hominins and Paranthropus.  (Open access)

    Abstract
    The oldest Oldowan tool sites, from around 2.6 million years ago, have previously been confined to Ethiopia’s Afar Triangle. We describe sites
    at Nyayanga, Kenya, dated to 3.032 to 2.581 million years ago and expand
    this distribution by over 1300 kilometers. Furthermore, we found two hippopotamid butchery sites associated with mosaic vegetation and a C4 grazer–dominated fauna. Tool flaking proficiency was comparable with
    that of younger Oldowan assemblages, but pounding activities were more common. Tool use-wear and bone damage indicate plant and animal tissue processing. Paranthropus sp. teeth, the first from southwestern Kenya, possessed carbon isotopic values indicative of a diet rich in C4 foods.
    We argue that the earliest Oldowan was more widespread than previously
    known, used to process diverse foods including megafauna, and associated
    with Paranthropus from its onset.

    https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abo7452

    "Extraoral cutting and pounding with stone tools could have provided
    access to carcasses and within bone nutrients, and made plant and animal
    tissue easier to chew and digest, potentially allowing Paranthropus to
    expand its diet."

    Then why the massive jaws and teeth and cranial superstructures for
    muscle attachment (cranial cresting) in this taxon?

    See: https://boneclones.com/images/store-product/product-1575-main-original-1415043811.jpg

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  • From Primum Sapienti@21:1/5 to Pandora on Sun May 4 22:42:35 2025
    Pandora wrote:
    Op 02-05-2025 om 17:28 schreef erik simpson:

    Expanded geographic distribution and dietary strategies of the
    earliest Oldowan hominins and Paranthropus.  (Open access)

    Abstract
    The oldest Oldowan tool sites, from around 2.6 million years ago, have
    previously been confined to Ethiopia’s Afar Triangle. We describe
    sites at Nyayanga, Kenya, dated to 3.032 to 2.581 million years ago
    and expand this distribution by over 1300 kilometers. Furthermore, we
    found two hippopotamid butchery sites associated with mosaic
    vegetation and a C4 grazer–dominated fauna. Tool flaking proficiency
    was comparable with that of younger Oldowan assemblages, but pounding
    activities were more common. Tool use-wear and bone damage indicate
    plant and animal tissue processing. Paranthropus sp. teeth, the first
    from southwestern Kenya, possessed carbon isotopic values indicative
    of a diet rich in C4 foods. We argue that the earliest Oldowan was
    more widespread than previously known, used to process diverse foods
    including megafauna, and associated with Paranthropus from its onset.

    https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abo7452

    "Extraoral cutting and pounding with stone tools could have provided
    access to carcasses and within bone nutrients, and made plant and animal tissue easier to chew and digest, potentially allowing Paranthropus to
    expand its diet."

    Then why the massive jaws and teeth and cranial superstructures for
    muscle attachment (cranial cresting) in this taxon?


    "Paranthropus sp. teeth, the first from
    southwestern Kenya, possessed carbon isotopic
    values indicative of a diet rich in C4 foods."

    A diet in transition? Not the best source but it'll do

    https://www.newhistorian.com/2015/10/11/important-questions-answered-about-evolution-of-hominin-diet/

    "The crucial consequence of this difference is that
    C4 plants are much more suited to growing in a hot,
    dry climate..."

    "By expanding their diet to include C4 plants,
    hominins may have been able to increase the variety
    of environments in which they could survive, or
    increase their chances of survival in more
    changeable environments. "


    See: https://boneclones.com/images/store-product/product-1575-main-original-1415043811.jpg


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