Isabel Díaz

TL;DR: The lithic assemblages in FLK W were likely formed by the same hominin group or taxon and, therefore, the assemblage variability registered would correspond to different expressions of the same economic structure.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a techno-economic analysis of the lithic assemblage recovered in a current excavation at this site that positively provides evidence of structured and complex technoeconomic behavior, consistent with the current and uncontested consensus about the Acheulean nature of the developed Oldowan B.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the relationship between bipolar cores and spheroids in the Olduvai Gorge and concluded that the bipolar technique is the most efficient technique to produce portable and manageable cuboid-shaped slab fragments, and bipolar cuboidshaped fragments can be modified to sub-spherical shape through intensive percussive processes.

Abstract: In this paper, we present the results of new archaeological and geological research carried out in SHK Extension, a new site excavated within the SHK fluvial complex (Bed II, Olduvai Gorge). The paper describes the stratigraphy of the site and its correlation with our excavation in SHK Main Site, showing that overbank archaeological accumulations in both areas are synchronous and form part of the same fluvial palaeo‐landscape. On the basis of the archaeo‐stratigraphical analysis performed, mainly geared towards defining high‐resolution chrono‐stratigraphical frameworks within the deposit, we report the results of a technological study of the lithic collection sorted by archaeo‐units, an assessment of the integrity of the main accumulation and an exhaustive lithic refitting programme. The archaeological sequence at SHK Extension, consisting of three archaeo‐units, preserves a high‐density patch of lithics and fossil bones (Level B2), on an overbank setting, isochronous with the SHK Main site. The high percentage of small lithic remains and bones, large number of fresh archaeological materials, and the identification of several refit sets support the integrity of the anthropogenic accumulation documented in Level B2. The main technological trait of the lithic assemblage from this level is the preservation of a qualitatively significant sample of large flakes and LCTs. The technological behaviours observed in SHKE, in the framework of the SHK complex, confirm that the complex web of inter‐assemblage variability during Bed II times operated also in very close fractions of the same palaeo‐landscape. This reinforces the idea that subtle functional parameters must be taken into account in our current assessment of the Developed Oldowan/Acheulean interface.