Site formation processes of the early Acheulean assemblage at EF-HR (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania).

This paper investigates the formation history of the early Acheulean site of EF-HR (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania). Our study focuses on the main site (T2-Main Trench) and adjacent trenches (T12 and T9), which constitute the bulk of the archaeological assemblage recently excavated in the EF-HR area (de la Torre et al., 2018a). Site formation processes are investigated through taphonomic proxies and spatial analysis, and consider artifact features, orientation patterns, and topographic data retrieved during archaeological excavation. This enables an assessment of the impact of natural agents on the assemblage and a discussion of the relevance of water disturbance in shaping the structure of the EF-HR archaeological record. Our results indicate that fluvial action over the assemblage was significant, although it is likely that EF-HR still preserves areas marginally affected by water sorting and rearrangement. In summary, by applying a novel approach that combines a systematic analysis of artifact attributes with GIS spatial analysis of archaeological remains and topographic features, our study aims to provide a fresh look at the interaction of human and natural agents in the formation of Early Stone Age assemblages at Olduvai Gorge.

New excavations at the HWK EE site: Archaeology, paleoenvironment and site formation processes during late Oldowan times at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.

This paper reports the results of renewed fieldwork at the HWK EE site (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania). HWK EE is positioned across the boundary between Lower and Middle Bed II, a crucial interval for studying the emergence of the Acheulean at Olduvai Gorge. Our excavations at HWK EE have produced one of the largest collections of fossils and artefacts from any Oldowan site, distributed across several archaeological units and a large excavation surface in four separate trenches that can be stratigraphically correlated. Here we present the main stratigraphic and archaeological units and discuss site formation processes. Results show a great density of fossils and stone tools vertically through two stratigraphic intervals (Lemuta and Lower Augitic Sandstone) and laterally across an area of around 300 m2, and highlight the confluence of biotic and abiotic agents in the formation of the assemblage. The large size and diversity of the assemblage, as well as its good preservation, qualify HWK EE as a reference site for the study of the late Oldowan at Olduvai Gorge and elsewhere in Africa. In addition, the description of the stratigraphic and archaeological sequence of HWK EE presented in this paper constitutes the foundation for further studies on hominin behavior and paleoecology in Lower and Middle Bed II.

Neanderthals on the Lower Danube: Middle Palaeolithic evidence in the Danube Gorges of the Balkans.

The article presents evidence about the Middle Palaeolithic and Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition interval in the karst area of the Danube Gorges in the Lower Danube Basin. We review the extant data and present new evidence from two recently investigated sites found on the Serbian side of the Danube River - Tabula Traiana and Dubocka-Kozja caves. The two sites have yielded layers dating to both the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic and have been investigated by the application of modern standards of excavation and recovery along with a suite of state-of-the-art analytical procedures. The presentation focuses on micromorphological analyses of the caves' sediments, characterisation of cryptotephra, a suite of new radiometric dates (accelerator mass spectrometry and optically stimulated luminescence) as well as proteomics (zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry) and stable isotope data in discerning patterns of human occupation of these locales over the long term.