Human interactions with tropical environments over the last 14,000 years at Iho Eleru, Nigeria.
iScience
; 26(3): 106153, 2023 Mar 17.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36843842
ABSTRACT
The Ihò Eléérú (or Iho Eleru) rock shelter, located in Southwest Nigeria, is the only site from which Pleistocene-age hominin fossils have been recovered in western Africa. Excavations at Iho Eleru revealed regular human occupations ranging from the Later Stone Age (LSA) to the present day. Here, we present chronometric, archaeobotanical, and paleoenvironmental findings, which include the taxonomic, taphonomic, and isotopic analyses of what is the only Pleistocene faunal assemblage documented in western Africa. Our results indicate that the local landscape surrounding Iho Eleru, although situated within a regional open-canopy biome, was forested throughout the past human occupation of the site. At a regional scale, a shift from forest- to savanna-dominated ecotonal environment occurred during a mid-Holocene warm event 6,000 years ago, with a subsequent modern reforestation of the landscape. Locally, no environmental shift was observable, placing Iho Eleru in a persistent forested "island" during the period of occupation.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
IScience
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States