Taphonomy and Paleoichnology of Olduvai Hominid 1 (OH1), Tanzania

2017/05/03 by M. Matu, I. Crevecoeur, J.‐B. Huchet · 1 citation

paper · doi:10.1002/oa.2593

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents a case study of the Late Pleistocene skeletal remains of Olduvai Hominid 1, which were unearthed in Tanzania. Excavated in 1913, this fossil shows severe damage due to subterranean termites (Insecta: Isoptera). By combining methods to quantify and locate traces on the skeleton with the study of the different taphonomic processes that altered the deposit, we demonstrate a non‐arbitrary pattern of termite alteration of the skeletal remains. These results shed new light on the possibility to reconstruct the original position of a skeleton in a deposit and the potential to infer the space of decomposition and past funerary practices. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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