When Hominins Conquered Highlands—an Acheulean Site at 3000 m a.s.l. on Mount Dendi/Ethiopia

Abstract

The recent discovery of Late Acheulean sites from Mount Dendi/Ethiopia (3270 m a.s.l.) questions the general assumption that high altitude mountain habitats (> 2500 m a.s.l.) are unfavorable for human occupation and that a late colonization of such areas has to be assumed. A total of 52 archaeological sites from all Stone Age periods were found on the slopes of the caldera enclosing the two crater lakes. Of special importance are assemblages with large bifaces that prove the presence of hominins at high altitudes already during the Early Stone Age. A key-site is Dendi A012-02, a Late Acheulean inventory with a diverse spectrum of biface morphology that includes finds in stratigraphic context.

Resources

• Vogelsang et al. 2018 Journal_of_Paleolithic_Archaeology.pdf

Bibliography

Vogelsang, R., Bubenzer, O., Kehl, M., Meyer, S., Richter, J., Zinaye, B. (2018): When Hominins Conquered Highlands—an Acheulean Site at 3000 m a.s.l. on Mount Dendi/Ethiopia. Springer – In: Journal of Paleolthic Archaeology, DOI: 10.1007/s41982-018-0015-9