Showing papers on "Oldowan published in 1995"

Early Homo and associated artefacts from Asia

Abstract: THE site of Longgupo Cave was discovered in 1984 and excavated in 1985–1988 by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (Beijing) and the Chongqing National Museum (Sichuan Province). Important finds include very archaic hominid dental fragments, Gigantopithecus teeth and primitive stone tools. Palaeomagnetic analysis and the presence of Ailuropoda microta (pygmy giant panda) suggested that the hominid-bearing levels dated to the earliest Pleistocene1. In 1992, joint Chinese–American–Canadian geochronological research corroborated the age using electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis. We report here that the hominid dentition and stone tools from Longgupo Cave are comparable in age and morphology with early representives of the genus Homo (H. habilis and H. ergaster) and the Oldowan technology in East Africa. The Longgupo dentition is demonstr-ably more primitive than that seen in Asian Homo erectus. Long-gupo's diverse and well preserved Plio-Pleistocene fauna of 116 species provide a sensitive contextual base for interpreting the early arrival of the genus Homoin Asia.

Provisional Distinction between “Man the tool-maker” and “Pan the tool-maker”

Abstract: The paper focuses on the distinction between early hominids and modern non-human captive primates with particular reference to the lithic tool production, i. e. fundamental fracture patterning on the core and flake surfaces.The earliest lithic tool from West Gona site, Afar, Ethiopia shows that the flaking scars or negative flake surfaces are extended to the central part of the core. Together with another early Oldowan industries, the lithic tool characterlistic of early hominids can be summarized as a harmonious combination of large, medium, and small flake negatives on a given tool. On the contrary, lithic tools made by a captive Bonobo chimpanzee represent mostly flaked marginally around a core periphery; and detached flakes are also small.It is, therefore, possible to hypothesize that the critical argument of distinctive criterion between “Man the tool-maler” and “Pan the tool-maker” lies in the production of lithic flake and it's use, on the basis of phylogenetic relations. Additionally, intermediate character of long-bone fracture using hammer stone by captive chimpanzees, in the setting of nut-cracking and the stone flaking, is also discussed.