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Tephrostratigraphy and hominin paleoenvironments of the Hadar Formation, Afar Depression, Ethiopia
Descriptive
TypeOfResource
Text
TitleInfo
Title
Tephrostratigraphy and hominin paleoenvironments of the Hadar Formation, Afar Depression, Ethiopia
Identifier
(type = hdl)
http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10001600001.ETD.13447
Identifier
ETD_141
Identifier
(type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T3NS0V99
Language
LanguageTerm
(authority = ISO 639-3:2007)
English
Genre
(authority = marcgt)
theses
Subject
(authority = RUETD)
Topic
Anthropology
Subject
(authority = LCSH)
Geographic
Hadar Site (Ethiopia)
Abstract
The deposits of the Hadar Formation preserve a continuous record of hominin habitats and environmental change from ca. 3.45 Ma until a regional disconformity at ca. 2.9 Ma. At Hadar, strata below the disconformity are composed of fluvial sands and well-developed claystone paleosols associated with a large-scale meandering river system and several brief lacustrine intervals associated with westward transgressions of the lacustrine depocenter to the east. Detailed analysis of these deposits indicates a strong cyclicity in the fluvial system with regular intercalations of fully lacustrine, lake margin, or ephemeral floodplain lake facies. Following the disconformity, sediment preservation at Hadar is highly localized and represents a major change in depositional facies and character with strata composed primarily of cut-and-fill channel conglomerates and silt-dominated paleosols. A comprehensive tephrostratigraphic analysis of the Hadar Formation volcanics has identified at least 12 distinct vitric tephra preserved above the disconformity at Hadar until ca. 0.78 Ma. Surprisingly few of these tephra correlate to the early archaeology sites in the adjacent Gona region, which reflect the complex paleogeography of these deposits. New radiometric and paleomagnetic age estimates are in general agreement with previously published results, while previously undated tuffs help refine the chronological framework of the formation.
Analysis of the Hadar faunal assemblages indicates that a range of habitats were available to Australopithecus afarensis through time and space including open and closed woodlands, gallery forests, edaphic grasslands, and shrublands. Some of the variation observed in these faunal communities can be explained by the spatial distribution of fauna across the landscape, as well as by the depositional environments with which they are associated. Although there is no clear directional trend observed in habitats through time, the faunal assemblages indicate slightly more xeric conditions beginning around 3.2 Ma with a distinct faunal turnover at 3.0 Ma. This shift may be related to changes in global climate patterns, particularly seasonality. Tests of association between A. afarensis and other taxa, as well as the spatial distribution of A. afarensis across the paleolandscape provide little evidence to suggest a habitat preference for the early hominin despite persisting throughout a half million years of environmental and climatic shifts recorded at Hadar.
Analysis of the Hadar faunal assemblages indicates that a range of habitats were available to Australopithecus afarensis through time and space including open and closed woodlands, gallery forests, edaphic grasslands, and shrublands. Some of the variation observed in these faunal communities can be explained by the spatial distribution of fauna across the landscape, as well as by the depositional environments with which they are associated. Although there is no clear directional trend observed in habitats through time, the faunal assemblages indicate slightly more xeric conditions beginning around 3.2 Ma with a distinct faunal turnover at 3.0 Ma. This shift may be related to changes in global climate patterns, particularly seasonality. Tests of association between A. afarensis and other taxa, as well as the spatial distribution of A. afarensis across the paleolandscape provide little evidence to suggest a habitat preference for the early hominin despite persisting throughout a half million years of environmental and climatic shifts recorded at Hadar.
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vii, 601 pages
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Ph.D.
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 566-600).
Name
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Campisano
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Christopher James
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Christopher James Campisano
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Feibel
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Craig
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Craig S. Feibel
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Blumenschine
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Robert
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Robert J. Blumenschine
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Anton
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Susan
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Susan C. Anton
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Kimbel
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William
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Advisory Committee
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William H. Kimbel
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Rutgers University
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Graduate School-New Brunswick
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2007
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2007
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Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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rucore19991600001
Genre
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ETD doctoral
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Copyright protected
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Open
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Christopher Campisano
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Rutgers University. Graduate School-New Brunswick
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Non-exclusive ETD license
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I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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