Recent Research into Oldowan Hominin Activities at Kanjera South, Western Kenya

This paper presents the initial results of excavations at Kanjera South, located on the Homa Peninsula in Western Kenya. Since 1995, our exploration of this locality has yielded a combination of artefacts and well preserved faunal remains in a sedimentary context that also allows for environmental reconstruction. Here we examine the history of exploration of Kanjera and its significance in the development of palaeoanthropological research in East Africa. We also summarise our findings from the recently discovered Oldowan site. Taphonomic analyses suggest that the archaeological layers were formed at least partially by hominin activity. Artefacts made from a wide variety of raw materials are abundant, as are animal bones. Results of our first analyses confirm that Oldowan hominins had considerable behavioural flexibility and occupied a range of habitats. Cet article présente des résultats préliminaires de nos fouilles au site de Kanjera South, situé sur la péninsule de Homa au Kenya occidental. Depuis 1995 nos explorations à cette localité ont produit une combinaison des outils lithiques et des restes fossils dans un bon état L. C. Bishop ( ) School of Biological and Earth Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, United Kingdom e-mail: [email protected] T. W. Plummer Anthropology Laboratory, Kissena Hall, Queens College, CUNY, New York, USA J. V. Ferraro Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA D. Braun Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA P. W. Ditchfield Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom