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Laetoli Revisited: Renewed Paleontological and Geological Investigations at Localities on the Eyasi Plateau in Northern Tanzania

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Paleontology and Geology of Laetoli: Human Evolution in Context

Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology Series ((VERT))

Abstract

Laetoli, one of the key paleontological and paleoanthropological localities in Africa, is renowned for the recovery of fossil remains of early hominins belonging to Australopithecus afarensis and for the remarkable trails of hominin footprints. In addition, the faunas from the Upper Laetolil Beds (3.63–3.85 Ma) and Upper Ndolanya Beds (2.66 Ma) are from time periods that are generally poorly represented at other paleontological sites in East Africa. Fossils from these stratigraphic units provide important insights into the faunal and floral diversity during the Pliocene, and they serve as reliably dated reference faunas for comparison with other Plio-Pleistocene sites in Africa. The paleoecology of Laetoli is unusual for early hominin sites in East Africa in the absence of evidence for extensive or permanent bodies of water, and in having habitats that are reconstructed as being less densely wooded. Therefore, Laetoli provides key evidence for interpreting the possible diversity of hominin habitat preferences and for understanding ecological changes in East Africa during the Pliocene. The main goal of renewed fieldwork at Laetoli, starting in 1998, was to recover additional fossil hominid specimens and to obtain more detailed contextual information on the paleontology, geology, dating, and paleoecology. The substantially expanded fossil collections have added significantly to our understanding of the systematics and paleobiology of Pliocene East African faunas. The recovery of new Australopithecus afarensis specimens from the Upper Laetolil Beds has contributed information on the morphology, variation and evolutionary status of this taxon. Fossil hominins have been recovered for the first time from the Upper Ndolanya Beds. These include the first specimen of Paranthropus aethiopicus to be recovered from outside the Turkana Basin, and one of the oldest securely dated specimens definitively attributable to this taxon.

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Acknowledgements

A special thanks to all of the dedicated and resourceful team members who participated in the expeditions to Laetoli that contributed to the recovery of the material discussed and analyzed here. This volume and its companion would not have been possible without them. I would especially like to single out the following individuals who were critical to the success of the field project: Amandus Kweka, Michael L. Mbago, Charles P. Msuya, Simon Odunga, Al Deino, Carl Swisher, Peter Ditchfield, Godwin Mollel, Lindsay McHenry, Craig Feibel, Moses Lilombero, Simon Mataro, Denise Su, Peter Andrews, and Bill Sanders. I thank the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology and the Unit of Antiquities in Dar es Salaam for permission to conduct research in Tanzania. Special thanks go to Norbert Kayombo (Director General), Paul Msemwa (Director), Amandus Kweka and all of the curators and staff at the National Museum of Tanzania in Dar es Salaam for their support and assistance.

Research at Laetoli benefited immeasurably from the advice, ­discussion, help and support of the following individuals: P. Andrews, R. Blumenschine, C. Harrison, T.S. Harrison, D. M. K. Kamamba, O. Kileo, J. Kingston, A. Kweka, K. Lasotumboyo, M. G. Leakey, S. Mataro, G. Ole Moita, C. P. Msuya, C. S. Msuya, M. Muungu, O. Mwebi, J. Pareso, C. Peters, M. Pickford, K. Reed, C. Saanane and S. Waane. Thanks to M.G. Leakey and C. Robinson for their help in locating and piecing together the Mary Leakey catalogue, and to D. Su for her extraordinary efforts in assembling the digital catalogue. Fieldwork at Laetoli was supported by grants from National Geographic Society, the Leakey Foundation, and the National Science Foundation (Grants BCS-0216683 and BCS-0309513).

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    Terry Harrison

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    Terry Harrison

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Harrison, T. (2011). Laetoli Revisited: Renewed Paleontological and Geological Investigations at Localities on the Eyasi Plateau in Northern Tanzania. In: Harrison, T. (eds) Paleontology and Geology of Laetoli: Human Evolution in Context. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9956-3_1

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