The Sedimentary Context of El Kherba Early Pleistocene Oldowan Site, Algeria: Sediment and Soil Micromorphology Studies
A comprehensive investigation is conducted on the archeological sediments from the Early Pleistocene site of El Kherba (Algeria), involving sediment and soil micromorphology analyses. El Kherba yielded Oldowan stone tools associated with animal fossils from three archeological levels. The studies ai...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-06-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Earth Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.893473/full |
| _version_ | 1811342450907676672 |
|---|---|
| author | Salah Abdessadok Salah Abdessadok Mohamed Sahnouni Mohamed Sahnouni Mohamed Sahnouni Zoheir Harichane Zoheir Harichane Nacim Mazouni Nacim Mazouni Razika Chelli Cheheb Yasmine Mouhoubi Saloua Chibane Alfredo Pérez-González |
| author_facet | Salah Abdessadok Salah Abdessadok Mohamed Sahnouni Mohamed Sahnouni Mohamed Sahnouni Zoheir Harichane Zoheir Harichane Nacim Mazouni Nacim Mazouni Razika Chelli Cheheb Yasmine Mouhoubi Saloua Chibane Alfredo Pérez-González |
| author_sort | Salah Abdessadok |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A comprehensive investigation is conducted on the archeological sediments from the Early Pleistocene site of El Kherba (Algeria), involving sediment and soil micromorphology analyses. El Kherba yielded Oldowan stone tools associated with animal fossils from three archeological levels. The studies aim at assessing the sedimentary processes that acted in the burial of the archeological remains and at identifying microfacies in order to gain high-resolution paleoenvironmental information pertaining to early hominin behavioral activities at the site 1.8 million years ago. The data indicate that the archeological assemblages accumulated in sediments with fine-grained particles, primarily silt and clay of massive structure, in a floodplain landscape in a temperate climate in the lower part of the stratigraphy and a gradual change from humid to arid environment in the upper part. These results are also supported by taphonomic and isotope studies carried out previously on the site. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T19:11:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8d6d085bf9c44f92b1784b780c8716f7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-6463 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T19:11:16Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Earth Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-8d6d085bf9c44f92b1784b780c8716f72022-12-22T02:33:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Earth Science2296-64632022-06-011010.3389/feart.2022.893473893473The Sedimentary Context of El Kherba Early Pleistocene Oldowan Site, Algeria: Sediment and Soil Micromorphology StudiesSalah Abdessadok0Salah Abdessadok1Mohamed Sahnouni2Mohamed Sahnouni3Mohamed Sahnouni4Zoheir Harichane5Zoheir Harichane6Nacim Mazouni7Nacim Mazouni8Razika Chelli Cheheb9Yasmine Mouhoubi10Saloua Chibane11Alfredo Pérez-González12Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP), UMR7194, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, CNRS, Université Perpignan via Domitia, Alliance Sorbonne Université, Paris, FranceCentre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques (CNRPAH), Sidi M’Hamed, AlgeriaCentro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, SpainCentre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques (CNRPAH), Sidi M’Hamed, AlgeriaAnthropology Department, Stone Age Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United StatesMusée National du Bardo, Sidi M’Hamed, AlgeriaCentre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques (CNRPAH), Sidi M’Hamed, AlgeriaCentre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques (CNRPAH), Sidi M’Hamed, AlgeriaDepartament d’Historia i Historia de Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, SpainCentre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques (CNRPAH), Sidi M’Hamed, AlgeriaCentre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques (CNRPAH), Sidi M’Hamed, AlgeriaCentre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques (CNRPAH), Sidi M’Hamed, AlgeriaIDEA (Instituto de Evolución en África), University of Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, SpainA comprehensive investigation is conducted on the archeological sediments from the Early Pleistocene site of El Kherba (Algeria), involving sediment and soil micromorphology analyses. El Kherba yielded Oldowan stone tools associated with animal fossils from three archeological levels. The studies aim at assessing the sedimentary processes that acted in the burial of the archeological remains and at identifying microfacies in order to gain high-resolution paleoenvironmental information pertaining to early hominin behavioral activities at the site 1.8 million years ago. The data indicate that the archeological assemblages accumulated in sediments with fine-grained particles, primarily silt and clay of massive structure, in a floodplain landscape in a temperate climate in the lower part of the stratigraphy and a gradual change from humid to arid environment in the upper part. These results are also supported by taphonomic and isotope studies carried out previously on the site.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.893473/fullgrain sizemicromorphologyEl KherbaOldowanEarly PleistoceneAlgeria |
| spellingShingle | Salah Abdessadok Salah Abdessadok Mohamed Sahnouni Mohamed Sahnouni Mohamed Sahnouni Zoheir Harichane Zoheir Harichane Nacim Mazouni Nacim Mazouni Razika Chelli Cheheb Yasmine Mouhoubi Saloua Chibane Alfredo Pérez-González The Sedimentary Context of El Kherba Early Pleistocene Oldowan Site, Algeria: Sediment and Soil Micromorphology Studies Frontiers in Earth Science grain size micromorphology El Kherba Oldowan Early Pleistocene Algeria |
| title | The Sedimentary Context of El Kherba Early Pleistocene Oldowan Site, Algeria: Sediment and Soil Micromorphology Studies |
| title_full | The Sedimentary Context of El Kherba Early Pleistocene Oldowan Site, Algeria: Sediment and Soil Micromorphology Studies |
| title_fullStr | The Sedimentary Context of El Kherba Early Pleistocene Oldowan Site, Algeria: Sediment and Soil Micromorphology Studies |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Sedimentary Context of El Kherba Early Pleistocene Oldowan Site, Algeria: Sediment and Soil Micromorphology Studies |
| title_short | The Sedimentary Context of El Kherba Early Pleistocene Oldowan Site, Algeria: Sediment and Soil Micromorphology Studies |
| title_sort | sedimentary context of el kherba early pleistocene oldowan site algeria sediment and soil micromorphology studies |
| topic | grain size micromorphology El Kherba Oldowan Early Pleistocene Algeria |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.893473/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT salahabdessadok thesedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT salahabdessadok thesedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT mohamedsahnouni thesedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT mohamedsahnouni thesedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT mohamedsahnouni thesedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT zoheirharichane thesedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT zoheirharichane thesedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT nacimmazouni thesedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT nacimmazouni thesedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT razikachellicheheb thesedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT yasminemouhoubi thesedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT salouachibane thesedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT alfredoperezgonzalez thesedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT salahabdessadok sedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT salahabdessadok sedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT mohamedsahnouni sedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT mohamedsahnouni sedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT mohamedsahnouni sedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT zoheirharichane sedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT zoheirharichane sedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT nacimmazouni sedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT nacimmazouni sedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT razikachellicheheb sedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT yasminemouhoubi sedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT salouachibane sedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies AT alfredoperezgonzalez sedimentarycontextofelkherbaearlypleistoceneoldowansitealgeriasedimentandsoilmicromorphologystudies |