Technological strategies in the Lower Pleistocene at Olduvai Beds I & II

Abstract

W one takes a survey of the really grand sites of prehistoric research, none compares to Olduvai Gorge. Only a handful of sites rival Olduvai in generating lively and productive debates, and precious few contain the endless riches of data waiting to be unearthed. The grandeur of the site was matched by that of its excavator, Mary Leakey, who recognized and fulfilled its potential, and by doing so set the methodological and research paradigms for a whole generation of workers. Leakey’s (1971) authoritative monograph has served as the basis for all subsequent discussions of the Oldowan and as the key work in understanding the evolution of lithic artifacts. It was the basis for successive prolific research that addressed issues of cultural taxonomy and change, biostratigraphy, site formation processes, and land use patterns. All these studies relied to variable degrees on Leakey’s original analyses. In this volume, de la Torre and Mora take it upon themselves to re-assess Leakey’s original observations and interpretations of early stone tool manufacture through time through their own firsthand analyses of selected lithic assemblages from Beds I and II. In other words, they question whether the “bible” of Early Paleolithic lithic artifacts is, in fact, writ in stone. The volume is skimpy on theory and revolves entirely around the empirical data amassed by the authors. The first and last of its nine chapters are an introduction and synthesis, respectively, the other seven being descriptions of selected lithic assemblages. Chapter 1, which presents the chronological and contextual background for the sequence of the lower beds of Olduvai, provides the rationale for the study and the criteria according to which assemblages were included in the study. While acknowledging the contributions of earlier workers, the authors state that “[a]ll these authors have based themselves on the data provided by Leakey (1971) and have used it for conducting statistical analyses. By not examining the artifacts themselves, these scholars have attributed cultural connotations to questionable objects...” (p. 10). To remedy this situation, de la Torre and Mora opted to study assemblages in Bed I and II that Leakey herself considered to be in “primary position.” This is of utmost importance for the purposes of their study, since they perceive the significance of the work in its focus on “synchronic reconstruction of the technology and operational sequences employed in each site.” This goal sets the format for the volume. Each of the data chapters presents a detailed, monographic description of a lithic assemblage from one of seven sites (and 14 stratigraphic horizons), starting with the earliest (DK, FLK Zinj and FLK North Levels 1–6 in Bed I) through the midsection occurrences (FLK North Deinotherium in Lower Bed II, FLK North Sandy Conglomerate, EF-HR and FC West in

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