Across the gap: geochronological and sedimentological analyses from the late Pleistocene-Holocene sequence of Goda Buticha, southeastern Ethiopia

Tribolo, C. et al. (2017) Across the gap: geochronological and sedimentological analyses from the late Pleistocene-Holocene sequence of Goda Buticha, southeastern Ethiopia. Plos One, 12(1), e0169418. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169418) (PMID:28125597) (PMCID:PMC5268652)

Abstract

Goda Buticha is a cave site near Dire Dawa in southeastern Ethiopia that contains an archaeological sequence sampling the late Pleistocene and Holocene of the region. The sedimentary sequence displays complex cultural, chronological and sedimentological histories that seem incongruent with one another. A first set of radiocarbon ages suggested a long sedimentological gap from the end of Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 3 to the mid-Holocene. Macroscopic observations suggest that the main sedimentological change does not coincide with the chronostratigraphic hiatus. The cultural sequence shows technological continuity with a late persistence of artifacts that are usually attributed to the Middle Stone Age into the younger parts of the stratigraphic sequence, yet become increasingly associated with lithic artifacts typically related to the Later Stone Age. While not a unique case, this combination of features is unusual in the Horn of Africa. In order to evaluate the possible implications of these observations, sedimentological analyses combined with optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) were conducted. The OSL data now extend the radiocarbon chronology up to 63 ± 7 ka; they also confirm the existence of the chronological gap between 24.8 ± 2.6 ka and 7.5 ± 0.3 ka. The sedimentological analyses suggest that the origin and mode of deposition were largely similar throughout the whole sequence, although the anthropic and faunal activities increased in the younger levels. Regional climatic records are used to support the sedimentological observations and interpretations. We discuss the implications of the sedimentological and dating analyses for understanding cultural processes in the region.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research benefited from funding of the National Geographic Society (http://nationalgeographic.org/), grants # 8110-06 and 8510-08 (ZA), of the Wenner-Gren Foundation (http://www.wennergren.org/), grant # ICRG e 102, (ZA and DP), of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (http://new.huji.ac.il/en) (EH), of the French National Research Agency (http://www.agence-nationale-recherche.fr), projects # ANR-09-JCJC-0123-01 (CT), # ANR-14-CE31-0023-03, and # ANR-10-LABX-52, of the Regional Priority Program « Heritage, Resources, Governance » (HEREGO, coordinated by the Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement) (DP), the Doctoral School of the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris (France) and UMR CNRS 7194 (AL), the Smithsonian NMNH small grants, and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant (https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/marie-sklodowska-curie-actions), agreement #655459.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Martin, Dr Loic

Creator Roles

Martin, L.: Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing

• Authors: Tribolo, C., Asrat, A., Bahain, J.-J., Chapon, C., Douville, E., Fragnol, C., Hernandez, M., Hovers, E., Leplongeon, A., Martin, L., Pleurdeau, D., Pearson, O., Puaud, S., and Assefa, Z.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• Journal Name: Plos One
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• ISSN: 1932-6203
• ISSN (Online): 1932-6203