An UAV-based orthomosaic of the Middle-Pleistocene archaeological site of Isimila, Tanzania. This... more An UAV-based orthomosaic of the Middle-Pleistocene archaeological site of Isimila, Tanzania. This version is for the expressed purpose of fostering collaboration of research at the site. GPS coordinates of excavation trenches, surface finds, and other points of interest submitted by any researchers working at the site will be plotted on this regularly updated map. <br> <br> Instructions for submission and contact are available here:<br> <br> https://docs.google.com/document/d/12O3TN7-NuqaszEsiHJ7YUBSztQb1hPfOmaFDy8Zw8BU/edit?usp=sharing
Isimila is a Middle Pleistocene archaeological site located in southern Tanzania. The site is kno... more Isimila is a Middle Pleistocene archaeological site located in southern Tanzania. The site is known for large surface assemblages of later Acheulean lithics such as hand axes, cleavers, scrapers, and cores. While hominin remains have yet to be discovered at the site, Isimila offers a unique window into Middle Pleistocene Homo behavior. Although Isimila has been studied extensively, the last published map of the site and surrounding area was made available in the 1970s. Here, we present an updated high-resolution map of Isimila. Data for the map were collected during aerial survey with an uncrewed/unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). With this map, we identify new archaeological localities, erosional patterns, newly exposed geological features, and changes in site topography. The map reveals patterns of stone tool and raw material distribution that may support previous hypotheses of raw material transport into the area by hominins. This open-access map establishes a baseline for tracking c...
Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology Series
The Upper Laetolil Beds at Laetoli in northern Tanzania contain abundant fossil mammalian remains... more The Upper Laetolil Beds at Laetoli in northern Tanzania contain abundant fossil mammalian remains that may help elucidate Pliocene environments and enhance our understanding of the morphological and behavioral adaptations of the Laetoli hominins. The Laetoli vertebrate fossil fauna is also of great interest because its taxonomic composition, especially in the family Bovidae, differs from that of other East African
Hominin footprints are rare in eastern Africa and known from the Laetoli (Tanzania), Ileret (Keny... more Hominin footprints are rare in eastern Africa and known from the Laetoli (Tanzania), Ileret (Kenya), and Melka Kunture (Ethiopia) areas. The prints were made by Australopithecus afarensis, Homo erectus, and Homo heidelbergensis. Their study is an important source of information regarding hominin body size, anatomy, positional behavior, and locomotion biomechanics. The most-known and best-studied examples are the 3.66-Ma Australopithecus afarensis footprint trackways at Laetoli, which represent the oldest known record of hominin bipedalism in Africa. The footprints occur in a volcanic tuff sequence, which was originally deposited as melilite nephelinite ash. Recent excavations show that this valuable paleoanthropological site is slowly disappearing as a result of surface diagenetic processes. Preservation of the footprints is essential and urgently needed.
Bipedal trackways discovered in 1978 at Laetoli site G, Tanzania and dated to 3.66 million years ... more Bipedal trackways discovered in 1978 at Laetoli site G, Tanzania and dated to 3.66 million years ago are widely accepted as the oldest unequivocal evidence of obligate bipedalism in the human lineage1–3. Another trackway discovered two years earlier at nearby site A was partially excavated and attributed to a hominin, but curious affinities with bears (ursids) marginalized its importance to the paleoanthropological community, and the location of these footprints fell into obscurity3–5. In 2019, we located, excavated and cleaned the site A trackway, producing a digital archive using 3D photogrammetry and laser scanning. Here we compare the footprints at this site with those of American black bears, chimpanzees and humans, and we show that they resemble those of hominins more than ursids. In fact, the narrow step width corroborates the original interpretation of a small, cross-stepping bipedal hominin. However, the inferred foot proportions, gait parameters and 3D morphologies of foot...
Establishing a scientific narrative of human origins requires a better understanding of the geolo... more Establishing a scientific narrative of human origins requires a better understanding of the geological processes that facilitated the fossilization and recovery of hominins and associated fauna that inform us about our human ancestors’ past environments. Paleoanthropologists rely on geologists, particularly volcanologists, geochemists, sedimentologists, and geochronologists, to help them tease out the depositional and preservation history of fossils. Here, we provide an overview of how geology has contributed to major paleoanthropological discoveries from select Plio–Pleistocene localities in eastern Africa, Tanzania (Oldupai* (Olduvai) Gorge and Laetoli), Kenya (Allia Bay, Kanapoi, and Koobi Fora), and Ethiopia (Hadar, Woranso-Mille, and Dikika) over the past 75 years of research.
Isimila is a Middle Pleistocene archaeological site located in southern Tanzania. The site is kno... more Isimila is a Middle Pleistocene archaeological site located in southern Tanzania. The site is known for large surface assemblages of later Acheulean lithics such as hand axes, cleavers, scrapers and cores. While hominin remains have yet to be discovered at the site, Isimila offers a unique window into Middle Pleistocene Homo behaviour. Although Isimila has been studied extensively, the last published map of the site and surrounding area was made available in the 1970s. Here, we present an updated high-resolution map of Isimila. Data for the map were collected during aerial survey with an uncrewed(unmanned) aerial vehicle. With this map, we identified new archaeological localities, erosional patterns, newly exposed geological features and changes in site topography. The map demonstrates patterns of stone tool and raw material distribution that may support previous hypotheses of short-distance raw material transport into the area by hominins. This open-access map establishes a baselin...
The species Homo naledi was recently named from specimens recovered from the Dinaledi Chamber of ... more The species Homo naledi was recently named from specimens recovered from the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system in South Africa. This large skeletal sample lacks associated faunal material and currently does not have a known chronological context. In this paper, we present comprehensive descriptions and metric comparisons of the recovered cranial and mandibular material. We describe 41 elements attributed to Dinaledi Hominin (DH1-DH5) individuals and paratype U.W. 101-377, and 32 additional cranial fragments. The H. naledi material was compared to Plio-Pleistocene fossil hominins using qualitative and quantitative analyses including over 100 linear measurements and ratios. We find that the Dinaledi cranial sample represents an anatomically homogeneous population that expands the range of morphological variation attributable to the genus Homo. Despite a relatively small cranial capacity that is within the range of australopiths and a few specimens of early Homo, H. naledi shares cranial characters with species across the genus Homo, including Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, Homo erectus, and Middle Pleistocene Homo. These include aspects of cranial form, facial morphology, and mandibular anatomy. However, the skull of H. naledi is readily distinguishable from existing species of Homo in both qualitative and quantitative assessments. Since H. naledi is currently undated, we discuss the evolutionary implications of its cranial morphology in a range of chronological frameworks. Finally, we designate a sixth Dinaledi Hominin (DH6) individual based on a juvenile mandible.
An UAV-based orthomosaic of the Middle-Pleistocene archaeological site of Isimila, Tanzania. This... more An UAV-based orthomosaic of the Middle-Pleistocene archaeological site of Isimila, Tanzania. This version is for the expressed purpose of fostering collaboration of research at the site. GPS coordinates of excavation trenches, surface finds, and other points of interest submitted by any researchers working at the site will be plotted on this regularly updated map. <br> <br> Instructions for submission and contact are available here:<br> <br> https://docs.google.com/document/d/12O3TN7-NuqaszEsiHJ7YUBSztQb1hPfOmaFDy8Zw8BU/edit?usp=sharing
Isimila is a Middle Pleistocene archaeological site located in southern Tanzania. The site is kno... more Isimila is a Middle Pleistocene archaeological site located in southern Tanzania. The site is known for large surface assemblages of later Acheulean lithics such as hand axes, cleavers, scrapers, and cores. While hominin remains have yet to be discovered at the site, Isimila offers a unique window into Middle Pleistocene Homo behavior. Although Isimila has been studied extensively, the last published map of the site and surrounding area was made available in the 1970s. Here, we present an updated high-resolution map of Isimila. Data for the map were collected during aerial survey with an uncrewed/unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). With this map, we identify new archaeological localities, erosional patterns, newly exposed geological features, and changes in site topography. The map reveals patterns of stone tool and raw material distribution that may support previous hypotheses of raw material transport into the area by hominins. This open-access map establishes a baseline for tracking c...
Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology Series
The Upper Laetolil Beds at Laetoli in northern Tanzania contain abundant fossil mammalian remains... more The Upper Laetolil Beds at Laetoli in northern Tanzania contain abundant fossil mammalian remains that may help elucidate Pliocene environments and enhance our understanding of the morphological and behavioral adaptations of the Laetoli hominins. The Laetoli vertebrate fossil fauna is also of great interest because its taxonomic composition, especially in the family Bovidae, differs from that of other East African
Hominin footprints are rare in eastern Africa and known from the Laetoli (Tanzania), Ileret (Keny... more Hominin footprints are rare in eastern Africa and known from the Laetoli (Tanzania), Ileret (Kenya), and Melka Kunture (Ethiopia) areas. The prints were made by Australopithecus afarensis, Homo erectus, and Homo heidelbergensis. Their study is an important source of information regarding hominin body size, anatomy, positional behavior, and locomotion biomechanics. The most-known and best-studied examples are the 3.66-Ma Australopithecus afarensis footprint trackways at Laetoli, which represent the oldest known record of hominin bipedalism in Africa. The footprints occur in a volcanic tuff sequence, which was originally deposited as melilite nephelinite ash. Recent excavations show that this valuable paleoanthropological site is slowly disappearing as a result of surface diagenetic processes. Preservation of the footprints is essential and urgently needed.
Bipedal trackways discovered in 1978 at Laetoli site G, Tanzania and dated to 3.66 million years ... more Bipedal trackways discovered in 1978 at Laetoli site G, Tanzania and dated to 3.66 million years ago are widely accepted as the oldest unequivocal evidence of obligate bipedalism in the human lineage1–3. Another trackway discovered two years earlier at nearby site A was partially excavated and attributed to a hominin, but curious affinities with bears (ursids) marginalized its importance to the paleoanthropological community, and the location of these footprints fell into obscurity3–5. In 2019, we located, excavated and cleaned the site A trackway, producing a digital archive using 3D photogrammetry and laser scanning. Here we compare the footprints at this site with those of American black bears, chimpanzees and humans, and we show that they resemble those of hominins more than ursids. In fact, the narrow step width corroborates the original interpretation of a small, cross-stepping bipedal hominin. However, the inferred foot proportions, gait parameters and 3D morphologies of foot...
Establishing a scientific narrative of human origins requires a better understanding of the geolo... more Establishing a scientific narrative of human origins requires a better understanding of the geological processes that facilitated the fossilization and recovery of hominins and associated fauna that inform us about our human ancestors’ past environments. Paleoanthropologists rely on geologists, particularly volcanologists, geochemists, sedimentologists, and geochronologists, to help them tease out the depositional and preservation history of fossils. Here, we provide an overview of how geology has contributed to major paleoanthropological discoveries from select Plio–Pleistocene localities in eastern Africa, Tanzania (Oldupai* (Olduvai) Gorge and Laetoli), Kenya (Allia Bay, Kanapoi, and Koobi Fora), and Ethiopia (Hadar, Woranso-Mille, and Dikika) over the past 75 years of research.
Isimila is a Middle Pleistocene archaeological site located in southern Tanzania. The site is kno... more Isimila is a Middle Pleistocene archaeological site located in southern Tanzania. The site is known for large surface assemblages of later Acheulean lithics such as hand axes, cleavers, scrapers and cores. While hominin remains have yet to be discovered at the site, Isimila offers a unique window into Middle Pleistocene Homo behaviour. Although Isimila has been studied extensively, the last published map of the site and surrounding area was made available in the 1970s. Here, we present an updated high-resolution map of Isimila. Data for the map were collected during aerial survey with an uncrewed(unmanned) aerial vehicle. With this map, we identified new archaeological localities, erosional patterns, newly exposed geological features and changes in site topography. The map demonstrates patterns of stone tool and raw material distribution that may support previous hypotheses of short-distance raw material transport into the area by hominins. This open-access map establishes a baselin...
The species Homo naledi was recently named from specimens recovered from the Dinaledi Chamber of ... more The species Homo naledi was recently named from specimens recovered from the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system in South Africa. This large skeletal sample lacks associated faunal material and currently does not have a known chronological context. In this paper, we present comprehensive descriptions and metric comparisons of the recovered cranial and mandibular material. We describe 41 elements attributed to Dinaledi Hominin (DH1-DH5) individuals and paratype U.W. 101-377, and 32 additional cranial fragments. The H. naledi material was compared to Plio-Pleistocene fossil hominins using qualitative and quantitative analyses including over 100 linear measurements and ratios. We find that the Dinaledi cranial sample represents an anatomically homogeneous population that expands the range of morphological variation attributable to the genus Homo. Despite a relatively small cranial capacity that is within the range of australopiths and a few specimens of early Homo, H. naledi shares cranial characters with species across the genus Homo, including Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, Homo erectus, and Middle Pleistocene Homo. These include aspects of cranial form, facial morphology, and mandibular anatomy. However, the skull of H. naledi is readily distinguishable from existing species of Homo in both qualitative and quantitative assessments. Since H. naledi is currently undated, we discuss the evolutionary implications of its cranial morphology in a range of chronological frameworks. Finally, we designate a sixth Dinaledi Hominin (DH6) individual based on a juvenile mandible.
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Papers by Charles Musiba