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Analysis of institutional authors

Soto, MAuthor

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January 5, 2026
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Homo erectus technological behaviors during the Middle Pleistocene Transition: Engaji Nanyori, Oldupai Gorge

Publicated to: Archaeological And Anthropological Sciences. 17 (9): 183- - 2025-08-13 17(9), DOI: 10.1007/s12520-025-02285-5

Authors:

Cueva-Temprana, A; Soto, M; Akuku, P; Hernando, R; Clarke, S; Favreau, J; Magohe, S; Mohamed, A; Mwambwiga, A; Boivin, N; Petraglia, M; Mercader, J
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Affiliations

McMaster Univ, Dept Anthropol, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton - Author
Nat Hist Museum - Author
Natl Res Ctr Human Evolut, CENIEH, Paseo Sierra Atapuerca 3 - Author
Smithsonian Inst, Human Origins Program, Natl Museum Nat Hist - Author
Univ Autonoma Madrid - Author
Univ Burgos, Dept Hist Geog & Comunicac, Area Prehist - Author
Univ Calgary, Dept Anthropol & Archaeol, Calgary - Author
Univ Calgary, Dept Earth Energy & Environm, Calgary - Author
Univ Dar Es Salaam, Dept Archaeol & Heritage Studies - Author
Univ Dar es Salaam, Sch Mines & Geosci - Author
Univ Queensland, Sch Social Sci, Brisbane - Author
Univ Rovira i Virgili URV, Area Prehist - Author
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Abstract

The Acheulean technocomplex is a milestone in the evolutionary adaptability, technological development, and dispersal of Homo erectus. While the earlier phases of the Acheulean have been thoroughly investigated in Eastern Africa, reliably dated assemblages in environmental context spanning the Middle Pleistocene Transition (1.2-0.8 Ma) are extremely rare at a global scale. Engaji Nanyori (Bed III, Oldupai Gorge) is one of a few sites offering a window into Acheulean behavior during this critical period of climatic crisis and aridification. We study lithic assemblages from recent excavations of an Acheulean occupational sequence dated 1.1-0.9 Ma, revealing a stable technological system that focused on flake production by relying on Oldowan-like knapping strategies while rendering infrequent the manufacture of Large Cutting Tools. We present a continental analysis of Acheulean technologies during the Middle Pleistocene transition aimed at exploring the influence of climatic, ecological, and environmental instability on adaptability. Our results underscore the numerous similarities between the technological strategies of Engaji Nanyori and those of the penecontemporary sites, illustrating the uniform character of African Acheulean assemblages regardless of their temporal, geographical or environmental settings.
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Keywords

AcheuleanEngaji nanyoriHomo erectusLithic technologyOldupai gorge

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2025, it was in position 20/141, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Anthropology.

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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-05:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 7.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 7 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 35.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 34 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions on Wikipedia: 2 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions in news outlets: 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Australia; Canada; Germany; Tanzania; United States of America.

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