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April 11, 2022
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Article

Oldowan Technology Amid Shifting Environments ∼2.03–1.83 Million Years Ago

Publicated to:Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 10 - 2022-03-03 10(), DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.788101

Authors: Cueva-Temprana A; Lombao D; Soto M; Itambu M; Bushozi P; Boivin N; Petraglia M; Mercader J

Affiliations

Griffith Univ, Australian Res Ctr Human Evolut, Brisbane, Qld, Australia - Author
Inst Catala Paleoecol Humana & Evolucio Social IP, Tarragona, Spain - Author
Instituto Catalán de Paleoecología Humana y Evolución Social , Universitat Rovira i Virgili - Author
Madrid Inst Adv Study, Madrid, Spain - Author
Max Planck Inst Sci Human Hist, Dept Archaeol, Jena, Germany - Author
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History - Author
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History , Griffith University , The University of Queensland , Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - Author
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History , Instituto Catalán de Paleoecología Humana y Evolución Social , University of Calgary - Author
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History , The University of Queensland , Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History , University of Calgary - Author
Smithsonian Inst, Dept Anthropol, Natl Museum Nat Hist, Washington, DC USA - Author
Univ Autonoma Madrid, Dept Prehist & Arqueol, Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Calgary, Dept Anthropol & Archaeol, Calgary, AB, Canada - Author
Univ Dar Es Salaam, Dept Archaeol & Heritage, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania - Author
Univ Queensland, Sch Social Sci, Brisbane, Qld, Australia - Author
Univ Rovira i Virgili, Area Prehist, Tarragona, Spain - Author
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid , Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies - Author
University of Dar Es Salaam - Author
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Abstract

The Oldowan represents the earliest recurrent evidence of human material culture and one of the longest-lasting forms of technology. Its appearance across the African continent amid the Plio-Pleistocene profound ecological transformations, and posterior dispersal throughout the Old World is at the foundation of hominin technological dependence. However, uncertainties exist concerning the degree to which the Oldowan constitutes an environment-driven behavioral adaptation. Moreover, it is necessary to understand how Oldowan technology varied through time in response to hominin ecological demands. In this study, we present the stone tool assemblage from Ewass Oldupa, a recently discovered archeological site that signals the earliest hominin occupation of Oldupai Gorge (formerly Olduvai) ∼2.03 Ma. At Ewass Oldupa, hominins underwent marked environmental shifts over the course of a ∼200 kyr period. In this article, we deployed an analysis that combines technological and typological descriptions with an innovative quantitative approach, the Volumetric Reconstruction Method. Our results indicate that hominins overcame major ecological challenges while relying on technological strategies that remained essentially unchanged. This highlights the Oldowan efficiency, as its basic set of technological traits was able to sustain hominins throughout multiple environments.

Keywords

artifactsbed-iearly pleistoceneenvironmental shiftsevolutiongonaoldupai gorgeolduvai gorgereductionstone tool technologystone toolstanzaniatransportEarly pleistoceneEnvironmental shiftsOldowanOldupai gorgeRaw-material selectivityStone tool technology

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2022, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.24. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 1.14 (source consulted: FECYT Feb 2024)
  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 1.5 (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-06, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 4
  • Scopus: 4
  • Google Scholar: 9

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 2025-07-06:

  • 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: 33.
  • 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: 33 (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: 64.25.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 85 (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.

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.