©2004 Sandi Rae Copeland ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PALEOANTHROPOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF VEGETATION AND WILD PLANT RESOURCES IN MODERN SAVANNA LANDSCAPES, WITH APPLICATIONS TO PLIO-PLEISTOCENE OLDUVAI GORGE, TANZANIA by SANDI RAE COPELAND A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Anthropology written under the direction of Robert J. Blumenschine and approved by ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October 2004 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Paleoanthropological Implications Of Vegetation And Wild Plant Resources In Modern Savanna Landscapes, With Applications To Plio-Pleistocene Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania by SANDI RAE COPELAND Dissertation Director: Robert J. Blumenschine The ways that early hominins used plants for food, shelter, and tools are important to our understanding of human evolution, but are elusive due to few plant fossils and few traces of plant use in the archaeological record. For this dissertation I developed and applied a methodology that uses modern vegetation to model the availability of ancient plant resources for hominins. The case study is that of lowermost Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, a paleolandscape with traces of hominin land use about 1.75 million years old. I studied the vegetation in three modern analog settings in northern Tanzania: Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater. I examined the relationships between landscape units, physiognomy, species composition, plant foods, and refuge trees. The relationships are indirect and difficult to simplify, but some patterns were apparent, for example, bushland habitats tend to have edible fruit-bearing shrubs, forests have trees with edible fleshy fruits, and marsh habitats abound with edible underground parts from sedges and Typha. Physiognomic types, plant foods, and refuge tree distribution across semi-arid savannas ii reflect the uneven distribution of plant-available water and other environmental variables like soil salinity and alkalinity. I applied the plant findings in the modern habitats to the Olduvai case study through landscape facets, which are similar in the modern habitats in terms of geomorphology, hydrology, and ecology to those reconstructed for lowermost Bed II. I created a series of maps depicting the possible distribution of plant resources (fruit, leaves, etc.) across the paleolandscape. At Olduvai, edible fruits, leaves/shoots, and refuge trees were concentrated in the alluvial fans, edible seeds/pods and underground parts were concentrated in the Eastern Lake Margin, and edible grass seeds and flowers characterized the western basin. For paleoanthropology in general, this study suggests that hominin diets differed from those of modern apes, and edible sedges and grasses may have contributed to the C4 isotopic signature that is characteristic of early hominins. This study demonstrates that modern analog vegetation studies can improve upon the simplistic vegetation reconstructions that exist for most early hominin sites, thereby contributing toward a better understanding of hominin paleoecology. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without help from many friends, colleagues, and family. My main advisor, Rob, introduced me to Tanzania and Olduvai, set me up with personnel, projects, and vehicles, and was the inspiration behind the whole thing. I cannot express enough gratitude for all of his help. Jack went well out of his way to find opportunities and funding for me and so many other students – he deserves special thanks for all of his efforts. Thanks also to Craig, who first inspired me in 1991 at Koobi Fora, and then throughout graduate school. Colleen was a latecomer on my committee, but saved me when I was drowning in vegetation data. I wouldn’t have been able to pull it all together without her help. Back in the Bay area, it was Lori Hager and John Holson who convinced me that archaeology could be a profession, and it’s because of Lori that I came to Rutgers. My time in Tanzania was the most priceless part of my graduate school experience. I thank the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) for granting me permission to work in Ngorongoro, Serengeti, and Manyara. So many people in the field made the time enjoyable, especially Amy, Joanne, Jim, Rob, and Deo. Goodluck and Augustino were superb “vegetation assistants”, and several times prevented what would have been unpleasant elephant and buffalo encounters. Grant and Peyton showed me around Serengeti and pulled me out of the mud. Joseph was a great Arusha guide and a wonderful cook. I have been fortunate to live in beautiful New Mexico while writing this dissertation. I would like to thank Brad Vierra and Los Alamos National Laboratory for providing unsuspected support and time to help me finish graduate school. iv Finally, my family has been ever so supportive through a very long and bumpy graduate school road. Mom and Marvin are always inspiring, and it’s fun to have colleagues in the family. Dad has been supportive in many ways, and I’m especially glad that he came to visit me in Tanzania. Sherri, Charles, Emily, and Matthew have provided a safe haven to which I could escape when the pressures of graduate school were overwhelming. All of my family have been patient, kind, and generous beyond the call of duty. I couldn’t have done any of this without them. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION ........................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................... xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS............................................................................................ xv CHAPTER 1. PLANTS AND EARLY HOMININS ......................................................... 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 1 Current Research at Olduvai Gorge (OLAPP) ............................................................... 2 Goals of this Thesis......................................................................................................... 4 Anthropological Relevance of Plant Foods and Arboreal Refuge.................................. 7 Plant Food Distribution............................................................................................... 8 Arboreal Refuge.......................................................................................................... 9 The Socio-economic Function of Early Archaeological Sites.................................. 10 Fossil Evidence for Early Hominin Diets..................................................................... 12 Morphological Evidence for Early Hominin Diets................................................... 13 Stable Isotopic Analyses of Early Hominin Diets .................................................... 15 Fossil Evidence for Vegetation..................................................................................... 17 Previous Modern Analog Studies of Vegetation .......................................................... 22 A New Conceptual Framework for Modern Vegetation Analog Studies..................... 29 Landscape Classification .......................................................................................... 36 Spatial and Temporal Scales..................................................................................... 38 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 41 vi CHAPTER 2. AFRICAN VEGETATION AND OLDUVAI’S LOWERMOST BED II PALEOENVIRONMENT ................................................................................................ 43 Introduction................................................................................................................... 43 Physiognomic Vegetation Patterns of Africa................................................................ 44 Floristic Zones of Africa............................................................................................... 46 Floristic Relationships and Historical Distributions..................................................... 51 Ecological Differences among Savannas...................................................................... 54 Floristic Zones Inhabited by Chimpanzees, Baboons, and Early Hominins ................ 59 Long-term Vegetation Change...................................................................................... 61 Modern Setting of Olduvai Gorge ................................................................................ 63 Paleogeography at Olduvai........................................................................................... 67 Regional Paleogeography Today .............................................................................. 67 Regional Paleogeography in Lowermost Bed II Times............................................ 69 Basin-Wide Paleogeography in Lowermost Bed II Times ....................................... 69 Paleoenvironments of the Olduvai Basin...................................................................... 73 Time encompassed