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A Multi-Proxy Analysis of Australopithecus Anamensis Paleoecology in the Omo-Turkana Basin

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A Multi-Proxy Analysis of Australopithecus Anamensis Paleoecology in the Omo-Turkana Basin A Multi-Proxy Analysis of Australopithecus anamensis Paleoecology in the Omo-Turkana Basin by Laurence Dumouchel B.Sc. in Anthropology, May 2011, University of Montreal M.Sc. in Biological Anthropology, May 2013, University of Montreal M.Phil. in Human Paleobiology, March 2016, The George Washington University A Dissertation submitted to The Faculty of The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 31, 2018 Dissertation directed by René Bobe Associate Research Professor of Anthropology Bernard A. Wood University Professor of Human Origins The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University certifies that Laurence Dumouchel has passed the Final Examination for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy as of June 6, 2018. This is the final and approved form of the dissertation. A Multi-Proxy Analysis of Australopithecus anamensis Paleoecology in the Omo-Turkana Basin Laurence Dumouchel Dissertation Research Committee: René Bobe, Associate Research Professor of Anthropology, Dissertation Co- Director Bernard A. Wood, University Professor of Human Origins, Dissertation Co- Director Jonathan G. Wynn, Program Director, National Science Foundation, Department of Earth Sciences, Committee Member W. Andrew Barr, Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Committee Member ii © Copyright 2018 by Laurence Dumouchel All rights reserved Acknowledgements I would like to thank my committee, particularly my director Dr. René Bobe who was the first to spark my interest for paleoecology research. I also want to thank my co-director Dr. Bernard Wood, who graciously stepped in as “official” dissertation director when my original advisor had to leave the George Washington University. A special thank you as well to Dr. W. Andrew Barr, who took on the role of unofficial advisor at times. I am grateful to Dr. Jonathan Wynn for welcoming me to his laboratory in Florida and overseeing my research as it progressed. I thank Dr. Mikael Fortelius and Dr. Laura Bishop for agreeing to spend time helping me improve this dissertation. I would like to thank the researchers who currently work at the localities of Allia Bay, Kanapoi and Mursi, or have worked with specimens from these localities in the past. These researchers include members of my committee as well as Dr. Fredrick Kyalo Manthi, Dr. Carol Ward, Dr. J. Michael Plavcan, Dr. Meave Leakey, Dr. Leslea Hlusko, Dr. Craig Feibel, Dr. Michelle Drapeau and Dr. Denis Geraads, amongst others. I also want to express my gratitude to Rose Nyaboke, Dr. Job Kiibi, Tomas Getachew and all the other museum curators and staff at the Nairobi National Museum, in Kenya and the National Museum of Ethiopia for their immense help and for the laughs during tea breaks. I also want to acknowledge the funding sources that supported my research: The Leakey Foundation, Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research, Explorers Club Washington Group Inc., Evolving Earth Foundation, Cosmos Club Foundation and the Lewis N. Cotlow Fund. I want to extend my appreciation to everyone who wrote me a letter of recommendation over the years, which includes members of my committee and Dr. Briana Pobiner. I am grateful to all members of the CASHP community, especially to my co-advisees and friends David Patterson, Amelia Villaseñor and Enquye Negash. I want to recognize the work of Dr. Michelle Drapeau and the members of the anthropology department at the University of Montreal, where I obtained my baccalaureate and my Master’s degree. I would not be here without the passionate teachers I encountered there. I also want to thank the members of the “ERG” Ecology Reading Group held at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and led by Dr. Kay Behrensmeyer for five years of paleoecology-centered discussions. A special thank you to my academically inclined friends and main moral support, Clare Kimock and Emeline Raguin. Thank you to my other friends, my partner, my dog Juniper and to my family, especially to my parents who taught me the importance of both education and dedication. A special mention goes to my dog Lila, who died just a few days before turning in my final thesis draft. The final “thank you” goes to inspiring mentors from my daily life and to pioneers from the disciplines of paleontology and anthropology, including Mary Anning, Jane Goodall and others who paved the way for women to pursue scientific research careers. ii Abstract of Dissertation A Multi-Proxy Analysis of Australopithecus anamensis Paleoecology in the Omo-Turkana Basin Australopithecus anamensis, possibly the earliest fully bipedal hominin, lived in eastern Africa c.4 million years ago (Ma). Three fossil localities in the Omo-Turkana Basin (Kanapoi, Allia Bay and Mursi) preserve sediments from c.4 Ma. However, the fossil evidence for A. anamensis within the Omo-Turkana Basin is not equally distributed across the three sites. The majority of the fossils within the Omo-Turkana Basin attributed to A. anamensis come from Kanapoi (c.70%), c.30% come from Allia Bay, and none come from Mursi. Preliminary paleoecological analyses suggest that there were differences in the environments of these three sites. This dissertation project tests hypotheses relating hominin abundance to habitat and answer the following overarching question: What were the paleoenvironments of Australopithecus anamensis in the Omo-Turkana Basin and how did they vary among the three known penecontemporaneous fossil localities? This project uses a multiproxy approach and combines taxonomic, stable isotopic, ecomorphological, mesowear and taphonomic data taken from faunal fossils assemblages from each locality to reconstruct the paleoenvironments. Chapter 1 introduces the localities and the research objectives. Chapter 2 is an analysis of ungulate mesowear focused on the site of Kanapoi. Chapter 3 is a multi-proxy paleoecological analysis of Bovidae from Allia Bay. Chapter 4 provides insights into humidity in the Omo-Turkana Basin around 4 Ma by studying taphonomy and the paleoecology of suids. Chapter 5 presents the overarching conclusions of the dissertation. iii This dissertation allows for a better understanding of the paleoenvironmental context of the earliest obligate biped. Analyses presented here reveal that A. anamensis was more common in relatively open and dry habitats and absent in humid and more closed settings. These conclusions are in line with A. anamensis behavioral and morphological reconstructions, including C3 hard-object feeding as well as traits characterizing the hominin lineage including an elongated body plan, the loss of hair, the ability to sweat, and obligate bipedal locomotion. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. iv Abstract of Dissertation ...................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2: Paleoecological implications of dental mesowear and hypsodonty in fossil ungulates from Kanapoi…………………………………………………………………………………..19 Chapter 3: Multi-proxy analysis of fossil Bovidae (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla) from the Middle Pliocene Allia Bay, East Turkana, Kenya and implications for Australopithecus anamensis paleoecology………………………………………………42 Chapter 4: Pliocene suids (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla) from Allia Bay and the paleoenvironments of Australopithecus anamensis in the Omo-Turkana Basin…………………………………………..……….97 Chapter 5: Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 109 References ...................................................................................................................... 141 v List of Figures Chapter 1: Introduction Figure 1: Geographical map showing the location of Mursi, Allia Bay and Kanapoi within the Omo-Turkana Basin and Africa ........................................................... 7 Figure 2: Stratigraphic sections of Kanapoi, the Southern Allia Bay Plains and Mursi (Yellow Sands) ................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2: Paleoecological implications of dental mesowear and hypsodonty in fossil ungulates from Kanapoi Figure 3: Illustration of traits used in the evaluation of mesowear and hypsodonty…. .................................................................................................................... 27 Figure 4: Distribution of mesowear scores in the Kanapoi fossils, extant eastern African bovids and other fossil localities .............................................................. 30 Figure 5: Distribution of the mesowear score and hypsodonty index for the 19 Kanapoi bovid specimens for which both measurements are possible ....................... 31 Chapter 3: Multi-proxy analysis of fossil Bovidae (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla) from the Middle Pliocene Allia Bay, East Turkana, Kenya and implications for Australopithecus anamensis paleoecology Figure 6: A selection of bovid fossils
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