stone age institute publication series Series Editors Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth Stone Age Institute Gosport, Indiana and Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana Number 1. THE OLDOWAN: Case Studies into the Earliest Stone Age Nicholas Toth and Kathy Schick, editors Number 2. BREATHING LIFE INTO FOSSILS: Taphonomic Studies in Honor of C.K. (Bob) Brain Travis Rayne Pickering, Kathy Schick, and Nicholas Toth, editors Number 3. THE CUTTING EDGE: New Approaches to the Archaeology of Human Origins Kathy Schick, and Nicholas Toth, editors Number 4. THE HUMAN BRAIN EVOLVING: Paleoneurological Studies in Honor of Ralph L. Holloway Douglas Broadfield, Michael Yuan, Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth, editors THE STONE AGE INSTITUTE PRESS PUBLICATION SERIES COMMENT BY SERIES EDITORS The Stone Age Institute Press has been established to publish critical research into the archae- ology of human origins. The Stone Age Institute is a federally-approved non-profi t organization whose mission is investigating and understanding the origins and development of human technol- ogy and culture throughout the course of human evolution. The ultimate goal of these undertakings is to provide a better understanding of the human species and our place in nature. An unbroken line of technology and culture extends from our present day back in time at least two-and-a-half million years. The earliest stone tool-makers were upright-walking, small-brained ape-men, and from these primordial origins, the human lineage embarked upon a pathway that is extraordinary and unique in the history of life. This evolutionary pathway has shaped our bodies, our brains, and our way of life, and has had an ever-accelerating impact on the earth and its other organisms. Well over 99% of the time span of this technological evolution occurred in the Stone Age, so it is no exaggeration to say that modern humans have evolved as Stone Age creatures. The Stone Age Institute’s goal is to provide a haven for this research, providing support for scholars from around the world conducting cutting-edge human origins research. Our research team and associates include professional research scientists in long-term positions, postdoctoral research fellows, and visiting scholars. Fieldwork, collecting primary data from important archae- ological sites, as well as laboratory studies and experimental archaeological research are all critical components of our operation. Other vital functions of the Institute include organizing workshops - convening top scientists to discuss and work together on special topics–and organizing and spon- soring conferences and lectures to disseminate information to a broader, general public. An equally critical component of our operations is the publication of research results in journal articles and books. Breathing Life into Fossils: Taphonomic Studies in Honor of C.K. (Bob) Brain is the second volume in a new publication series initiated by the Stone Age Institute Press. This volume emanates from a Stone Age Institute conference in honor of the lifework of C.K. (Bob) Brain in natural history and taphonomy. This meeting convened researchers at the Institute for two days in April of 2004 in a workshop conference on taphonomic studies and their impact on human origins research. The Stone Age Institute Press is devoted to the publication of seminal research in the form of high-quality, data-rich volumes, including information and interpretations from origi- nal research as well as critical syntheses of research results. For more information on the Stone Age Institute, including its research programs, lectures, conferences, and publications, we invite you to visit our web site at www.stoneageinstitute.org. Nicholas Toth and Kathy Schick Co-Directors, Stone Age Institute Series Editors, Stone Age Institute Press Publication Series STONE AGE INSTITUTE PUBLICATION SERIES NUMBER 2 Series Editors Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth breathing life into fossils: Taphonomic Studies in Honor of C.K. (Bob) Brain Editors Travis Rayne Pickering University of Wisconsin, Madison Kathy Schick Indiana University Nicholas Toth Indiana University Stone Age Institute Press · www.stoneageinstitute.org 1392 W. Dittemore Road · Gosport, IN 47433 COVER CAPTIONS AND CREDITS. Front cover, clockwise from top left. Top left: Artist’s reconstruction of the depositional context of Swartkrans Cave, South Africa, with a leopard consuming a hominid carcass in a tree outside the cave: bones would subsequently wash into the cave and be incorporated in the breccia deposits. © 1985 Jay H. Matternes. Top right: The Swartkrans cave deposits in South Africa, where excavations have yielded many hominids and other animal fossils. ©1985 David L. Brill. Bottom right: Reconstruction of a hominid being carried by a leopard. © 1985 Jay H. Matternes. Bottom left: Photograph of a leopard mandible and the skull cap of a hominid from Swartkrans, with the leopard’s canines juxtaposed with puncture marks likely produced by a leopard carrying its hominid prey. © 1985 David L. Brill. Center: Photo of Bob Brain holding a cast of a spotted hyena skull signed by all of the taphonomy conference participants. © 2004 Kathy Schick, Stone Age Institute. Back cover credits. Top: © 2004 Stone Age Institute. Bottom left: © 2004 Kathy Schick, Stone Age Institute. Bottom right: © 2005 Greg Murphy. Published by the Stone Age Institute. ISBN-10: 0-9792-2761-5 ISBN-13: 978-0-9792-2761-5 Copyright © 2007, Stone Age Institute Press. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher. CONTRIBUTORS Peter Andrews ([email protected]) Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom Anna K. Behrensmeyer ([email protected]) Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., USA Robert Blumenschine ([email protected]) Center for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Anthropology, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA Bob Brain ([email protected]) Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, South Africa Maia Bukshianidze Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia Henry Bunn ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA Salvatore Capaldo ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA Ron Clarke ([email protected]) School of Anatomical Sciences and Institute for Human Evolution, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa Naomi E. Cleghorn, ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo ([email protected]) Departmento de Prehistoria, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain Charles Egeland ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA Reid Ferring Department of Geography, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, USA Tom Gehling ([email protected]) El Cerrito, California, USA Gary Haynes ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, Nevada, USA Gail Krovitz ([email protected]) eCollege, Denver, Colorado, USA Kathleen Kuman ([email protected]) School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies and Institute for Human Evolution, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa David Lordkipanidze ([email protected]) Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia Curtis W. Marean ([email protected]) Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA Jackson Njau ([email protected]) National Natural History Museum, National Museums of Tanzania, Arusha, Tanzania Charles Peters ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology and Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA Travis Pickering ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA Briana Pobiner ([email protected]) Human Origins Program, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., USA Kathy Schick ([email protected]) Stone Age Institute and Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA Pat Shipman ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, USA Martha Tappen ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Francis Thackeray (thack@nfi .org.za) Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, South Africa Nicholas Toth ([email protected]) Stone Age Institute and Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA Abesalom Vekua, Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia Alan Walker ([email protected]) Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, USA Tim White ([email protected]) Human Evolution Research Center and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The editors would like to thank a number of organizations and offi ces for their support of the conference that led to this volume. These include the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthro- pological Research, the Stone Age Institute and Friends of CRAFT, and the following offi ces of Indiana University: Vice President for Research and the University Graduate School, Offi ce of