The Middle Stone Age in Africa The Olorgesailie basin in the southern Kenya rift valley contains sediments dating back to 1.2 million years ago, preserving a long archaeological record of human activity and environmental conditions. Three papers present the oldest East African evidence of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and elucidate the system of technology and behavior associated with the origin of Homo sapiens. Potts et al. present evidence for the demise of Acheulean technology that preceded the MSA and describe variations in late Acheulean hominin behavior that anticipate MSA characteristics. The transition to the MSA was accompanied by turnover of large mammals and large-scale landscape change. Brooks et al. establish that ∼320,000 to 305,000 years ago, the populations in eastern Africa underwent a technological shift upon procurement of distantly sourced obsidian for toolmaking, indicating the early development of social exchange. Deino et al. provide the chronological underpinning for these discoveries. Science, this issue p. 86, p. 90, p. 95 Emergence of the Middle Stone Age, a milestone in hominin evolution, occurred in Kenya by about 320,000 to 305,000 years ago. The origin of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) marks the transition from a highly persistent mode of stone toolmaking, the Acheulean, to a period of increasing technological innovation and cultural indicators associated with the evolution of Homo sapiens. We used argon-40/argon-39 and uranium-series dating to calibrate the chronology of Acheulean and early MSA artifact–rich sedimentary deposits in the Olorgesailie basin, southern Kenya rift. We determined the age of late Acheulean tool assemblages from 615,000 to 499,000 years ago, after which a large technological and faunal transition occurred, with a definitive MSA lacking Acheulean elements beginning most likely by ~320,000 years ago, but at least by 305,000 years ago. These results establish the oldest repository of MSA artifacts in eastern Africa.

中文翻译：

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东非阿舍利到中石器时代过渡的年表

非洲的中石器时代 肯尼亚南部裂谷的奥洛格赛利盆地包含可追溯到 120 万年前的沉积物，保留了人类活动和环境条件的长期考古记录。三篇论文展示了中石器时代 (MSA) 最古老的东非证据，并阐明了与智人起源相关的技术和行为系统。波茨等人。提出了 MSA 之前的 Acheulean 技术消亡的证据，并描述了预期 MSA 特征的晚期 Acheulean 人类行为的变化。向 MSA 的过渡伴随着大型哺乳动物的更替和大规模的景观变化。布鲁克斯等人。确定大约 320,000 到 305,000 年前，东部非洲的人口在采购远距离来源的黑曜石用于工具制造后经历了技术转变，这表明社会交流的早期发展。迪诺等人。为这些发现提供按时间顺序排列的基础。科学，这个问题 p。86 页。90，第。95 中石器时代的出现是人类进化的一个里程碑，发生在大约 320,000 到 305,000 年前的肯尼亚。中石器时代 (MSA) 的起源标志着从高度持久的石器制造模式 Acheulean 过渡到与智人进化相关的技术创新和文化指标不断增加的时期。我们使用氩 40/氩 39 和铀系列测年来校准 Olorgesailie 盆地中 Acheulean 和早期 MSA 富含人工制品的沉积矿床的年代学，肯尼亚南部裂谷。我们确定了晚期 Acheulean 工具组合的年龄从 615,000 到 499,000 年前，此后发生了大规模的技术和动物群转变，最终的 MSA 缺乏 Acheulean 元素最有可能在大约 320,000 年前开始，但至少在 305,000 年前。这些结果建立了东非最古老的 MSA 文物存储库。