EURASIA'S OLDEST OCCUPATION AT DMANISI, GEORGIAN CAUCASUS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY OF EARLY HOMO

The site of Dmanisi, in the southern Georgian Caucasus, provides evidence for the earliest occupations of Eurasia's temperate zone, dated to 1.85-1.77 Ma. Numerous well-preserved fossils of early Homo erectus are associated with rich vertebrate faunas and thousands of lithic artifacts. Paleoenvironmental data indicate an open and semi-arid setting; but Dmanisi's strategic location in proximity to riparian and lacustrine habitats apparently supported a complex carnivore guild, including humans. Geoarchaeological investigations document numerous repeated occupations of the site, suggesting a stable, yet probably mobile population. Regional surveys and paleoenvironmental reconstructions reveal that open, yet quite rich environments prevailed in the southern Caucasus from at least 3 Ma. Well exposed sections of fossil-rich terrestrial deposits, with associated volcanics signal the potential to establish an increasingly detailed record for the ecological context of the first colonization of Eurasia. Dmanisi's archaeological record suggests that social carnivory, supported by a technology well-suited for food acquisition and processing were key elements in this earliest of human migrations.