TOPPP COMPARATIVE TAPHONOMIC INVESTIGATIONS AT OLDUVAI GORGE, TANZANIA

Our taphonomy investigations as part of The Olduvai Paleoanthropology and Paleoecology Project (TOPPP) include two modern bone accumulation localities, Olduvai Transect 1 (OT1), representing an open Serengeti Plain environment and Olduvai Transect 2 (OT2), a similar area with standing water in the wet season and abundant tree canopy shelter. For each transect, we’re collecting bone surface deposits each field season and statistically comparing bone distributions and landscape features. We have greater overall bone density at OT2 than OT1 and initial analyses showed a significant correlation at OT2 between bone location and tree cover. Here we present further findings demonstrating the complexity and dynamism of these landscapes, including impacts of relief and fluvial and aeolian erosion. By increasing understanding of the detailed relationship between modern bone distribution, weathering, and landscape variation, we hope to elucidate the relationships between diverse paleoecologies and archaeological material conditions and distributions.