Peninj: A Research Project on Human Origins (1995-2005)

The Early Pleistocene sediments of Peninj, west of Lake Natron (Tanzania), contain a wealth of archaeological and paleontological sites formed during the emergence of the genus Homo and the extinction of the last australopithecines. Peninj has preserved tantalizing evidence that hominids, living in an open savanna, were acquiring animal resources through predation. Evidence also suggests that hominids repeatedly visited points on the landscape to conduct specific and distinct activities, such as butchering or tool manufacture. The lithic assemblage reveals complex planning in stone tool production and use, and the oldest evidence of woodworking. The results of the research described here constitute a major contribution to the study of human evolution and to reconstructing the behavior of early Homo erectus .

Table of Contents

1. Structural and Referential Principles as Applied to Research Design at Peninj (Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo and Luis Alcala)
2. The Peninj Group: Tectonics, Volcanism, and Sedimentary Paleoenvironments During the Lower Pleistocene in the Lake Natron Basin (Tanzania) (Luis Luque, Luis Alcala¡, and Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo)
3. The Peninj Group in Type Section (Maritanane): An Analysis of Landscape Evolution (Luis Luque, Luis Alcala, and Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo)
4. A Taphonomic Study of the T1 Paleosurface in Type Section (Maritanane): The ST Site Complex (Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo, Luis Alcala, and Luis Luque)
5. Isotopic Ecology and Diets of Fossil Fauna from the T-1 (Type Section, Maritanane) Paleosurface (Nikolaas J. van der Merwe)
6. Archaeological Evidence of Carcass-Processing Spots Created by Lower Pleistocene Hominids from the ST4 Site (Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo, Fernando Diez-Martin, Luis Alcala, Luis Luque, Rebeca Barba, Rafael Mora, Ignacio de la Torre, and Pastory Bushozi)
7. The Technology of the ST Site Complex (Ignacio de la Torre and Rafael Mora)
8. ST-69: An Acheulean Assemblage in the Moinik Formation of Type Section (Fernando Diez-Martin, Luis Luque, and Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo)
9. The Acheulian Sites from the South Escarpment (Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo, Jordi Serrallonga, Luis Luque, Fernando Diez-Martin, Luis Alcala, and Pastory Bushozi)
10. The Acheulian Sites from the North Escarpment (Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo, Fernando Diez-Martin, Luis Luque, Luis Alcala, and Pastory Bushozi)
11. Conclusions (Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo, Luis Alca la, and Luis Luque)

The complexity of behavior documented in Peninj is captivating, because it certainly implies active hunting, intricate knapping, and diverse land-use between 1.5 and 1.2 mya. This complexity is all the more remarkable because Dominguez-Rodrigo and colleagues present compelling links to tangible patterns in the present from those from the past. [...] The authors have developed an inspiring methodology.' (Metin I. Eren, Southern Methodist University Paleoanthropology, 2010)

The conclusions drawn from this research project are appropriate and will likely be difficult to overturn on the basis of the evidence presented. The affordable pricetag gives this monograph added value for money and ensures its accessibility to Africanist and Palaeolithic archaeologists, as well as students and more casual readers. The editors and researchers who have contributed to the Peninj research project should be commended for a substantial contribution to Early Stone Age and human evolutionary discourse, and especially for bringing Peninj back to the fore as an archaeological site of considerable importance.' (Nick Taylor Journal of African Archaeology, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2011)

This impressive monograph reports on ten years of fieldwork and analysis by a Spanish team, under the direction of Manuel Dominguez Rodrigo, in East Africa.' (Paola Villa, University of Colorado Museum Journal of Anthropological Research, 2011)