Middle Stone Age foragers resided in high elevations of the glaciated Bale Mountains, Ethiopia

Ossendorf G, Groos AR, Bromm T, Tekelemariam MG, Glaser B, Lesur J, Schmidt J, Akcar N, Bekele T, Beldados A, Demissew S, Kahsay TH, Nash BP, Nauss T, Negash A, Nemomissa S, Veit H, Vogelsang R, Woldu Z, Zech W, Opgenoorth L, Miehe G (2019)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2019

Journal

Science American Association for the Advancement of Science

Book Volume: 365

Pages Range: 583-587

Journal Issue: 6453

DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw8942

Abstract

Studies of early human settlement in alpine environments provide insights into human physiological, genetic, and cultural adaptation potentials. Although Late and even Middle Pleistocene human presence has been recently documented on the Tibetan Plateau, little is known regarding the nature and context of early persistent human settlement in high elevations. Here, we report the earliest evidence of a prehistoric high-altitude residential site. Located in Africa’s largest alpine ecosystem, the repeated occupation of Fincha Habera rock shelter is dated to 47 to 31 thousand years ago. The available resources in cold and glaciated environments included the exploitation of an endemic rodent as a key food source, and this played a pivotal role in facilitating the occupation of this site by Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers.

Authors with CRIS profile

Alexander Raphael Groos

Involved external institutions

Universität zu Köln DE Germany (DE) Addis Ababa University (AAU) ET Ethiopia (ET) Universität Rostock DE Germany (DE) Philipps-Universität Marburg DE Germany (DE) University of Utah US United States (USA) (US) Universität Bern CH Switzerland (CH) Universität Bayreuth DE Germany (DE) Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) DE Germany (DE) National Center for Scientific Research / Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) FR France (FR)

How to cite

APA:

Ossendorf, G., Groos, A.R., Bromm, T., Tekelemariam, M.G., Glaser, B., Lesur, J.,... Miehe, G. (2019). Middle Stone Age foragers resided in high elevations of the glaciated Bale Mountains, Ethiopia. Science, 365(6453), 583-587. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw8942

MLA:

Ossendorf, Goetz, et al. "Middle Stone Age foragers resided in high elevations of the glaciated Bale Mountains, Ethiopia." Science 365.6453 (2019): 583-587.

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