Book contents
- African Paleoecology and Human Evolution
- African Paleoecology and Human Evolution
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Modern Africa and Overview of Late Cenozoic Paleoenvironments
- Part II Southern Africa
- Part III Eastern and Central Africa
- 15 Hominid Paleoenvironments in Tropical Africa from the Late Miocene to the Early Pleistocene
- 16 Mammal Paleoecology from the Late Early Pleistocene Sites of the Dandiero Basin (Eritrea), With Emphasis on the Suid Record
- 17 The 6-Million-Year Record of Ecological and Environmental Change at Gona, Afar Region, Ethiopia
- 18 The Hadar Formation, Afar Regional State, Ethiopia: Geology, Fauna, and Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions
- 19 Fossil Vertebrates and Paleoenvironments of the Pliocene Hadar Formation at Dikika, Ethiopia
- 20 Miocene to Pliocene Stratigraphy and Paleoecology of Galili, Ethiopia
- 21 Melka Kunture, Ethiopia: Early Pleistocene Faunas of the Ethiopian Highlands
- 22 Early Pleistocene Fauna and Paleoenvironments at Konso, Ethiopia
- 23 Paleontology and Geology of the Mursi Formation
- 24 Mammalian Diversity Patterns and Paleoecology in the Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia
- 25 Paleoecology and Paleoenvironments of Early Quaternary Faunal Assemblages from the Nachukui Formation in Kenya: Insights from the West Turkana Archeological Project
- 26 Early Hominins and Paleoecology of the Koobi Fora Formation, Lake Turkana Basin, Kenya
- 27 Early Pliocene Faunal Assemblages from the Tugen Hills, Kenya: A Comparison of Field Collection Methods and Some Implications for Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction
- 28 The Southern Chemeron Formation, Tugen Hills, Kenya: A Review and a Paleoecological Analysis of the Bovid Fauna
- 29 Fauna and Paleoenvironments of the Homa Peninsula, Western Kenya
- 30 Mammalian Fauna of the Olorgesailie Basin and Southern Kenya Rift
- 31 Context and Environments of the Lower Pleistocene Hominins of Peninj, Tanzania
- 32 Paleoecology and Vertebrate Taphonomy of DK Site (Bed I), Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
- 33 Lower Bed II Olduvai Basin, Tanzania: Wetland Sedge Taphonomy, Seasonal Pasture, and Implications for Hominin Scavenging
- 34 Paleoecology of Laetoli, Tanzania
- 35 The Paleoenvironment of the Plio-Pleistocene Chiwondo Beds of Northern Malawi
- Part IV Northern Africa
- Volume References
- Index
- Plate Section (PDF Only)
22 - Early Pleistocene Fauna and Paleoenvironments at Konso, Ethiopia
from Part III - Eastern and Central Africa
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 May 2022
- African Paleoecology and Human Evolution
- African Paleoecology and Human Evolution
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Modern Africa and Overview of Late Cenozoic Paleoenvironments
- Part II Southern Africa
- Part III Eastern and Central Africa
- 15 Hominid Paleoenvironments in Tropical Africa from the Late Miocene to the Early Pleistocene
- 16 Mammal Paleoecology from the Late Early Pleistocene Sites of the Dandiero Basin (Eritrea), With Emphasis on the Suid Record
- 17 The 6-Million-Year Record of Ecological and Environmental Change at Gona, Afar Region, Ethiopia
- 18 The Hadar Formation, Afar Regional State, Ethiopia: Geology, Fauna, and Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions
- 19 Fossil Vertebrates and Paleoenvironments of the Pliocene Hadar Formation at Dikika, Ethiopia
- 20 Miocene to Pliocene Stratigraphy and Paleoecology of Galili, Ethiopia
- 21 Melka Kunture, Ethiopia: Early Pleistocene Faunas of the Ethiopian Highlands
- 22 Early Pleistocene Fauna and Paleoenvironments at Konso, Ethiopia
- 23 Paleontology and Geology of the Mursi Formation
- 24 Mammalian Diversity Patterns and Paleoecology in the Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia
- 25 Paleoecology and Paleoenvironments of Early Quaternary Faunal Assemblages from the Nachukui Formation in Kenya: Insights from the West Turkana Archeological Project
- 26 Early Hominins and Paleoecology of the Koobi Fora Formation, Lake Turkana Basin, Kenya
- 27 Early Pliocene Faunal Assemblages from the Tugen Hills, Kenya: A Comparison of Field Collection Methods and Some Implications for Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction
- 28 The Southern Chemeron Formation, Tugen Hills, Kenya: A Review and a Paleoecological Analysis of the Bovid Fauna
- 29 Fauna and Paleoenvironments of the Homa Peninsula, Western Kenya
- 30 Mammalian Fauna of the Olorgesailie Basin and Southern Kenya Rift
- 31 Context and Environments of the Lower Pleistocene Hominins of Peninj, Tanzania
- 32 Paleoecology and Vertebrate Taphonomy of DK Site (Bed I), Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
- 33 Lower Bed II Olduvai Basin, Tanzania: Wetland Sedge Taphonomy, Seasonal Pasture, and Implications for Hominin Scavenging
- 34 Paleoecology of Laetoli, Tanzania
- 35 The Paleoenvironment of the Plio-Pleistocene Chiwondo Beds of Northern Malawi
- Part IV Northern Africa
- Volume References
- Index
- Plate Section (PDF Only)
Summary
The Konso Formation (Fm) is exposed in the southernmost part of the Main Ethiopian Rift,>400 km SSE of Addis Ababa, approximately 160–240 km northeast of the fossiliferous exposures of the northern Turkana Basin (Figure 22.1). It occurs at the southwestern part of the Ganjuli graben, ~25–40 km south of Lake Chamo, at an altitude mostly between 1150 and 1400 m. To the north, the Konso Fm basin is separated from the lower (in altitude) Lake Chamo by a ~1200–1300 m drainage divide. Currently, the Konso Fm basin drains southeast into the Segen River that then courses due west to the northern end of the Chew Bahir rift. The Konso area is separated from the southern lowlands (Weyto/Chew Bahir basin) by a mountainous terrain of 1700–2000 m. Some degree of geographic discontinuity and altitudinal difference between the Konso and the Turkana basins probably existed in the Early Pleistocene as well, judging from the differences observed in the mammalian fauna (Suwa et al., 2003). Tentatively, we interpret the Early Pleistocene Konso Fm to represent a rift-induced small depositional basin that was distinct from the Lake Chamo depression (Nagaoka et al., 2005; Katoh et al., 2014). Most likely, the Konso basin had subsided before rifting had advanced in the Lake Chamo area to recent downthrown levels. The occurrence of the high-altitude ranging rodent Tachyoryctes at the ~1.4 Ma levels of localities KGA7 and KGA12 (currently 1400 and 1340 m altitude, respectively) suggests that Early Pleistocene deposition may have occurred at a similarly high altitude. Maximum lake expansion in the Early Pleistocene Konso Fm basin is estimated to be ~8 km (NE–SW) at <1.3–1.4 Ma (Suwa et al., 2003; Nagaoka et al., 2005).
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- African Paleoecology and Human Evolution , pp. 269 - 277Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022