Simbiro III
Basic information
Sample name: Simbiro III

Sample aka: Melka Kunture

Reference: M. Mussi, E. Mendez-Quintas, D. Barboni, H. Bocherens, R. Bonnefille, G. Briatico, D. Geraads, R. T. Melis, J. Panera, L. Pioli, A. Serodio Domínguez, and S. Rubio Jara. 2023. A surge in obsidian exploitation more than 1.2 million years ago at Simbiro III (Melka Kunture, Upper Awash, Ethiopia). Nature Ecology & Evolution 7:337-346 [ER 3874]
Geography
Country: Ethiopia


Coordinate: 8.71° N, 38.57° E
Coordinate basis: estimated from map

Time interval: Early Pleistocene

Max Ma: 1.3

Min Ma: 1.21

Age basis: other

Geography comments: "on the right bank of the Simbiro stream, a seasonal tributary of the Awash River" (coordinate estimated from Extended Data Fig. 1)
"the uppermost layer was dated by sample 2005-10 to 0.878 ± 0.014 Ma" (overlying the site) but this date is a low minimum and the authors imply a minimum of 1.21 Ma based on a published date from the overlying Kella Formation; they imply a maximum of 1.3 Ma because the underlying Melka Formation "is dated from 1.7 to 1.3 Ma"

Environment
Lithology: sandstone

Taphonomic context: fluvial deposit

Archaeology: stone tools

Habitat comments: the artefacts are from level C, which consists of "obsidian artefacts and subordinate lava cobbles in a coarse sand matrix... The sedimentological characteristics suggest a flood event" deposited the sand
the fossils are primarily from levels A, B, and E and only a few are from level C; levels B and E are described as lag deposits (the former in a "sand matrix") and level A as "discontinuous beds" of unclear lithology
the site includes " a high-density deposit of 578 stone tools"
there is no discussion of how the fossils were accumulated

Methods
Life forms: primates,ungulates

Sampling methods: quarry

Sample size: 58 specimens

Years: 1973 - 1976, 2004

Sampling comments: the original excavations of the entire section from 1973 to 1976 (see Supplementary Information A) were supplemented with a "test pit" in 2004

Metadata
Sample number: 4252

Contributor: John Alroy

Enterer: John Alroy

Created: 2023-04-24 20:01:17

Modified: 2023-04-24 10:01:17

Abundance distribution
11 species
5 singletons
total count 58
extrapolated richness: 25.1
Fisher's α: 4.020
geometric series k: 0.7277
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.7526
Shannon's H: 1.7793
Good's u: 0.9138
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Damaliscus cf. lunatus3122 kg grazer
Connochaetes cf. gentryi5
Megalotragus sp.5
plus five other Alcelaphini
Pelorovis turkanensis1
Pelorovis oldowayensis1
plus 11 other Bovini
Hippotragus sp.3
questionably referred
Reduncini indet.1
plus 12 other Bovidae
Equus sp.13
"probably all" this genus
Hippopotamus cf. amphibius241107 kg grazer
Suidae indet.1
"not Phacochoerus"
Theropithecus oswaldi1