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Ecology of Plio-Pleistocene Mammals in the Omo—Turkana Basin and the Emergence of Homo

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The First Humans – Origin and Early Evolution of the Genus Homo

Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

Understanding the origin of the genus Homo in Africa remains one of the central problems in paleoanthropology. Consi derable empirical evidence relevant to this issue derives from the Omo—Turkana Basin, which includes areas surrounding Lake Turkana in northern Kenya and the lower Omo River Valley in southern Ethiopia (Fig. 15.1). This basin is well known for it rich record of Late Cenozoic vertebrates (Coppens et al., 1976; Harris, 1983, 1991; Harris et al., 1988; Harris and Leakey, 2003; Leakey and Harris, 2003; Leakey and Leakey, 1978). It also includes some of the earliest specimens attributed to the genus Homo (Prat et al., 2005; Suwa et al., 1996), as well as some of the best specimens of the genus from near the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary (Leakey, 1973, 1976; Walker and Leakey, 1993; Wood, 1985, 1991).

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  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    René Bobe

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  1. René Bobe
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  2. Meave G. Leakey
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  1. Departments of Anthropology and Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA

    Frederick E. Grine

  2. Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA

    John G. Fleagle

  3. Department of Anthropology and Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA

    Richard E. Leakey

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Bobe, R., Leakey, M.G. (2009). Ecology of Plio-Pleistocene Mammals in the Omo—Turkana Basin and the Emergence of Homo. In: Grine, F.E., Fleagle, J.G., Leakey, R.E. (eds) The First Humans – Origin and Early Evolution of the Genus Homo. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9980-9_15

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