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Recurrent spring‐fed rivers in a Middle to Late Pleistocene semi‐arid grassland: Implications for environments of early humans in the Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya
Author(s) -
Beverly Emily J.,
Driese Steven G.,
Peppe Daniel J.,
Johnson Cara R.,
Michel Lauren A.,
Faith J. Tyler,
Tryon Christian A.,
Sharp Warren D.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
sedimentology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.494
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1365-3091
pISSN - 0037-0746
DOI - 10.1111/sed.12199
Subject(s) - tufa , geology , pleistocene , facies , paleontology , outcrop , glacial period , quaternary , paleoecology , structural basin , carbonate , materials science , metallurgy
The effect of changing palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment on human evolution during the Pleistocene is debated, but hampered by few East African records directly associated with archaeological sites prior to the Last Glacial Maximum. Middle to Late Pleistocene deposits on the shoreline of eastern Lake Victoria preserve abundant vertebrate fossils and Middle Stone Age arte‐facts associated with riverine tufas at the base of the deposits, which are ideal for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. New data from tufas identified on Rusinga Island and on the mainland near Karungu, Kenya are provided from outcrop, thin sections, mineralogical, stable isotopic and U‐series dating analyses. Tufa is identified in four sites: Nyamita (94·0 ± 3·3 and 111·4 ± 4·2 ka); Kisaaka, Aringo (455 ± 45 ka); and Obware. The age ranges of these tufa deposits demonstrate that spring‐fed rivers were a recurrent, variably preserved feature on the Pleistocene landscape for ca 360 kyr. Poor sorting of clastic facies from all sites indicates flashy, ephemeral discharge, but these facies are commonly associated with barrage tufas, paludal environments with δ 13 C values of ca 10‰ indicative of C 3 plants and fossil Hippopotamus, all of which indicate a perennial water source. Other tufa deposits from Nyamita, Obware and Aringo have a mixed C 3 /C 4 signature consistent with a semi‐arid C 4 grassland surrounding these spring‐fed rivers. The δ 18 O values of tufa from Nyamita are on average ca 1‰ more negative than calcite precipitated from modern rainfall in the region, suggesting greater contribution of depleted monsoonal input, similar to the Last Glacial Maximum. Microdebitage and surface‐collected artefacts indicate that early modern humans were utilizing these spring‐fed rivers. The presence of spring−fed rivers would have afforded animals a reliable water source, sustaining a diverse plant and animal community in an otherwise arid environment.