Hominid paleoecology at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania as indicated by antelope remains

Bed I Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania has provided abundant fauna in both paleontological and archeological contexts. These have been used to reconstruct the general paleoecological setting of the sites as well as provide more specific inferences on hominid habitat use. Previous paleoecological studies utilizing the Olduvai fauna have been taxon-based, substituting the habitat preferences of modern taxa for those of their extinct relatives. Here we investigate the relationship between bovid metapodial functional anatomy and habitat preference using taxon-free discriminant function analyses. We develop discriminant function models linking metapodial morphology to three broadly-defined habitat categories (open, intermediate, closed) using modern bovids of known ecology. The models developed for complete, proximal and distal metapodials are then applied to metapodials from four Bed I archeological localities: DK I, FLK NN I, FLK I and FLK N I. Results support the presence of the drying trend previously noted from middle to upper Bed I. They contradict taxon-based studies of the Olduvai bovids, suggesting a higher proportion of intermediate and closed habitats. The results of this study do not support theories of hominid foraging based on the exploitation of a single habitat type. The bovids from each locality exhibit a range of morphologies, suggesting that hominids at Olduvai were utilizing habitats ranging from open to closed, perhaps the full range available in the lake margin zone.