Peninj

Distinguishing archaeology from human paleontology, mostly Spanish researchers here report on a decade of excavating and interpreting artifacts besides human remains in a region of northern Tanzania that has long been associated with the first sign of human activity, and what they reveal about human behavior before television. Some of the data has been published in various journals, and two exhibits have been mounted, but this is the first compilation of the entire findings. Their topics include tectonics, volcanism, and sedimentary paleo-environments during the Lower Pleistocene in the Lake Natron Basin, Tanzania; isotopic ecology and diets of fossil fauna from the T-1 paleosurface; the technology of the site complex; and the Acheulian sites from the south and north escarpments. Monochrome photographs appear throughout; color plates are appended; there is no index. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)