Omo Revisited: Evaluating the Technological Skills of Pliocene Hominids

The Omo archaeological sites in southern Ethiopia, dated to some 2.3 million years ago, provide some of the earliest evidence for tool use by hominids. In recent years we have witnessed the appearance of a new paradigm based on data from sites such as Gona and West Turkana; rather than as having clumsily experimented with a new technology, the early tool makers are seen as having recognized the principles of conchoidal fracture and having had the knowledge and technical skills required for knapping. The Omo sites are situated in a chronological range similar to those of Gona, Hadar, West Turkana, and Kanjera and should contribute significantly to the debate on the nature of early technologies. This paper presents the first review of the Omo lithic collections in decades and attempts to place these assemblages in context in the framework of Pliocene archaeology.