Water Flow and the Formation of Early Pleistocene Artifact Sites in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Abstract Archeologists have typically judged the effects of water flow on sites in terms of the simple dichotomy between primary and secondary (or derived) context. An assumption behind this dichotomy is that artifact assemblages (and associated bones and other remains) located in low energy settings (e.g., fine sediments, lakeshore margins) can be directly related to early human activities, while assemblages in high energy settings (e.g., coarse sediments, river banks) offer little information about behavior. In this paper criteria are examined that may prove effective in distinguishing the diverse influences potentially exerted by flowing water on artifact assemblages. These criteria are used to analyze lithic assemblages from five excavated sites in Olduvai Gorge (1.8—1.2 my). The Olduvai sites are placed on a relative scale of influence by water flow. By assessing the variable effects of moving water on archeological sites, a more informed perspective is expected about the potential behavioral content of early human sites.