Alfonso Benito Calvo, a geologist at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), has concluded the excavation campaign 2020 at Olduvai (Tanzania), where he is investigating the impact of geological processes on the formation and preservation of the archaeological record, which is key to the proper interpretation of the dynamics of occupation. This research is part of a broader project whose objective is to study biogeographical and cultural adaptations during the first intercontinental dispersions between Africa and Eurasia, using the record at Olduvai Gorge.

Two sites have been excavated during the latest campaign, FLK and JK, with approximate ages of 1.5 million years, containing numerous remains of large mammals such as elephants and hippopotamus in addition to Acheulean stone tools, manufactured and used by Homo erectus.

The work, directed by the CSIC, is co-financed by the European Research Council through an ERC-Advanced Grant, as well as by the Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte and by the Fundación Palarq. Researchers from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona and University College London are also collaborating on the project.