First Man and His Environment

Synopsis: The Omo palaeontological strata in the Rift Valley, north of Lake Rudolf, Ethiopia, have become the strata of reference for the pliocene and pleistocene periods in Africa. The thickness of the sedimentary deposits, their fossil-bearing density, and the availability of stratigraphic and radiometric dating have made it possible to follow the evolution of animal life for more than three million years. The fossils of the oldest-known hominids in the world have been discovered there, associated with some traces of a quartz industry. The last five minutes of the film deal with man but in this sequence the complex problem of the different theories of fossil hominid development is glossed over.
Language: English
Country: France
Medium: Film; Film. 16mm. sd. col. 43 min.
Technical information: Black-and-white / Sound
Year of production: 1975
Availability: OUT OF DISTRIBUTION
Uses: Introduction to Pliocene/Pleistocene environments in the Rift Valley; first year courses in archaeology (methods/history). Background material for studies of early man. Could also be useful for introductory courses in geology.*
Subjects: Archaeology; Geology
Keywords: Ethiopia; fossils; palaeontology

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