Variability in Raw Material Selectivity at the Late Pliocene sites of Lokalalei, West Turkana, Kenya

The current techno-economic study of two well-preserved Late Pliocene lithic assemblages from the Nachukui Formation, in the West Turkana region in North Kenya, provides new evidence of planning and foresight in raw material procurement, and management from 2.34 Ma onwards, testified to by the selection of specific raw materials. One of the most noteworthy results ensuing from this study, carried out in combination with geological surveys, petrographic analyses and lithic assemblage analyses, is the existence of substantial differences in raw material provisioning and management between Late Pliocene assemblages, geographically and chronologically close. These differences are related to the degree of selectivity for raw material sizes and morphologies as well as to the way they were processed, rather than to variations in resource availability.