Archaeologists have uncovered human remains dating back around 100,000 years at the Halibee site in Ethiopia’s Afar Rift, revealing a rare open-air record of Middle Stone Age life.
Led by Yonas Beyene of the French Center for Ethiopian Studies, the team found thousands of stone tools, animal bones, and sediment layers that show repeated human visits to a wooded, resource-rich floodplain long before Homo sapiens dispersed into Eurasia.
Unlike cave sites that accumulate over long periods, Halibee’s open-air setting preserved snapshots of short-term occupations, with tools and bones rapidly buried by flood sediments, offering clearer insights into individual visits.
The site’s location — once a floodplain surrounded by dense woodland — made it an attractive refuge on the savannah, drawing both humans and a wide range of animals, including monkeys, antelopes, and predators like lions.
Analysis of the stone tools shows that about 98% were made from locally available basalt, used for cutting and other tasks, while only 2% were crafted from obsidian, a material not found in the immediate area, suggesting some form of regional movement or exchange.
Among the most striking discoveries were the remains of three individuals, each telling a different story of how life and death unfolded in this ancient landscape.
The first skeleton was nearly complete and well preserved, indicating rapid burial — possibly by flooding — with no clear evidence of ritual treatment.
The second individual is represented only by a tooth and a few bone fragments, which show signs of burning, though researchers cannot determine whether this resulted from a wildfire or human activity.
The third set of remains displays clear animal damage, including bite marks and missing joints, suggesting the body may have been scavenged after death, though the exact circumstances remain uncertain.
These findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, highlight how the interplay of environment, mobility, and survival shaped early human behavior in one of Africa’s few well-preserved open-air Middle Stone Age sites.
Researchers emphasize that the sporadic nature of occupation at Halibee — unlike continuous cave habitation — allows for a more precise reconstruction of how humans interacted with their environment during brief, repeated visits.
The presence of both finely crafted cutting tools and heavier implements indicates a varied toolkit suited to different tasks, all made from stone gathered on-site or obtained through limited exchange.
By preserving not only tools and bones but also the sediments that buried them, Halibee offers a rare window into the daily rhythms and occasional dangers faced by early humans in a dynamic, shared landscape.
Why is the Halibee site considered unusual compared to other ancient sites?
Halibee is an open-air site that preserved snapshots of short-term human occupations due to rapid burial by flood sediments, unlike cave sites where long-term occupation makes it difficult to distinguish individual visits.
What does the low percentage of obsidian tools suggest about the people who visited Halibee?
The fact that only about 2% of the tools were made from obsidian, a material not found locally, suggests that the visitors either traveled to obtain it or engaged in exchange with other groups.
What do the three different sets of human remains tell us about life and death at Halibee?
The remains reflect three distinct fates: one individual was rapidly buried, possibly by flood; another shows signs of burning from an unclear source; and the third displays animal damage, indicating possible scavenging after death.