ABSTRACT

Archeologists typically have assumed that the remains they excavate in a given place occur in a tight cluster that results from hominid activity. The home base hypothesis, for example, depends on this idea. According to the home base interpretation, aggregates of stone artifacts and animal bones represent campsites that formed when hominids carried stone tools and animal bones to well-defined areas where food was consumed and social activities were focused. As a result of these activities, stone and bone refuse tended to accumulate in tight concentrations, signaling the occurrence of ancient base camps.