Naiyena Engol 2 (West Turkana, Kenya): a Case Study on Variability in the Oldowan

International audience Recent years have seen increasing interest in the study of Oldowan technological variability, and the observed inter-assemblage diversity has been attributed to a number of causes, including raw material availability, different hominin species, and cultural and diachronic variation. This paper explores technological variability through the study of Naiyena Engol 2, an Oldowan site dated at c.1.8–1.7 Ma and located in the Nachukui Formation of West Turkana, Kenya. Site formation processes, stratigraphic and taphonomic aspects of Naiyena Engol 2, are reported and are followed by a discussion of the lithic assemblage, focusing on flaking techniques and battering activities. Our results show important diversity of flaking techniques within the same assemblage, suggesting that lithic variability is not only an inter-site phenomenon but also may be found within single Oldowan sites. Additionally, the overall low flake productivity of Naiyena Engol 2 is in sharp contrast with patterns observed in other West Turkana assemblages such as Lokalalei 2, thus also supporting the existence of significant inter-assemblage variability during the Oldowan.