Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42784574›Full record

ArticlePloS one2026

Random walks in handaxe knapping before 1.2 million years ago in East Africa at Melka Kunture (Upper Awash, Ethiopia).

Eduardo Méndez-Quintas, Rita T Melis, Flavio Altamura, Patricia Bello-Alonso, Andrea Serodio Domínguez, Adugna Debalike Belayneh, Riccardo Salvini, Giuliano Ambrosetti, Margherita Mussi

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Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Eduardo Méndez-QuintasGrupo de Estudos de Arqueoloxía, Antigüidade e Territorio (GEAAT), University of Vigo, Facultade de Historia, Ourense, Spain.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8272-873X
Rita T MelisItalo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Rome, Italy.
Flavio AltamuraItalo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Rome, Italy.
Patricia Bello-AlonsoGrupo de Estudos de Arqueoloxía, Antigüidade e Territorio (GEAAT), University of Vigo, Facultade de Historia, Ourense, Spain.
Andrea Serodio DomínguezInter-University Graduate School of Human Evolution, University of Burgos, Burgos, Spain.
Adugna Debalike BelaynehEthiopian Heritage Authority, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Riccardo SalviniDepartment of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, Centre of Geotechnologies CGT, University of Siena, San Giovanni Valdarno, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8506-4657
Giuliano AmbrosettiDepartment of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, Centre of Geotechnologies CGT, University of Siena, San Giovanni Valdarno, Italy.
Margherita MussiItalo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Rome, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A long-standing objective in Acheulean research is defining evolutionary trends in handaxe production over time. This study investigates technological and morphological variability in the Early Acheulean by analysing three geographically and chronologically proximate assemblages (>1.2 million years ago) from Melka Kunture (Upper Awash, Ethiopia). Combined techno-typological and geometric morphometric analyses reveal significant variability in handaxe morphology, shaping strategies and raw material selection. The observed dissimilarity suggests that Acheulean handaxe manufacture did not follow a linear path of standardisation. Rather, it demonstrates considerable flexibility, reflecting hominins' responses to varying constraints and immediate needs within short timeframes.

Indexed as

HominidaeAnimalsArchaeologyBiological EvolutionEthiopiaFossilsHumans

Identifiers

PMID42784574
PMCPMC13606939

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.