Human adaptation during the MIS3 in Eastern Africa: Gotera 10, a new Middle Stone Age site in southern Ethiopia

This research reports new data on the GOT10 site, located within the Gotera area, southern Ethiopia. The site is characterised by robust evidence of high-density human exploitation during the MIS3, where the presence of past human groups is scattered in an area of more than two km 2 . The Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 3 in East Africa is a period of critical technological changes within the Homo sapiens groups, probably linked to environmental conditions and climate fluctuations. From the archaeological point of view, this period is significant for the presence of a transitional phase, reflected in the progressive decrease of MSA technological traits and the increase of elements characterising the Later Stone Age (LSA).  The discovery of the GOT10 site, an open-air stratified sequence with the evidence of lithic artefacts and faunal remains in situ discovered in 2018, shed new lights on an almost unknown area, away from the Rift border, where most of the archaeological evidence is located. The presence of lithic artefacts, faunal remains in situ with evidence of combustion features in association with the archaeological record reflects the frequent occupation of the area, suggesting the hypothesis of the Gotera area as even a refugee area. This hypothesis, further to be tested, may reveal new evidence of Homo sapiens adaptation to the local environment during climatic events leading to an additional model of the resilience of our species.