Invited review The paleoecology of the Upper Laetolil Beds, Laetoli Tanzania: A review and synthesis Denise F. Su a,⇑ , Terry Harrison b a Department of Paleobotany and Paleoecology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH, USA b Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, NY, USA article info Article history: Received 17 March 2014 Received in revised form 27 September 2014 Accepted 29 September 2014 Available online 13 October 2014 Keywords: Australopithecus afarensis Laetoli Paleoenvironment abstract The Upper Laetolil Beds of Laetoli, Tanzania (3.6–3.85 Ma) has yielded a large and varied faunal assem- blage, including specimens of Australopithecus afarensis. In contrast with contemporaneous eastern Afri- can A. afarensis sites in Kenya and Ethiopia, there is no indication of permanent rivers or other large bodies of water at the site, and the apparently drier environment supported a quite different faunal and floral community as reconstructed from the fossil record. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the paleoecology at Laetoli can be illuminating for questions of habitat access and use by A. afarensis, as well as its behavioral flexibility. This paper reviews the substantial body of evidence accumulated that allows for a detailed reconstruction of the Pliocene paleoenvironment of Laetoli. A synthesis of the different lines of evidence suggests that the Upper Laetolil Beds was a mosaic of grassland–shrubland–woodland hab- itats with extensive woody vegetation in the form of shrubs, thickets and bush, as well as a significant presence of dense woodland habitats along seasonal river courses and around permanent springs. The vegetation during the Pliocene at Laetoli was likely impacted by the strongly seasonal availability of water and the volcanic ash falls that periodically blanketed the area. A comparison with the paleoenvi- ronments of other A. afarensis sites and a review of its inferred dietary behavior suggest that A. afarensis was an ecological generalist that was able to consume a wide variety of dietary resources in mosaic hab- itats, although their differential abundances at different sites may be indicative of specific ecological requirements that impact their success in particular environments. Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 406 2. Brief history of research at Laetoli ....................................................................................... 406 3. Geographical and geological context of the Upper Laetolil Beds................................................................ 407 4. Fauna-based ecological proxies .......................................................................................... 409 4.1. Indicator species ................................................................................................ 409 4.2. Dietary and locomotor adaptations ................................................................................. 412 5. Paleobotanical indicators ............................................................................................... 413 6. Paleoenvironment of the Upper Laetolil Beds .............................................................................. 414 7. Australopithecus afarensis and its environment.............................................................................. 414 7.1. Pliocene climate and Au. afarensis habitats........................................................................... 414 7.2. Implications for Au. afarensis habitat and diet ........................................................................ 416 8. Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 416 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... 416 References .......................................................................................................... 416 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2014.09.019 1464-343X/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 216 231 4600x3226. E-mail address: dsu@cmnh.org (D.F. Su). Journal of African Earth Sciences 101 (2015) 405–419 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of African Earth Sciences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jafrearsci