Macromammalian faunas, biochronology and palaeoecology of the early Pleistocene Main Quarry hominin-bearing deposits of the Drimolen Palaeocave System, South Africa
- Authors: Adams, Justin, W. , Rovinsky, Douglass, S. , Herries, Andy I.R. , Menter, Colin, G.
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Chasmaporthetes , Paranthropus , Megantereon
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/92124 , uj:20191 , Citation: Adams, J.W. et al. 2016. Macromammalian faunas, biochronology and palaeoecology of the early Pleistocene Main Quarry hominin-bearing deposits of the Drimolen Palaeocave System, South Africa.
- Description: Abstract: The Drimolen Palaeocave System Main Quarry deposits (DMQ) are some of the most prolific hominin and primate-bearing deposits in the Fossil Hominids of South Africa UNESCO World Heritage Site. Discovered in the 1990s, excavations into the DMQ have yielded a demographically diverse sample of Paranthropus robustus (including DNH 7, the most complete cranium of the species recovered to date), early Homo, Papio hamadryas robinsoni and Cercopithecoides williamsi. Alongside the hominin and primate sample is a diverse macromammalian assemblage, but prior publications have only provided a provisional species list and an analysis of the carnivores recovered prior to 2008. Here we present the first description and analysis of the non-primate macromammalian faunas from the DMQ, including all 826 taxonomically identifiable specimens catalogued from over two decades of excavation. We also provide a biochronological interpretation of the DMQ deposits and an initial discussion of local palaeoecology based on taxon representation.The current DMQ assemblage consists of the remains of minimally 147 individuals from 9 Orders and 14 Families of mammals. The carnivore assemblage described here is even more diverse than established in prior publications, including the identification of Megantereon whitei, Lycyaenops silberbergi, and first evidence for the occurrence of Dinofelis cf. barlowi and Dinofelis aff. piveteaui within a single South African site deposit. The cetartiodactyl assemblage is dominated by bovids, with the specimen composition unique in the high recovery of horn cores and dominance of Antidorcas recki remains. Other cetartiodactyl and perissodactyl taxa are represented by few specimens, as are Hystrix and Procavia; the latter somewhat surprisingly so given their common occurrence at penecontemporaneous deposits in the region. Equally unusual (particularly given the size of the sample) is the identification of single specimens of giraffoid, elephantid and aardvark (Orycteropus cf. afer) that are rarely recovered from regional site deposits. Despite the diversity within the DMQ macromammalian faunas, there are few habitat- or biochronologically-sensitive species that provide specific ecologic or age boundaries for the deposits...
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Orbital precession modulates interannual rainfall variability, as recorded in an Early Pleistocene speleothem
- Authors: Hopley, Philip J. , Weedon, Graham P. , Brierley, Chris M. , Thrasivoulou, Christopher , Herries, Andy I.R. , Dinckal, Ada , Richards, David A. , Nita, Dan C. , Parrish, Randall R. , Roberts, Nick M. W. , Sahy, Diana , Smith, Claire L.
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/273336 , uj:29117 , Citation: Hopley, P.J. et al. 2018. Orbital precession modulates interannual rainfall variability, as recorded in an Early Pleistocene speleothem. GEOLOGY, August 2018; v. 46; no. 8; p. 731–734 | GSA Data Repository item 2018267 | https://doi.org/10.1130/G45019.1
- Description: Abstract: Interannual variability of African rainfall impacts local and global communities, but its past behavior and response in future climate projections are poorly understood. This is primarily due to short instrumental records and a lack of long high-resolution palaeoclimate proxy records. Here we present an annually resolved 91,000 year Early Pleistocene record of hydroclimate from the early homininbearing Makapansgat Valley, South Africa. Changes in speleothem annual band thickness are dominated by precession over four consecutive orbital cycles with strong millennial-scale periodicity. The frequency of interannual variability (2.0–6.5 yr oscillations) does not change systematically, yet its amplitude is modulated by the orbital forcing. These long-term characteristics of interannual variability are reproduced with transient climate model simulations of water balance for South Africa from the Late Pleistocene to Recent. Based on these results, we suggest that the frequency of interannual variations in southern African rainfall is likely to be stable under anthropogenic warming, but that the size of year-to-year variations may increase. We see an orbitally forced increase in the amplitude of interannual climate variability between 1.8 Ma and 1.7 Ma coincident with the first evidence for the Acheulean stone tool technology.
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Renewed investigations at Taung; 90 years after the discovery of Australopithecus africanus
- Authors: Kuhn, Brian F. , Herries, Andy I.R. , Price, Gilbert J. , Baker, Stephanie E. , Hopley, Philip , Menter, Colin , Caruana, Matthew V.
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Taung child , Geochronology , Australopithecus africanus
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/225421 , uj:22766 , Citation: Kuhn, B.F. et al. 2016. Renewed investigations at Taung ; 90 years after the discovery of Australopithecus africanus. Palaeontologia Africana, 51:10–26. , ISSN: 2410-4418
- Description: Abstract: 2015 marked the 90th anniversary of the description of the first fossil ofAustralopithecus africanus, commonly known as the Taung Child, which was unearthed during blasting at the Buxton-Norlim Limeworks (referred to as the BNL) 15 km SE of the town of Taung, South Africa. Subsequently, this site has been recognized as a UNESCOWorld Heritage site on the basis of its importance to southern African palaeoanthropology. Some other sites such as Equus Cave and Black Earth Cave have also been investigated; but the latter not since the 1940s. These sites indicate that the complex of palaeontological and archaeological localities at the BNL preserve a time sequence spanning the Pliocene to the Holocene. The relationship of these various sites and how they fit into the sequence of formation of tufa, landscapes and caves at the limeworks have also not been investigated or discussed in detail since Peabody’s efforts in the 1940s. In this contribution we mark the 90th anniversary of the discovery and description of the Taung Child by providing a critical review of previous work at Taung based on our recent preliminary work at the site. This includes a reassessment of the Taung Child Type Site, as well as renewed excavations at Equus Cave and the lesser-known locality and little-investigated Black Earth Cave. Preliminary results suggest that much of our previous understandings of the BNL’s formational history and site formation processes need to be reassessed. Only through detailed analysis on the BNL as a whole can we understand this complex depositional environment.
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Holocene LSA archaeology from Equus Cave, Buxton-Norlim Limeworks, South Africa : an analysis of the bone tool assemblage
- Authors: Stammers, Rhiannon C. , Herries, Andy I.R. , Spry, Caroline , Armstrong, Brian J. , Caruana, Matthew V.
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Later Stone Age , Bone points , Surface modification
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/260452 , uj:27425 , Citation: Stammers, R.C. et al. 2017. Holocene LSA archaeology from Equus Cave, Buxton-Norlim Limeworks, South Africa : an analysis of the bone tool assemblage.
- Description: Abstract: Equus Cave, Buxton-Norlim Limeworks, near Taung, North West Province, South Africa, was first excavated between 1978 and 1982. While the site dates to the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene the precise age of the different layers is debated, as is the technological assignment of the deepest deposits, which are said to contain both Later or Middle Stone Age elements. While the faunal assemblage and some of the human remains have been published, the archaeology has never been fully analysed or reported. New excavations in 2012 revealed numerous artefacts including ochre, something not previously noted for this site. Comparison of total lithic artefact counts versus faunal NISPs and MNIs shows that the height of human occupation occurred during the Holocene, with preliminary analysis of the >6000 lithic assemblage indicating a dominance of notched artefacts, which, coupled with the presence of 16 bone points, is characteristic of other HoloceneWilton (Later Stone Age) sites in the region. The focus of this paper is the 16 bone points, which include projectile points and link-shafts, and how these items were manufactured and used. The results provide one of the first detailed descriptions of Later Stone Age bone tools, including rare specimens that are mostly complete or still preserve the tips, making an important contribution to our limited understanding of Later Stone Age bone tool technology.
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