Australopithecus sediba at 1.977 Ma and Implications for the Origins of the Genus Homo

Newly exposed cave sediments at the Malapa site include a flowstone layer capping the sedimentary unit containing the Australopithecus sediba fossils. Uranium-lead dating of the flowstone, combined with paleomagnetic and stratigraphic analysis of the flowstone and underlying sediments, provides a ti...

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Veröffentlicht in:	Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2011-09, Vol.333 (6048), p.1421-1423
Hauptverfasser:	Pickering, Robyn, Dirks, Paul H. G. M., Jinnah, Zubair, de Ruiter, Darryl J., Churchil, Steven E., Herries, Andy I. R., Woodhead, Jon D., Hellstrom, John C., Berger, Lee R.
Format:	Artikel
Sprache:	eng
Schlagworte:	Animals Australopithecus Biological taxonomies Caves Dolomite Earth sciences Earth, ocean, space Evolution Evolutionary biology Exact sciences and technology Flowstone Fossils Geologic Sediments Geological facies Geology - methods Hominidae - anatomy & histology Hominidae - classification Hominids Magnetics Marine and continental quaternary Paleontology Prehistoric era Radiometric Dating Research universities Sediments South Africa Surficial geology Time Uranium Vertebrate paleontology
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Zusammenfassung:	Newly exposed cave sediments at the Malapa site include a flowstone layer capping the sedimentary unit containing the Australopithecus sediba fossils. Uranium-lead dating of the flowstone, combined with paleomagnetic and stratigraphic analysis of the flowstone and underlying sediments, provides a tightly constrained date of 1.977 ± 0.002 million years ago (Ma) for these fossils. This refined dating suggests that Au. sediba from Malapa predates the earliest uncontested evidence for Homo in Africa.
ISSN:	0036-8075 1095-9203
DOI:	10.1126/science.1203697