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New Australopithecus robustus fossils and associated U-Pb dates from Cooper's Cave (Gauteng, South Africa)

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Title: New Australopithecus robustus fossils and associated U-Pb dates from Cooper's Cave (Gauteng, South Africa)
Authors: de Ruiter, Darryl J.1,2 deRuiter@tamu.edu, Pickering, Robyn3, Steininger, Christine M.2,4, Kramers, Jan D.3, Hancox, Phillip J.2, Churchill, Steven E.5, Berger, Lee R.2, Backwell, Lucinda2
Source: Journal of Human Evolution. May2009, Vol. 56 Issue 5, p497-513. 17p.
Subjects: Australopithecus afarensis, Water supply
Geographic Terms: Gauteng (South Africa), South Africa
Abstract: Abstract: Australopithecus robustus is one of the best represented hominin taxa in Africa, with hundreds of specimens recovered from six fossil localities in the Bloubank Valley area of Gauteng Province, South Africa. However, precise geochronological ages are presently lacking for these fossil cave infills. In this paper, we provide a detailed geological background to a series of hominin fossils retrieved from the newly investigated deposit of Cooper''s D (located partway between Sterkfontein and Kromdraai in the Bloubank Valley), including uranium-lead (U-Pb) ages for speleothem material associated with A. robustus. U-Pb dating of a basal speleothem underlying the entire deposit results in a maximum age of 1.526 (±0.088) Ma for Cooper''s D. A second U-Pb date of ca. 1.4Ma is produced from a flowstone layer above this basal speleothem; since this upper flowstone is not a capping flowstone, and fossiliferous sediments are preserved above this layer, some of the hominins might be slightly younger than the calculated age. As a result, we can broadly constrain the age of the hominins from Cooper''s D to between 1.5 and approximately 1.4Ma. Extinct fauna recorded in this comparatively young deposit raise the possibility that the Bloubank Valley region of South Africa represented a more stable environmental refugium for taxa relative to tectonically more active East Africa. The sediments of the deposit likely infilled rapidly during periods when arid conditions prevailed in the paleoenvironment, although it is unclear whether sediment deposition and bone deposition were necessarily contemporaneous occurrences. We reconstruct the paleoenvironment of Cooper''s D as predominantly grassland, with nearby woodlands and a permanent water source. The hominin teeth recovered from Cooper''s D are all from juveniles and can be confidently assigned to A. robustus. In addition, two juvenile mandibular fragments and an adult thoracic vertebra are tentatively attributed to A. robustus. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
Copyright of Journal of Human Evolution is the property of Academic Press Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: New Australopithecus robustus fossils and associated U-Pb dates from Cooper's Cave (Gauteng, South Africa)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22de+Ruiter%2C+Darryl+J%2E%22">de Ruiter, Darryl J.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo><i> deRuiter@tamu.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pickering%2C+Robyn%22">Pickering, Robyn</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Steininger%2C+Christine+M%2E%22">Steininger, Christine M.</searchLink><relatesTo>2,4</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kramers%2C+Jan+D%2E%22">Kramers, Jan D.</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hancox%2C+Phillip+J%2E%22">Hancox, Phillip J.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Churchill%2C+Steven+E%2E%22">Churchill, Steven E.</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Berger%2C+Lee+R%2E%22">Berger, Lee R.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Backwell%2C+Lucinda%22">Backwell, Lucinda</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Human+Evolution%22">Journal of Human Evolution</searchLink>. May2009, Vol. 56 Issue 5, p497-513. 17p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Australopithecus+afarensis%22">Australopithecus afarensis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Water+supply%22">Water supply</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gauteng+%28South+Africa%29%22">Gauteng (South Africa)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22South+Africa%22">South Africa</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Abstract: Australopithecus robustus is one of the best represented hominin taxa in Africa, with hundreds of specimens recovered from six fossil localities in the Bloubank Valley area of Gauteng Province, South Africa. However, precise geochronological ages are presently lacking for these fossil cave infills. In this paper, we provide a detailed geological background to a series of hominin fossils retrieved from the newly investigated deposit of Cooper''s D (located partway between Sterkfontein and Kromdraai in the Bloubank Valley), including uranium-lead (U-Pb) ages for speleothem material associated with A. robustus. U-Pb dating of a basal speleothem underlying the entire deposit results in a maximum age of 1.526 (±0.088) Ma for Cooper''s D. A second U-Pb date of ca. 1.4Ma is produced from a flowstone layer above this basal speleothem; since this upper flowstone is not a capping flowstone, and fossiliferous sediments are preserved above this layer, some of the hominins might be slightly younger than the calculated age. As a result, we can broadly constrain the age of the hominins from Cooper''s D to between 1.5 and approximately 1.4Ma. Extinct fauna recorded in this comparatively young deposit raise the possibility that the Bloubank Valley region of South Africa represented a more stable environmental refugium for taxa relative to tectonically more active East Africa. The sediments of the deposit likely infilled rapidly during periods when arid conditions prevailed in the paleoenvironment, although it is unclear whether sediment deposition and bone deposition were necessarily contemporaneous occurrences. We reconstruct the paleoenvironment of Cooper''s D as predominantly grassland, with nearby woodlands and a permanent water source. The hominin teeth recovered from Cooper''s D are all from juveniles and can be confidently assigned to A. robustus. In addition, two juvenile mandibular fragments and an adult thoracic vertebra are tentatively attributed to A. robustus. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Human Evolution is the property of Academic Press Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.01.009
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        Text: English
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        PageCount: 17
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      – SubjectFull: Australopithecus afarensis
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      – SubjectFull: Water supply
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      – SubjectFull: Gauteng (South Africa)
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      – SubjectFull: South Africa
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              Text: May2009
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