Geological setting and age of Australopithecus sediba from southern Africa.
We describe the geological, geochronological, geomorphological, and faunal context of the Malapa site and the fossils of Australopithecus sediba. The hominins occur with a macrofauna assemblage that existed in Africa between 2.36 and 1.50 million years ago (Ma). The fossils are encased in water-laid, clastic sediments that were deposited along the lower parts of what is now a deeply eroded cave system, immediately above a flowstone layer with a U-Pb date of 2.026 +/- 0.021 Ma. The flowstone has a reversed paleomagnetic signature and the overlying hominin-bearing sediments are of normal polarity, indicating deposition during the 1.95- to 1.78-Ma Olduvai Subchron. The two hominin specimens were buried together in a single debris flow that lithified soon after deposition in a phreatic environment inaccessible to scavengers.
Dirks
Paul H G M
PH
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia. paul.dirks@jcu.edu.au
Kibii
Job M
JM
Kuhn
Brian F
BF
Steininger
Christine
C
Churchill
Steven E
SE
Kramers
Jan D
JD
Pickering
Robyn
R
Farber
Daniel L
DL
Mériaux
Anne-Sophie
AS
Herries
Andy I R
AI
King
Geoffrey C P
GC
Berger
Lee R
LR
D000818:Animals; D005580:Fossils; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D055593:Geological Phenomena; D015186:Hominidae; D055110:Radiometric Dating; D013019:South Africa