Age and context of the oldest known hominin fossils from Flores.
Recent excavations at the early Middle Pleistocene site of Mata Menge in the So'a Basin of central Flores, Indonesia, have yielded hominin fossils attributed to a population ancestral to Late Pleistocene Homo floresiensis. Here we describe the age and context of the Mata Menge hominin specimens and associated archaeological findings. The fluvial sandstone layer from which the in situ fossils were excavated in 2014 was deposited in a small valley stream around 700 thousand years ago, as indicated by (40)Ar/(39)Ar and fission track dates on stratigraphically bracketing volcanic ash and pyroclastic density current deposits, in combination with coupled uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating of fossil teeth. Palaeoenvironmental data indicate a relatively dry climate in the So'a Basin during the early Middle Pleistocene, while various lines of evidence suggest the hominins inhabited a savannah-like open grassland habitat with a wetland component. The hominin fossils occur alongside the remains of an insular fauna and a simple stone technology that is markedly similar to that associated with Late Pleistocene H. floresiensis.
Research Centre of Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.|School of Earth &Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.
Adam
A
Brumm
Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth &Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.
Gerrit D
GD
van den Bergh
Quadlab, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark.
Michael
M
Storey
Geology Museum, Bandung 40122, Indonesia.
Iwan
I
Kurniawan
Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth &Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.|School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University, Wellington 6012, New Zealand.
Brent V
BV
Alloway
Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth &Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.|Center for Geological Survey, Geological Agency, Bandung 40122, Indonesia.
Ruly
R
Setiawan
Geology Museum, Bandung 40122, Indonesia.
Erick
E
Setiyabudi
Research Centre of Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.|Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia.
Rainer
R
Grün
Stone Tools and Cognition Hub, Archaeology, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351, Australia.
Mark W
MW
Moore
Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth &Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.|Center for Geological Survey, Geological Agency, Bandung 40122, Indonesia.
Dida
D
Yurnaldi
Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth &Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.
Mika R
MR
Puspaningrum
Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth &Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.|Geology Museum, Bandung 40122, Indonesia.
Unggul P
UP
Wibowo
Geology Museum, Bandung 40122, Indonesia.
Halmi
H
Insani
Geology Museum, Bandung 40122, Indonesia.
Indra
I
Sutisna
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B1, Canada.
John A
JA
Westgate
Department of Geography &Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3DB, UK.
Nick J G
NJ
Pearce
Geochronology, Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo de Atapuerca, 3, 09002-Burgos, Spain.
Mathieu
M
Duval
University Museum of Bergen, University of Bergen, 5007 Bergen, Norway.
Hanneke J M
HJ
Meijer
Geology Museum, Bandung 40122, Indonesia.
Fachroel
F
Aziz
Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth &Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.|Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional (ARKENAS), Jakarta 12510, Indonesia.
Thomas
T
Sutikna
Cluster Earth &Climate, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.
Sander
S
van der Kaars
School of Geosciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AD, UK.
Stephanie
S
Flude
Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth &Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.
Michael J
MJ
Morwood
D000818:Animals; D001106:Archaeology; D001128:Argon; D002980:Climate; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D004777:Environment; D005580:Fossils; D065948:Grassland; D049690:History, Ancient; D015186:Hominidae; D007214:Indonesia; D011868:Radioisotopes; D055110:Radiometric Dating; D053001:Tool Use Behavior; D014070:Tooth / Q000737:chemistry; D018707:Volcanic Eruptions / Q000266:history; D053833:Wetlands
D011868:Radioisotopes; D001128:Argon