Contemporaneity of Australopithecus , Paranthropus , and early Homo erectus in South Africa
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: Dating the Drimolen hominins Fossil hominins from South Africa are enriching the story of early human evolution and dispersal. Herries et al. describe the geological context and dating of the hominin-bearing infilled cave, or palaeocave, at a site called Drimolen in South Africa (see the Perspective by Antón). They focus on the age and context of a recently discovered Homo erectus sensu lato fossil and a Paranthropus robustus fossil, which they dated to ∼2.04 million to 1.95 million years ago. This makes Drimolen one of the best-dated sites in South Africa and establishes these fossils as the oldest definitive specimens of their respective species ever discovered. The age confirms that species of Australopithecus, Paranthropus , and early Homo overlapped in the karst of South Africa ∼2 million years ago. Science , this issue p. eaaw7293 ; see also p. 34
Source: Science
Authors: Andy I. R. Herries, Jesse M. Martin, A. B. Leece, Justin W. Adams, Giovanni Boschian, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Tara R. Edwards, Tom Mallett, Jason Massey, Ashleigh Murszewski, Simon Neubauer, Robyn Pickering, David S. Strait, Brian J. Armstrong, Stephanie Baker, Matthew V. Caruana, Tim Denham, John Hellstrom, Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi, Simon Mokobane, Paul Penzo-Kajewski, Douglass S. Rovinsky, Gary T. Schwartz, Rhiannon C. Stammers, Coen Wilson, Jon Woodhead, Colin Menter
Institutions: La Trobe University, University of Johannesburg, Monash University, University of Pisa, Southern Cross University, University of Minnesota, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Cape Town, Washington University in St. Louis, Australian National University, The University of Melbourne, University of Florence, Arizona State University
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Australian Research Council
Awards: A new chronological framework to access regional variability in mid-Pleistocene archaeological, palaeoecological and palaeoclimatic data from Africa, A new timeline for Human evolution using a pioneer non-destructive direct dating methodology, Old stalagmites, new techniques: South African palaeoclimate records linked to early human evolution, Evolving landscapes of our early South African ancestors
OpenAlex ID: W3014934999