Australopithecus sediba at 1.977 Ma and implications for the origins of the genus Homo

Robyn Pickering; Paul H G M Dirks; Zubair Jinnah; Darryl J de Ruiter; Steven E Churchil; Andy I R Herries; Jon D Woodhead; John C Hellstrom; Lee R Berger

doi:10.1126/science.1203697

Australopithecus sediba at 1.977 Ma and implications for the origins of the genus Homo

Science. 2011 Sep 9;333(6048):1421-3. doi: 10.1126/science.1203697. Epub 2011 Sep 8.

Authors

Robyn Pickering¹, Paul H G M Dirks, Zubair Jinnah, Darryl J de Ruiter, Steven E Churchil, Andy I R Herries, Jon D Woodhead, John C Hellstrom, Lee R Berger

Affiliation

¹ School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia. r.pickering@unimelb.edu.au

PMID: 21903808
DOI: 10.1126/science.1203697

Abstract

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.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Fossils*
Geologic Sediments*
Geology / methods
Hominidae* / anatomy & histology
Hominidae* / classification
Magnetics
Radiometric Dating
South Africa
Time
Uranium

Substances

Uranium