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\u27a Basin of central Flores, Indonesia, have yielded hominin fossils1 attributed to a population ancestral to Late Pleistocene Homo floresiensis2. 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 40Ar/39Ar 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\u27a 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

An integrative geochronological framework for the pleistocene So'a basin (Flores, Indonesia), and its implications for faunal turnover and hominin arrival

Flores represents a unique insular environment with an extensive record of Pleistocene fossil remains and stone artefacts. In the So\u27a Basin of central Flores these include endemic Stegodon, Komodo dragons, giant tortoises, rats, birds and hominins, and lithic artefacts that can be traced back to at least one million years ago (1 Ma). This comprehensive review presents important new data regarding the dating and faunal sequence of the So\u27a Basin, including the site of Mata Menge where Homo floresiensis-like fossils dating to approximately 0.7 Ma were discovered in 2014. By chemical fingerprinting key silicic tephra originating from local and distal eruptive sources we have now established basin-wide tephrostratigraphic correlations, and, together with new numerical ages, present an update of the chronostratigraphy of the So\u27a Basin, with major implications for the faunal sequence. These results show that a giant tortoise and the diminutive proboscidean Stegodon sondaari last occurred at the site of Tangi Talo ∼1.3 Ma, and not 0.9 Ma as previously thought. We also present new data suggesting that the disappearance of giant tortoise and S. sondaari from the sedimentary record occurred before, and/or was coincident with, the earliest hominin arrival, as evidenced by the first records of lithic artefacts occurring directly below the 1 Ma Wolo Sege Tephra. Artefacts become common in the younger layers, associated with a distinct fauna characterized by the medium-sized Stegodon florensis and giant rat Hooijeromys nusatenggara. Furthermore, we describe a newly discovered terrace fill, which extends the faunal record of Stegodon in the So\u27a Basin to the Late Pleistocene. Our evidence also suggests that the paleoenvironment of the So\u27a Basin became drier around the time of the observed faunal transition and arrival of hominins on the island, which could be related to an astronomically-forced climate response at the onset of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT; ∼1.25 Ma) leading to increased aridity and monsoonal intensity

Cakrawala arkeologi

Buku ini berisikan berbagai hasil penelitian prasejarah, arkeologi klasik, arkeologi islam, Geologi kuartei, Arkometri, Kemiko-arkeologi, Bio-Arkeologi, dan etno-arkeologi, serta pengembangan dan sumbangsih arkeologi bagi pembangunan daerah.x, 200 hlm.; ilus.; 25 c

Cakrawala arkeologi

Buku ini berisikan berbagai hasil penelitian prasejarah, arkeologi klasik, arkeologi islam, Geologi kuartei, Arkometri, Kemiko-arkeologi, Bio-Arkeologi, dan etno-arkeologi, serta pengembangan dan sumbangsih arkeologi bagi pembangunan daerah.x, 200 hlm.; ilus.; 25 c

Cakrawala arkeologi

Buku ini berisikan berbagai hasil penelitian prasejarah, arkeologi klasik, arkeologi islam, Geologi kuartei, Arkometri, Kemiko-arkeologi, Bio-Arkeologi, dan etno-arkeologi, serta pengembangan dan sumbangsih arkeologi bagi pembangunan daerah.x, 200 hlm.; ilus.; 25 c

Cakrawala arkeologi

Buku ini berisikan berbagai hasil penelitian prasejarah, arkeologi klasik, arkeologi islam, Geologi kuartei, Arkometri, Kemiko-arkeologi, Bio-Arkeologi, dan etno-arkeologi, serta pengembangan dan sumbangsih arkeologi bagi pembangunan daerah.x, 200 hlm.; ilus.; 25 c