Taphonomic analysis of the faunal assemblage associated with the hominins (Australopithecus sediba) from the early pleistocene cave deposits of Malapa, South Africa.

Here we present the results of a taphonomic study of the faunal assemblage associated with the hominin fossils (Australopithecus sediba) from the Malapa site. Results include estimation of body part representation, mortality profiles, type of fragmentation, identification of breakage patterns, and microscopic analysis of bone surfaces. The diversity of the faunal spectrum, presence of animals with climbing proclivities, abundance of complete and/or articulated specimens, occurrence of antimeric sets of elements, and lack of carnivore-modified bones, indicate that animals accumulated via a natural death trap leading to an area of the cave system with no access to mammalian scavengers. The co-occurrence of well preserved fossils, carnivore coprolites, deciduous teeth of brown hyaena, and some highly fragmented and poorly preserved remains supports the hypothesis of a mixing of sediments coming from distinct chambers, which collected at the bottom of the cave system through the action of periodic water flow. This combination of taphonomic features explains the remarkable state of preservation of the hominin fossils as well as some of the associated faunal material.This paper was funded by the National Geographic Society, Gauteng Provincial Government, National Research Foundation of South Africa,African Origins Program, Evolutionary Studies Institute (University of the Witwatersrand), Carstens Trust, and the Australian Research Foundation (ARC DP140104282)

A Middle Palaeolithic wooden digging stick from Aranbaltza III, Spain

Aranbaltza is an archaeological complex formed by at least three open-air sites. Between 2014 and 2015 a test excavation carried out in Aranbaltza III revealed the presence of a sand and clay sedimentary sequence formed in floodplain environments, within which six sedimentary units have been identified. This sequence was formed between 137±50 ka, and includes several archaeological horizons, attesting to the long-term presence of Neanderthal communities in this area. One of these horizons, corresponding with Unit 4, yielded two wooden tools. One of these tools is a beveled pointed tool that was shaped through a complex operational sequence involving branch shaping, bark peeling, twig removal, shaping, polishing, thermal exposition and chopping. A use-wear analysis of the tool shows it to have traces related with digging soil so it has been interpreted as representing a digging stick. This is the first time such a tool has been identified in a European Late Middle Palaeolithic context; it also represents one of the first well-preserved Middle Palaeolithic wooden tool found in southern Europe. This artefact represents one of the few examples available of wooden tool preservation for the European Palaeolithic, allowing us to further explore the role wooden technologies played in Neanderthal communities

Comment on “Deliberate body disposal by hominins in the Dinaledi Chamber, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa?” [J. Hum. Evol. 96 (2016) 145-148]

In responding to Val (2016), we welcome the opportunity to further clarify our interpretations of the taphonomic and geological context of Homo naledi in the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star Cave as presented in Dirks et al. (2015). In so doing we want to state from the onset that, contrary to what is claimed in Val (2016), Dirks et al. (2015) do not reject mass mortality or death trap scenarios as possible explanations but, based on currently available evidence, consider deliberate body disposal to be the most plausible reason for the deposit. We also want to remind colleagues that the Dinaledi collection is accessible to researchers upon application. We are committed to promoting best scientific practice by making all data available for independent inspection, including observations on hominin remains, and broaden debate. We note that Val has not yet studied the collections directly or visited the cave, but has based her comment on re-interpretations of data presented in Dirks et al. (2015)