Identification of fossilized eggshells from the Taung hominin locality, Taung, Northwest Province, South Africa

While an avian component within faunal remains from the Dart Deposits, Taung, South Africa, has been discussed for nearly a century, the taxa present have not been identified to species. Here we conduct a systematic analysis of fossilized eggshell fragments in order to document the presence of specific avian taxa at Taung during the Plio-Pleistocene. A comparative analysis of surface morphology and surface curvatures of fragmentary eggshells eliminated all but three extant avian taxa as potential sources for the fossilized fragments: a large eagle, an eagle owl (Bubo sp.) or a guinea fowl (subfamily Numidinae). The likelihood for each of these three taxa as a source is discussed by evaluating surface curvature matches between the fossilized fragments and extant eggshells. The two most complete fossil eggshells recovered from Taung have distinct carbon isotope signatures indicating that they belong to two different, granivorous and carnivorous, guilds. While these identifications contribute to the debate over whether or not there was an avian agent of collection for the Taung fossils, including perhaps the Taung Child, by establishing direct evidence for a raptor component in the Taung faunal assemblage, they cannot address specific predator-prey behaviour

Renewed investigations at Taung; 90 years after Australopithecus africanus

2015 marked the 90th anniversary of the description of the first fossil ofAustralopithecus africanus, commonly known as the Taung Child, which was unearthed during blasting at the Buxton-Norlim Limeworks (referred to as the BNL) 15 km SE of the town of Taung, South Africa. Subsequently, this site has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site on the basis of its importance to southern African palaeoanthropology. Some other sites such as Equus Cave and Black Earth Cave have also been investigated; but the latter not since the 1940s. These sites indicate that the complex of palaeontological and archaeological localities at the BNL preserve a time sequence spanning the Pliocene to the Holocene. The relationship of these various sites and how they fit into the sequence of formation of tufa, landscapes and caves at the limeworks have also not been investigated or discussed in detail since Peabody’s efforts in the 1940s. In this contribution we mark the 90th anniversary of the discovery and description of the Taung Child by providing a critical review of previous work at Taung based on our recent preliminary work at the site. This includes a reassessment of the Taung Child Type Site, as well as renewed excavations at Equus Cave and the lesser-known locality and little-investigated Black Earth Cave. Preliminary results suggest that much of our previous understandings of the BNL’s formational history and site formation processes need to be reassessed. Only through detailed analysis on the BNL as a whole can we understand this complex depositional environment

Sporadic sampling, not climatic forcing, drives observed early hominin diversity.

Paleoanthropologists have long been intrigued by the observed patterns of human evolution, including species diversity, and often invoked climatic change as the principal driver of evolutionary change. Here, we investigate whether the early hominin fossil record is of suitable quality to test these climate-forcing hypotheses. Specifically, we compare early hominin diversity to sampling metrics that quantify changes in fossil preservation and sampling intensity between 7 and 1 million years ago. We find that observed diversity patterns are governed by sporadic sampling and do not yield a genuine evolutionary signal. Many more fossil discoveries are required before existing hypotheses linking climate and evolution can be meaningfully tested.The role of climate change in the origin and diversification of early hominins is hotly debated. Most accounts of early hominin evolution link observed fluctuations in species diversity to directional shifts in climate or periods of intense climatic instability. None of these hypotheses, however, have tested whether observed diversity patterns are distorted by variation in the quality of the hominin fossil record. Here, we present a detailed examination of early hominin diversity dynamics, including both taxic and phylogenetically corrected diversity estimates. Unlike past studies, we compare these estimates to sampling metrics for rock availability (hominin-, primate-, and mammal-bearing formations) and collection effort, to assess the geological and anthropogenic controls on the sampling of the early hominin fossil record. Taxic diversity, primate-bearing formations, and collection effort show strong positive correlations, demonstrating that observed patterns of early hominin taxic diversity can be explained by temporal heterogeneity in fossil sampling rather than genuine evolutionary processes. Peak taxic diversity at 1.9 million years ago (Ma) is a sampling artifact, reflecting merely maximal rock availability and collection effort. In contrast, phylogenetic diversity estimates imply peak diversity at 2.4 Ma and show little relation to sampling metrics. We find that apparent relationships between early hominin diversity and indicators of climatic instability are, in fact, driven largely by variation in suitable rock exposure and collection effort. Our results suggest that significant improvements in the quality of the fossil record are required before the role of climate in hominin evolution can be reliably determined

Renewed investigations at Taung; 90 years after the discovery of Australopithecus africanus

2015 marked the 90th anniversary of the description of the first fossil ofAustralopithecus africanus, commonly known as the Taung Child, which was unearthed during blasting at the Buxton-Norlim Limeworks (referred to as the BNL) 15 km SE of the town of Taung, South Africa. Subsequently, this site has been recognized as a UNESCOWorld Heritage site on the basis of its importance to southern African palaeoanthropology. Some other sites such as Equus Cave and Black Earth Cave have also been investigated; but the latter not since the 1940s. These sites indicate that the complex of palaeontological and archaeological localities at the BNL preserve a time sequence spanning the Pliocene to the Holocene. The relationship of these various sites and how they fit into the sequence of formation of tufa, landscapes and caves at the limeworks have also not been investigated or discussed in detail since Peabody’s efforts in the 1940s. In this contribution we mark the 90th anniversary of the discovery and description of the Taung Child by providing a critical review of previous work at Taung based on our recent preliminary work at the site. This includes a reassessment of the Taung Child Type Site, as well as renewed excavations at Equus Cave and the lesser-known locality and little-investigated Black Earth Cave. Preliminary results suggest that much of our previous understandings of the BNL’s formational history and site formation processes need to be reassessed. Only through detailed analysis on the BNLas a whole can we understand this complex depositional environment.Australian Research Council Future Fellowship grant FT120100399 Palaeontological Scientific Trust (PAST) National Geographic grants (8774-10 and 3212)JNC2016https://www.wits.ac.za/esi/palaeontologia-africana

Discovery of Middle Pleistocene fossil and stone tool-bearing deposits at Groot Kloof, Ghaap escarpment, Northern Cape province

We report the discovery of a major fossil-bearing and archaeological complex of karstic deposits at Groot Kloof in the escarpment of the Ghaap Plateau, around 100 km southwest of Taung. The region is known for open fluvial and lacustrine sites sampling Lower and Middle Pleistocene tool types and the long, but discontinuous sequence ofWonderwerk Cave. Research at Groot Kloof has concentrated on two of four localities. One locality has yielded fossils from the Florisian Land Mammal Age and lithics that may sample a late Early Stone Age/early Middle Stone Age type industry. The second locality has been dated using U-Th to 248 <U>+</U> 37 kyr ago for fossil-bearing tufa, and normal magnetic polarity for various tufa and breccia. The occurrence of fossils embedded within tufa rather than infilling a cavity is unusual. Small pockets of Later Stone Age artefact-bearing breccia and rock art also occur. The significance of Groot Kloof is underscored by current debate about the emergence of modern humans in which the appearance of modern behaviour is posited to have occurred inthis and other regions during this part of the Middle Pleistocene

Fossil Carder Bee's nest from the Hominin locality of Taung, South Africa

The Buxton-Norlim Limeworks southwest of Taung, South Africa, is renowned for the discovery of the first Australopithecus africanus fossil, the ‘Taung Child’. The hominin was recovered from a distinctive pink calcrete that contains an abundance of invertebrate ichnofauna belonging to the Coprinisphaera ichnofacies. Here we describe the first fossil bee’s nest, attributed to the ichnogenus Celliforma, from the Plio-Pleistocene of Africa. Petrographic examination of a cell lining revealed the preservation of an intricate organic matrix lined with the calcitic casts of numerous plant trichomes–a nesting behaviour unique to the modern-day carder bees (Anthidiini). The presence of Celliforma considered alongside several other recorded ichnofossils can be indicative of a dry, savannah environment, in agreement with recent work on the palaeoenvironment of Plio-Pleistocene southern Africa. Moreover, the occurrence of ground-nesting bees provides further evidence that the pink calcrete deposits are of pedogenic origin, rather than speleogenic origin as has previously been assumed. This study demonstrates the potential value of insect trace fossils as palaeoenvironmental indicators

Orbital precession modulates interannual rainfall variability, as recorded in an Early Pleistocene speleothem

Interannual variability of African rainfall impacts local and global communities, but its past behavior and response in future climate projections are poorly understood. This is primarily due to short instrumental records and a lack of long high-resolution palaeoclimate proxy records. Here we present an annually resolved 91,000 year Early Pleistocene record of hydroclimate from the early homininbearing Makapansgat Valley, South Africa. Changes in speleothem annual band thickness are dominated by precession over four consecutive orbital cycles with strong millennial-scale periodicity. The frequency of interannual variability (2.0–6.5 yr oscillations) does not change systematically, yet its amplitude is modulated by the orbital forcing. These long-term characteristics of interannual variability are reproduced with transient climate model simulations of water balance for South Africa from the Late Pleistocene to Recent. Based on these results, we suggest that the frequency of interannual variations in southern African rainfall is likely to be stable under anthropogenic warming, but that the size of year-to-year variations may increase. We see an orbitally forced increase in the amplitude of interannual climate variability between 1.8 Ma and 1.7 Ma coincident with the first evidence for the Acheulean stone tool technology

Speleothems and palaeoclimates

Book synopsis: This new book presents a comprehensive overview of all aspects of the caves and karst of the Yorkshire Dales. It is the long-awaited successor to the 1974 publication Limestones and Caves of Northwest England but is a much more comprehensive treatment because of the many cave discoveries in the last 40 years and the new information that is available on the underground and surface features. The chapters, written by specialists who really know the area, include topics on limestone geology, karst geomorphology, cave development, karst hydrogeology, cave chronology, subterranean biology, bats, palaeontology and archaeology. The book is essential reading for every serious caver who enjoys the caves of the Yorkshire Dales. Cave Scientists, too, will appreciate this book because it is more than just a statement on the karst landscapes and the caves beneath. It brings together many aspects of the natural environment and the evolution of the Yorkshire Dales and provides insights into the landscape evolution in northern England - indeed, one chapter gives the first comprehensive review of the glacial history of the Dales. The book will therefore be of interest to professionals who otherwise might have only marginal interest in probably the finest group of caves within Britain. Uranium-series dating of stalagmites, and carbon-dating of bones mean that the caves now provide the basis for a uniquely-detailed chronological framework that extends through much of the Quaternary period