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- Fossil micromammals and the palaeoenvironments of the paranthropus robustus site of cooper’s cavePublication . Linchamps, Pierre; Stoetzel, Emmanuelle; Cornette, Raphaël; Denys, Christiane; Hanon, Raphaël; Maringa, Nompumelelo; Matthews, Thalassa; Steininger, ChristineThe Cradle of Humankind (Gauteng, South Africa) provides an important fossil record of the evolutionary history of PlioPleistocene hominins. Cooper's Cave deposits have yielded a rich fossil faunal assemblage, as well as six remains attributed to Paranthropus robustus. This study provides the first taxonomic, taphonomic and palaeoecological description of the micromammal material from the 1.4 Ma assemblage of Cooper's D. The taphonomic signature of the assemblage indicates an accumulation by tytonid owls (probably Tyto alba) and advanced postdepositional disturbance probably related to trampling by the occupants of the cave, sorting of the bones along slope, and burying. The taxonomic analysis undertaken here at genus level describes at least 22 taxa of small mammals, including one extinct genus Proodontomys. This assemblage is dominated by Mystromys and Otomys, two rodent genera adapted to grassland habitats which are among the most common among pliopleistocene micromammal faunas from the region. The palaeoecological analysis suggests an open landscape with a predominance of grassland and savanna vegetation, and the proximity of rocky outcrops and a perennial river. These results support previous indications of a shift in the African climate and vegetation towards more open habitats during the Early Pleistocene.
- New fossil Bovidae (Mammalia: Artiodactyla) from Kromdraai Unit P, South Africa and their implication for biochronology and hominin palaeoecologyPublication . Hanon, Raphaël; Fourvel, Jean-Baptiste; Sambo, Recognise; Maringa, Nompumelelo; Steininger, Christine; Zipfel, Bernhard; Braga, JoséKromdraai is a Plio-Pleistocene site located in the Cradle of Humankind (Gauteng Province, South Africa). It has produced diverse and abundant faunal assemblages and key hominin specimens like the holotype of Paranthropus robustus and early Homo. We provide the first taxonomic study of the Bovidae Family from the hominin-bearing Unit P at Kromdraai and discuss its potential to unravel its paleoecological context. We describe the presence of an unknown medium-sized buffalo (Syncerus sp.) that could be closely related to S. acoelotus. The bovid assemblage from Kromdraai Unit P combines older Plio-Pleistocene (Gazella gracilior, Makapania broomi, Numidocapra cf. porrocornutus) and younger Pleistocene taxa (Tragelaphus strepsiceros, Oreotragus oreotragus, Raphicerus campestris, Damaliscus lunatus). Overall, these bovid species indicate a grassland-dominated environment for Unit P. Comparisons with other Plio-Pleistocene South African sites indicate that Australopithecus was associated with woodland and closed-wet environment-adapted taxa, whereas Homo was found in association with bovid species adapted to open and dry environments. In contrast, the assemblages associated with Paranthropus show an extensive range of environmental adaptation among the bovids. The biochronology indicates that Kromdraai Unit P accumulated between 2.9 and 1.8 Ma. If Kromdraai Unit P were to be confirmed to date to the older end of this scale, it would provide the earliest appearance of Paranthropus robustus, Numidocapra, and Damaliscus in southern Africa.
- Ecomorphological analysis of bovid remains from the Plio-Pleistocene hominin-bearing deposit of Unit P at Kromdraai, South AfricaPublication . Sambo, Recognise; Hanon, Raphaël; Steininger, Christine; Zipfel, Bernhard; Braga, José; Linchamps, Pierre; Maringa, NompumeleloThe site of Kromdraai is known for the first discovery of Paranthropus robustus remains. Research conducted at Kromdraai shows its rich fossiliferous deposits, geological complexity and potential to highlight the evolutionary history of Plio-Pleistocene hominin lineages in a dynamic and changing environment. Here, we provide the results of the first application of ecomorphology to bovid postcranial specimens from the newly excavated deposit of Kromdraai Unit P (KW-Unit P). Four anatomical elements of the bovid skeleton were measured and examined as they represent locomotion and substrate interaction: the astragalus and the proximal, intermediate and distal phalanges. Four discriminant function analyses (DFA) were conducted to determine each element's ability to predict habitat affiliation accurately. This was done by comparing the morphologies of the fossil specimens to modern bovids found in broadly defined habitats (open, light cover, heavy cover, and forest). For the modern assemblage, the DFA cross-validation tests correctly returned classifications ranging from 58.8% to 72.0% in a four-habitat system for the four bone elements. Fossil results revealed that bovids from KW-Unit P had varied morphological adaptations to open and light cover habitats (91.7% combined) with few forest (4.7%) and heavy cover (2.3%) adaptations. This indicates that during the deposition of KW-Unit P, the environment was open with savanna grasslands, tall grasses and light bushes. Forest which is a continuous tree canopy and heavy cover environments represented by dense woodlands and bushes were also present to a lesser degree. Overall, KW-Unit P is characterized as a mosaic with more open and light cover habitats indicating open savanna and grasslands, a riparian forest, woodlands and bushes.These reconstructions are consistent with previous palaeoenvironmental interpretations for KW-Unit P and Kromdraai B (KB) as a whole. Since our results are not entirely limited to KW-Unit P, we, therefore, argue that Paranthropus robustus found at Kromdraai thrived in mosaic environmental settings around the time when open habitats were dominant.