期刊
NATURE
卷 522, 期 7554, 页码 85-U200出版社
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nature14268
关键词
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资金
- National Science Foundation [EAR1153689, EAR0844151]
- Palaeontological Scientific Trust (PAST)
- National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa
- NRF (SA) [AOP1207112551-82611, AOP1207173196-82591]
- Directorate For Geosciences
- Division Of Earth Sciences [1153689] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
The cave infills at Sterkfontein contain one of the richest assemblages of Australopithecus fossils in the world, including the nearly complete skeleton StW 573 ('Little Foot')(1-4) in its lower section, as well as early stone tools(5-7) in higher sections. However, the chronology of the site remains controversial(8-14) owing to the complex history of cave infilling. Much of the existing chronology based on uranium-lead dating(10,11) and palaeomagnetic stratigraphy(8,12) has recently been called into question by the recognition that dated flowstones fill cavities formed within previously cemented breccias and therefore do not form a stratigraphic sequence(4,14). Earlier dating with cosmogenic nuclides(9) suffered a high degree of uncertainty and has been questioned on grounds of sediment reworking(10,11,13). Here we use isochron burial dating with cosmogenic aluminium-26 and beryllium-10 to show that the breccia containing StW 573 did not undergo significant reworking, and that it was deposited 3.67 +/- 0.16 million years ago, far earlier than the 2.2 million year flowstones found within it(10,11). The skeleton is thus coeval with early Australopithecus afar-ensis in eastern Africa(15,16). We also date the earliest stone tools at Sterkfontein to 2.18 +/- 0.21 million years ago, placing them in the Oldowan at a time similar to that found elsewhere in South Africa at Swartkans(17) and Wonderwerk(18).
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