New modern and Pleistocene fossil micromammal assemblages from Swartkrans, South Africa: Paleobiodiversity, taphonomic, and environmental context

IF 3.1 1区地球科学 Q1 ANTHROPOLOGY

Journal of Human Evolution Pub Date : 2025-01-22 DOI:10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103636

Pierre Linchamps , Emmanuelle Stoetzel , Laurie Amberny , Christine Steininger , Ronald J. Clarke , Matthew V. Caruana , Kathleen Kuman , Travis Rayne Pickering

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The oldest deposit at the hominin-bearing cave of Swartkrans, South Africa, is the Lower Bank of Member 1, dated to ca. 2.2 million years ago. Excavations of this unit have produced a diverse and extensive mammalian fossil record, including Paranthropus robustus and early Homo fossils, along with numerous Oldowan stone tools. The present study focuses on the taxonomic analysis of the micromammalian fossil assemblage obtained from recent excavations of the Lower Bank, conducted between 2005 and 2010, as part of the Swartkrans Paleoanthropological Research Project. The taxonomic composition of this assemblage is dominated by Mystromys, a rodent indicative of grassland environments. Taphonomic analysis indicates an accumulation of prey by Tyto alba (Barn owl) or a related species. Environments inferred from this evidence reflect an open landscape primarily covered by grassland vegetation, but they also feature components of wooded areas, rocky outcrops, and the proximity of a river. The Swartkrans fossil assemblage is compared with Cooper's D (dated to ca. 1.4 Ma) and a modern coprocoenosis of Bubo africanus (spotted eagle-owl) collected within the Swartkrans cave for taxonomic, taphonomic, and paleoecological perspectives. Contrasting fossil and modern micromammalian data provide a better understanding of accumulation processes and facilitate a diachronic reconstruction of changes in climate and landscape evolution. Issues regarding paleoenvironmental reconstruction methodologies based on micromammals are also discussed.

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来自南非Swartkrans的新的现代和更新世化石微哺乳动物组合：古生物多样性、地语学和环境背景。

在南非斯瓦特克兰的人类洞穴中，最古老的沉积物是成员1的下银行，可以追溯到大约220万年前。在这个单位的发掘中发现了种类繁多的哺乳动物化石记录，包括类人猿粗壮人和早期人属化石，以及大量的奥尔多瓦石器。本研究的重点是对2005年至2010年间进行的下岸考古发掘中获得的小型哺乳动物化石组合进行分类分析，该研究是Swartkrans古人类研究项目的一部分。这个组合的分类组成主要是神秘鼠，一种草原环境的啮齿动物。地形学分析表明，这是由仓鸮（Tyto alba）或其相关物种积累的猎物。从这一证据推断出的环境反映了一个主要被草原植被覆盖的开阔景观，但它们也具有树木繁茂地区、露出地面的岩石和靠近河流的特征。将Swartkrans化石组合与Cooper的D化石（年代约1.4 Ma）和在Swartkrans洞穴中收集的Bubo africanus（斑点鹰鸮）的现代coprocoenosis进行了分类、分类和古生态学的比较。对比化石和现代微哺乳动物的数据，有助于更好地理解积累过程，并有助于重建气候和景观演变的历时变化。讨论了基于微哺乳动物的古环境重建方法问题。

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来源期刊

Journal of Human Evolution 生物-进化生物学

CiteScore

6.30

自引率

15.60%

发文量

104

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： The Journal of Human Evolution concentrates on publishing the highest quality papers covering all aspects of human evolution. The central focus is aimed jointly at paleoanthropological work, covering human and primate fossils, and at comparative studies of living species, including both morphological and molecular evidence. These include descriptions of new discoveries, interpretative analyses of new and previously described material, and assessments of the phylogeny and paleobiology of primate species. Submissions should address issues and questions of broad interest in paleoanthropology.