scholarly journals The first hominin from the early Pleistocene paleocave of Haasgat, South Africa

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2024 ◽  
Author(s):  
AB Leece ◽  
Anthony D.T. Kegley ◽  
Rodrigo S. Lacruz ◽  
Andy I.R. Herries ◽  
Jason Hemingway ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Micro Ct ◽  
Enamel Microstructure ◽  
Heritage Site

Haasgat is a primate-rich fossil locality in the northeastern part of the Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here we report the first hominin identified from Haasgat, a partial maxillary molar (HGT 500), that was recovered from anex situcalcified sediment block sampled from the locality. Thein situfossil bearing deposits of the Haasgat paleokarstic deposits are estimated to date to slightly older than 1.95 Ma based on magnetobiostratigraphy. This places the hominin specimen at a critical time period in South Africa that marks the last occurrence ofAustralopithecusaround 1.98 Ma and the first evidence ofParanthropusandHomoin the region between ∼2.0 and 1.8 Ma. A comprehensive morphological evaluation of the Haasgat hominin molar was conducted against the current South African catalogue of hominin dental remains and imaging analyses using micro-CT, electron and confocal microscopy. The preserved occlusal morphology is most similar toAustralopithecus africanusor earlyHomospecimens but different fromParanthropus. Occlusal linear enamel thickness measured from micro-CT scans provides an average of ∼2.0 mm consistent withAustralopithecusand earlyHomo. Analysis of the enamel microstructure suggests an estimated periodicity of 7–9 days. Hunter–Schreger bands appear long and straight as in someParanthropus, but contrast with this genus in the short shape of the striae of Retzius. Taken together, these data suggests that the maxillary fragment recovered from Haasgat best fits within theAustralopithecus—earlyHomohypodigms to the exclusion of the genusParanthropus. At ∼1.95 Ma this specimen would either represent another example of late occurringAustralopithecusor one of the earliest examples ofHomoin the region. While the identification of this first hominin specimen from Haasgat is not unexpected given the composition of other South African penecontemporaneous site deposits, it represents one of the few hominin localities in the topographically-distinct northern World Heritage Site. When coupled with the substantial differences in the mammalian faunal communities between the northern localities (e.g., Haasgat, Gondolin) and well-sampled Bloubank Valley sites (e.g., Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai), the recovery of the HGT 500 specimen highlights the potential for further research at the Haasgat locality for understanding the distribution and interactions of hominin populations across the landscape, ecosystems and fossil mammalian communities of early Pleistocene South Africa. Such contextual data from sites like Haasgat is critical for understanding the transition in hominin representation at ∼2 Ma sites in the region fromAustralopithecustoParanthropusand earlyHomo.

scholarly journals Macromammalian faunas, biochronology and palaeoecology of the early Pleistocene Main Quarry hominin-bearing deposits of the Drimolen Palaeocave System, South Africa

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin W. Adams ◽  
Douglass S. Rovinsky ◽  
Andy I.R. Herries ◽  
Colin G. Menter
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Papio Hamadryas ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Species List ◽  
Unesco World Heritage ◽  
Fossil Hominids ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Unesco World Heritage Site

The Drimolen Palaeocave System Main Quarry deposits (DMQ) are some of the most prolific hominin and primate-bearing deposits in the Fossil Hominids of South Africa UNESCO World Heritage Site. Discovered in the 1990s, excavations into the DMQ have yielded a demographically diverse sample ofParanthropus robustus(including DNH 7, the most complete cranium of the species recovered to date), earlyHomo,Papio hamadryas robinsoniandCercopithecoides williamsi. Alongside the hominin and primate sample is a diverse macromammalian assemblage, but prior publications have only provided a provisional species list and an analysis of the carnivores recovered prior to 2008. Here we present the first description and analysis of the non-primate macromammalian faunas from the DMQ, including all 826 taxonomically identifiable specimens catalogued from over two decades of excavation. We also provide a biochronological interpretation of the DMQ deposits and an initial discussion of local palaeoecology based on taxon representation.The current DMQ assemblage consists of the remains of minimally 147 individuals from 9 Orders and 14 Families of mammals. The carnivore assemblage described here is even more diverse than established in prior publications, including the identification ofMegantereon whitei,Lycyaenops silberbergi, and first evidence for the occurrence ofDinofeliscf.barlowiandDinofelisaff.piveteauiwithin a single South African site deposit. The cetartiodactyl assemblage is dominated by bovids, with the specimen composition unique in the high recovery of horn cores and dominance ofAntidorcas reckiremains. Other cetartiodactyl and perissodactyl taxa are represented by few specimens, as areHystrixandProcavia; the latter somewhat surprisingly so given their common occurrence at penecontemporaneous deposits in the region. Equally unusual (particularly given the size of the sample) is the identification of single specimens of giraffoid, elephantid and aardvark (Orycteropuscf.afer) that are rarely recovered from regional site deposits. Despite the diversity within the DMQ macromammalian faunas, there are few habitat- or biochronologically-sensitive species that provide specific ecologic or age boundaries for the deposits. Recovered species can only support the non-specific, mixed open-to-closed palaeohabitats around Drimolen that have been reconstructed for the other penecontemporaneous South African palaeokarst deposits. The identifiedEquus quaggassp. specimens recovered from the floor of the current excavation (∾−4.5–5 m below datum) suggests that most, if not all the DMQ specimens, were deposited after 2.33 Ma. Simultaneously, the carnivore specimens (D.cf.barlowi, L. silberbergi) suggest earlier Pleistocene (pre- 2.0–1.8 Ma) to maximally 1.6 Ma deposition (D.aff.piveteaui) for most of the DMQ fossil assemblage.

scholarly journals Conveyance of preaching by vulnerable listeners – A case study of farm workers in the Vredefort Dome South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barend J. De Klerk
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Farm Workers ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Worship Services ◽  
Vulnerable People ◽  
Vulnerable Persons

Farm workers living in and around the Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site are some of the most vulnerable people in South Africa. Research by means of a case study with four participants from this group examined the following question: How do vulnerable people continue preaching the Word in this environment by ministering to other vulnerable people with the sermons that they have heard? The case study considered both the environment and the circumstances in which these participants live. This research aimed to establish what it means to preach to those who are vulnerable and how such preaching can be continued by the hearers. A case study by means of a qualitative empirical investigation called upon a few of the vulnerable hearers to speak.Thefindings included that the participants to this case study do not spread the sermons further on a regular basis, but they would be able to edify and encourage other vulnerable persons with it if needed. If they do talk to each other about the sermon directly after the worship service (like it was done during the interviews), their confidence to proclaim the message to other vulnerable people who do not participate in the worship services will increase. Plaaswerkers wat in die omgewing van die wêrelderfenisgebied, die Vredefortkoepel, woon, is van die mees weerlose wesens in Suid-Afrika. ’n Gevallestudie, waaraan vier van hierdie persone deelgeneem het, is gedoen. Dit het oor die volgende vraag gehandel: Hoe word preke wat aan weerloses bedien word deur hulle aan ander in hulle omgewing wat in dieselfde omstandighede verkeer, voortgedra? Die omgewing waarin die deelnemers woon en hulle lewensomstandighede is nagegaan. Daar is gepoog om vas te stel wat onder prediking aan weerloses verstaan word en hoe sodanige prediking deur die hoorders verder versprei kan word. Die gevallestudie, wat deur middel van ’n kwalitatiewe empiriese ondersoek plaasgevind het, het enkele van die weerlose hoorders self aan die woord laat kom. Die bevinding was dat die deelnemers hieraan nie die preke op ʼngereelde basis verder laat weerklink nie, maar dat hulle wel in staat sou wees om ander weerlose persone daarmee te versterk en te bemoedig. Indien hulle wel onmiddellik na die diens met mekaar oor die preek van die dag sou gesels (soos dit in die onderhoude gedoen is), kan die vrymoedigheid groei om die boodskap ook aan ander weerlose mense wat nie aan die erediens deelgeneem het nie, oor te dra.

Short report: Geoheritage in the Matjiesrivier Nature Reserve, a World Heritage Site in the Cederberg, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 166 ◽  
pp. 103818
Author(s):  
C.R. Penn-Clarke ◽  
J. Deacon ◽  
N. Wiltshire ◽  
C. Browning ◽  
R. du Plessis
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Short Report ◽  
Heritage Site
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