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The Age of Homo Naledi and Associated Sediments in the Rising Star Cave, South Africa University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health 1-1-2017 The age of Homo naledi and associated sediments in the Rising Star Cave, South Africa Paul H.G.M Dirks James Cook University Eric Roberts James Cook University Hannah Hilbert-Wolf James Cook University Jan Kramers University of Johannesburg John Hawks University of The Witwatersrand, University of Wisconsin-Madison See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers Part of the Medicine and Health Sciences Commons, and the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Dirks, Paul H.G.M; Roberts, Eric; Hilbert-Wolf, Hannah; Kramers, Jan; Hawks, John; Dosseto, Anthony; Duval, Mathieu; Elliott, Marina; Evans, Mary; and Grün, Rainer, "The age of Homo naledi and associated sediments in the Rising Star Cave, South Africa" (2017). Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A. 4695. https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/4695 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] The age of Homo naledi and associated sediments in the Rising Star Cave, South Africa Abstract New ages for flowstone, sediments and fossil bones from the Dinaledi Chamber are presented. We combined optically stimulated luminescence dating of sediments with U-Th and palaeomagnetic analyses of flowstones to establish that all sediments containing Homo naledi fossils can be allocated to a single stratigraphic entity (sub-unit 3b), interpreted to be deposited between 236 ka and 414 ka. This result has been confirmed independently yb dating three H. naledi teeth with combined U-series and electron spin resonance (US-ESR) dating. Two dating scenarios for the fossils were tested by varying the assumed levels of 222Rn loss in the encasing sediments: a maximum age scenario provides an average age for the two least altered fossil teeth of 253 +82/-70 ka, whilst a minimum age scenario yields an average age of 200 +70/-61 ka. We consider the maximum age scenario to more closely reflect conditions in the cave, and therefore, the true age of the fossils. By combining the US-ESR maximum age estimate obtained from the teeth, with the U-Th age for the oldest flowstone overlying Homo naledi fossils, we have constrained the depositional age of Homo naledi to a period between 236 ka and 335 ka. These age results demonstrate that a morphologically primitive hominin, Homo naledi, survived into the later parts of the Pleistocene in Africa, and indicate a much younger age for the Homo naledi fossils than have previously been hypothesized based on their morphology. Disciplines Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication Details Dirks, P. H.G.M., Roberts, E. M., Hilbert-Wolf, H., Kramers, J. D., Hawks, J., Dosseto, A., Duval, M., Elliott, M., Evans, M., Grun, R. et al (2017). The age of Homo naledi and associated sediments in the Rising Star Cave, South Africa. eLife, 6 1-59. Authors Paul H.G.M Dirks, Eric Roberts, Hannah Hilbert-Wolf, Jan Kramers, John Hawks, Anthony Dosseto, Mathieu Duval, Marina Elliott, Mary Evans, and Rainer Grün This journal article is available at Research Online: https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/4695 RESEARCH ARTICLE The age of Homo naledi and associated sediments in the Rising Star Cave, South Africa Paul HGM Dirks1,2*, Eric M Roberts1,2, Hannah Hilbert-Wolf1, Jan D Kramers3, John Hawks2,4, Anthony Dosseto5, Mathieu Duval6,7, Marina Elliott2, Mary Evans8, Rainer Gru¨ n6,9, John Hellstrom10, Andy IR Herries11, Renaud Joannes-Boyau12, Tebogo V Makhubela3, Christa J Placzek1, Jessie Robbins1, Carl Spandler1, Jelle Wiersma1, Jon Woodhead10, Lee R Berger2 1Department of Geoscience, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia; 2Evolutionary Studies Institute and the National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa; 3Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa; 4Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United States; 5School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia; 6Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia; 7Geochronology, Centro Nacional de Investigacio´n sobre la Evolucio´n Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain; 8School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa; 9Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia; 10School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; 11The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia; 12Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group, Department of GeoScience, Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia *For correspondence: paul.dirks@ jcu.edu.au Competing interests: The Abstract New ages for flowstone, sediments and fossil bones from the Dinaledi Chamber are authors declare that no presented. We combined optically stimulated luminescence dating of sediments with U-Th and competing interests exist. palaeomagnetic analyses of flowstones to establish that all sediments containing Homo naledi Funding: See page 54 fossils can be allocated to a single stratigraphic entity (sub-unit 3b), interpreted to be deposited between 236 ka and 414 ka. This result has been confirmed independently by dating three H. Received: 13 December 2016 naledi teeth with combined U-series and electron spin resonance (US-ESR) dating. Two dating Accepted: 25 April 2017 222 Published: 09 May 2017 scenarios for the fossils were tested by varying the assumed levels of Rn loss in the encasing sediments: a maximum age scenario provides an average age for the two least altered fossil teeth Reviewing editor: George H of 253 +82/–70 ka, whilst a minimum age scenario yields an average age of 200 +70/–61 ka. We Perry, Pennsylvania State consider the maximum age scenario to more closely reflect conditions in the cave, and therefore, University, United States the true age of the fossils. By combining the US-ESR maximum age estimate obtained from the Copyright Dirks et al. This teeth, with the U-Th age for the oldest flowstone overlying Homo naledi fossils, we have article is distributed under the constrained the depositional age of Homo naledi to a period between 236 ka and 335 ka. These terms of the Creative Commons age results demonstrate that a morphologically primitive hominin, Homo naledi, survived into the Attribution License, which later parts of the Pleistocene in Africa, and indicate a much younger age for the Homo naledi fossils permits unrestricted use and than have previously been hypothesized based on their morphology. redistribution provided that the DOI: 10.7554/eLife.24231.001 original author and source are credited. Dirks et al. eLife 2017;6:e24231. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.24231 1 of 59 Research article Genomics and Evolutionary Biology eLife digest Species of ancient humans and the extinct relatives of our ancestors are typically described from a limited number of fossils. However, this was not the case with Homo naledi. More than 1500 fossils representing at least 15 individuals of this species were unearthed from the Rising Star cave system in South Africa between 2013 and 2014. Found deep underground in the Dinaledi Chamber, the H. naledi fossils are the largest collection of a single species of an ancient human- relative discovered in Africa. After the discovery was reported, a number of questions still remained. Not least among these questions was: how old were the fossils? The material was undated, and predictions ranged from anywhere between 2 million years old and 100,000 years old. H. naledi shared several traits with the most primitive of our ancient relatives, including its small brain. As a result, many scientists guessed that H. naledi was an old species in our family tree, and possibly one of the earliest species to evolve in the genus Homo. Now, Dirks et al. – who include many of the researchers who were involved in the discovery of H. naledi – report that the fossils are most likely between 236,000 and 335,000 years old. These dates are based on measuring the concentration of radioactive elements, and the damage caused by these elements (which accumulates over time), in three fossilized teeth, plus surrounding rock and sediments from the cave chamber. Importantly, the most crucial tests were carried out at independent laboratories around the world, and the scientists conducted the tests without knowing the results of the other laboratories. Dirks et al. took these extra steps to make sure that the results obtained were reproducible and unbiased. The estimated dates are much more recent than many had predicted, and mean that H. naledi was alive at the same time as the earliest members of our own species – which most likely evolved between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago. These new findings demonstrate why it can be unwise to try to predict the age of a fossil based only on its appearance, and emphasize the importance of dating specimens via independent tests. Finally in two related reports, Berger et al. suggest how a primitive-looking species like H. naledi survived more recently than many would have predicted, while Hawks et al. describe the discovery of more H. naledi fossils from a separate chamber in the same cave system. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.24231.002 Introduction The fossil assemblage attributed to Homo naledi from the Rising Star Cave in the Cradle of Human- kind, UNESCO World Heritage Area, South Africa (CoH) (Berger et al., 2015), represents one of the richest and most unusual taphonomic assemblages yet discovered in the hominin fossil record (Dirks et al., 2015). The remains are exceptionally well preserved and represent the largest collec- tion of fossils from a single primitive hominin species ever discovered in Africa.
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