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40Ar/39Ar Dating of the Kapthurin Formation, Baringo, Kenya

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40Ar/39Ar Dating of the Kapthurin Formation, Baringo, Kenya Alan L. Deino 40Ar/39Ar dating of the Kapthurin Berkeley Geochronology Formation, Baringo, Kenya Center, 2455 Ridge Road, Berkeley, CA 94709, U.S.A. The 40Ar/39Ar radiometric dating technique has been applied to tuffs E-mail: [email protected] and lavas of the Kapthurin Formation in the Tugen Hills, Kenya Rift Valley. Two variants of the 40Ar/39Ar technique, single-crystal total Sally McBrearty fusion (SCTF) and laser incremental heating (LIH) have been Department of Anthropology, employed to date five marker horizons within the formation: near the University of Connecticut, base, the Kasurein Basalt at 0·610·04 Ma; the Pumice Tuff at Storrs, CT 06269, U.S.A. 0·5430·004 Ma; the Upper Kasurein Basalt at 0·5520·015 Ma; E-mail: [email protected] the Grey Tuff at 0·5090·009 Ma; and within the upper part of the formation, the Bedded Tuff at 0·2840·012 Ma. The new, precise Received 1 March 2001 radiometric age determination for the Pumice Tuff also provides an Revision received age for the widespread Lake Baringo Trachyte, since the Pumice Tuff 18 July 2001 and is the early pyroclastic phase of this voluminous trachyte eruption. accepted 5 September 2001 These results establish the age of fossil hominids KNM-BK 63-67 and KNM-BK 8518 at approximately 0·510–0·512 Ma, a significant Keywords: geochronology, finding given that few Middle Pleistocene hominids are radio- radioisotopic dating, Middle metrically dated. The Kapthurin hominids are thus the near Pleistocene, East Africa, contemporaries of those from Bodo, Ethiopia and Tanzania. A flake Acheulian, Middle Stone and core industry from lacustrine sediments in the lower part of the Age. formation is constrained by new dates of 0·55–0·52 Ma, a period during which the Acheulian industry, characterized by handaxes, is known throughout East Africa. Points, typical of the Middle Stone Age (MSA), are found in Kapthurin Formation sediments now shown to date to between 0·5090·009 Ma and 0·2840·012 Ma. This date exceeds previous estimates for the age of the MSA elsewhere in East Africa by 49 ka, and establishes the age of Acheulian to MSA transition for the region. Evidence of the use of the Levallois tech- nique for the manufacture of both small flakes and biface preforms, the systematic production of blades, and the use and processing of red ochre also occurs in this interval. The presence of blades and red ochre at this depth is important as blades signify a high degree of technical competence and red ochre suggests symbolic behavior. 2002 Academic Press Journal of Human Evolution (2002) 42, 185–210 doi:10.1006/jhev.2001.0517 Available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on Introduction Kapthurin Formation spans a significant portion of the Middle Pleistocene, con- The African Middle Pleistocene fossil record tains many artifacts and fossils, including preserves the earliest traces of Homo sapiens. hominids, and is punctuated by volcanic Profound changes in hominid behavior units that can be accurately dated by the during this time interval are implied by the 40Ar/39Ar technique. The new age cali- disappearance of Acheulian technology and bration of the Kapthurin Formation its replacement by diverse Middle Stone Age reported in this study establishes a precise (MSA) traditions. Few Middle Pleistocene age for Kapthurin hominids, for the sites in Africa are well dated, and as a result Acheulian–MSA transition, and for the first the timing of events is not well known. The appearance of several key behavioral 0047–2484/02/010185+26$35.00/0 2002 Academic Press 186 . . 36°15' E N a Loruk K2 2 km GnJi-28 a Tugen Hills LAKE Ngaratugo R. K2 CYS97-1 Kampi ya K2a STUDY Saimo Fault CYS-1 Samaki AREA (21257-01) Kasurein River Kasurein R. BARINGO Kapthurin R. 0°35' N Barsemoi R. K3 K3 GnJh-17 MCB97-2 Ndau R. Ndau R. Barteker KAP-815 Chemeron R. KAP-21 K2 o River K4 K3 K1 S15-3 Kobosowany GnJh-15 K3a K3 River K4 H S15-1 e BK63-67 J1 K2 K4 K4 GnJh-03 BK8518 K3' H K3' LS K1 JKS KAP-15 GnJh-57 K3 KAP-19, K1 K3 B-B' K2 BRKO/ K4 K4 94-1 Lion KAP Site -23 K3' D-D' A-A' C-C' GnJh-41 K4 GnJh-42 K3 K1 K5 LS KAP-22 Kapthurin River K4 0 500 m N K3 K2 GnJh-63 Figure 1. Geologic map of the study area, indicating extent of outcrop of sampled volcanic units, locations of measured sections (A-A,B-B, etc.), archaeological sites (GnJh and GnJi numbers), hominid fossils (BK numbers), and 40Ar/39Ar sampling localities (all other numbers). Refer to Figure 2 for key to geologic units (K1, K2, etc.). markers, most notably the development of 1896), and has been recognized as fossilifer- the Levallois technique of flake production, ous since the 1940s (Fuchs, 1950). The area the manufacture of blades, and the apparent was mapped by the Geological Survey of use and processing of red ochre. Kenya (Walsh, 1969) and the East African Geological Research Unit (EAGRU) (e.g., Martyn, 1969; Bishop et al., 1971; The Kapthurin Formation Chapman et al., 1978), and since about 1980 The Kapthurin Formation forms part of the more detailed local sequences have been Tugen Hills sedimentary sequence, exposed documented by the Baringo Paleontological in a 75 km long, north–south oriented com- Research Project (BPRP) (e.g., Hill et al., plex tilted fault block jutting from the floor of 1985, 1986). The intercalated volcanics have the Kenya rift. The 125–150 m-thick for- permitted construction of a chronostratigra- mation is exposed over an area of about phy based on conventional K/Ar dating, 150 km2, lying between the crest of the 40Ar/39Ar dating, and paleomagnetism for Tugen Hills to the west, and modern Lake the Tugen Hills volcanosedimentary se- Baringo to the east (Figure 1). The region quence spanning the period ca. 14–1·6 Ma has been studied by geologists for over a (Tauxe et al., 1985; Hill et al., 1986; Deino et hundred years (Thomson, 1884; Gregory, al., 1990; Deino & Hill, 2002). 40/39 , , 187 W LS E K5 0.235±0.002 Ma Acheulian & MSA 0.284±0.012 Ma (GnJh-63, GnJh-17, K4 GnJi-28) Red ochre (GnJh-15) Blades, Levallois, Acheulian (GnJh-03) 0.509±0.009 Ma GT BK63-67 & BK8518 H K3 K3a 0.552±0.015 Ma Flake & core K3' assemblages (GnJh-41, GnJh-42, GnJh-57) a 0.545±0.003 Ma K2 K2 0.543±0.004 Ma Key K1 LS Loboi Silts J1e 0.61±0.04 Ma K5 Upper Silts & Gravels e K4 Bedded Tuff J1 K1' K3a Upper Kasurein Basalt K3 Middle Silts & Gravels K3' Lacustrine Facies of K3 CF GT Grey Tuff H Hominids NT 1.57 Ma K2a Lake Baringo Trachyte K2 Pumice Tuff CF K1 Lower Silts & Gravels K1' Lacustrine Facies of K1 J1e Lower Kasurein Basalt CF Chemeron Formation NT Ndau Trachymugearite Figure 2. Generalized stratigraphic section for the Kapthurin Formation, modified after Tallon (1976).All dates result from 40Ar/39Ar analysis reported here, with the exception of the Ndau trachymugearite (NT), dated by Hill et al. (1986). Sedimentary rocks now referred to the marily from the Miocene and Pliocene rocks Kapthurin Formation were part of the type of the Tugen Hills to the west, and the rate of section for the ‘‘Kamasian pluvial’’ of Leakey accumulation has been controlled in part by (1955). The ‘‘Kamasian’’ beds were divided activity along the north-south trending Saimo into the early Pliocene Chemeron Formation fault (see Figure 1). The Kapthurin For- and Middle Pleistocene Kapthurin For- mation is well exposed in the valleys of mation by McCall et al. (1967). Martyn streams that drain the Tugen Hills and de- (1969) subdivided the Kapthurin Formation bouch into the main axis of the rift into five major units (K1 through K5; Figure (Figure 1). 2), with refinements by Tallon (1976, 1978). Volcaniclastic tuffs and lava flows inter- Members K1, K3, and K5, termed the calated within the Kapthurin Formation at Lower, Middle, and Upper Silts and Gravels several levels provide potential resources for by Martyn, are primarily of fluviolacustrine radioisotopic dating, and volcanic units sedimentary origin. The sedimentary rocks of underlying the formation also offer valuable members K1, K3, and K5 are derived pri- age constraints. 188 . . Previous attempts to constrain the maxi- Baringo Trachyte, ranging from 0·400·06 mum age of the Kapthurin Formation have to 0·840·03 Ma. They select one of relied on K–Ar ages for the Lower Kasurein these samples, dated to 0·580·04 Ma, to Basalt, intercalated within K1 close to the represent the age of the flow (Cornelissen base of the formation, and on lavas which et al., 1990). This result is in disagree- underlie the Kapthurin Formation with an- ment with earlier K–Ar determinations for gular discordance. Cornelissen et al. (1990) the Lake Baringo Trachyte of 0·230 Ma reports ages ranging from 1·5–1·1 Ma on the (Tallon, 1976) and 0·26 Ma (Chapman & Lower Kasurein Basalt, concluding that an Brook, 1978), reported merely as citations age of 1·2 Ma is probably closest to reality. from J. Miller without analytical data or The stratigraphically older, structurally dis- uncertainty. conformable lavas (Ndau trachy-mugearite, Near the Kasurein River (Figure 1), the Songoiwa trachy-mugearite) are appar- Lake Baringo Trachyte is overlain by sedi- ently 1·6 Ma or older (Hill et al., 1986; ments 0·5 m thick, which in turn are Cornelissen et al., 1990; Deino & Hill, overlain by the Upper Kasurein Basalt 2002).
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