Complexities of assessing palaeocave stratigraphy: reconstructing site formation of the ∼2.61 Ma Drimolen Makondo fossil site

Abstract

Palaeocave sites in South Africa are world renowned repositories for palaeontological and archaeological material, dating from the terminal Pliocene to the Early Pleistocene. Due to their antiquity, complex karstification history and multifaceted infilling phases, palaeocave sites are notoriously difficult to contextualise. Further to this, 19th century lime-mining and diverse excavation and sampling techniques, have complicated stratigraphic interpretations of fossil-bearing deposits within the region. Locating and assessing newly discovered, minimally disturbed palaeocave sites allow for contextual information to be gathered with greater confidence and can aid in constructing a more robust understanding of the South African fossil record. Here, we use Drimolen Makondo; a minimally lime-mined ∼2.61 Ma palaeontological site, to apply a series of in-depth stratigraphic and micromorphological studies. Contextual data presented within this study, testifies to a relatively rapid infill with greater fluvial activity when compared to adjacent deposits at the younger ∼2.04–1.95 Ma Drimolen Main Quarry. The quantity of articulated macromammalian remains, high density of micromammalian remains and pollen identified, also highlights Drimolen Makondo as a key site for ongoing palaeoenvironmental studies at the Pliocene to Pleistocene transition in South Africa.

Going with the flow: Sedimentary processes along karst conduits within Chalk aquifers, northern France

“…These typically offer 2D snapshots, but do not permit detailed investigation of stratigraphical correlations and lateral facies variations. For these reasons, there are very few sedimentological studies of cave sediments in the Chalk (Rodet et al, 2006) compared to classical limestone caves (e.g., Murszewski et al, 2020;Kurečić et al, 2021). The few studies that have been carried out in Chalk caves focused on the granulometry, chemical composition, clay minerology and provenance of detrital sediments (Laignel et al, 2004;Chédeville et al, 2015).…”

New hominin dental remains from the Drimolen Main Quarry, South Africa (1999–2008)

“…The younger, classic site discovered in 1992 is now referred to as the Drimolen Main Quarry (DMQ) and dates to between ~2.04 and 1.95 Ma (Herries et al, 2020). The two deposits are around 50 m apart and there is currently no evidence that they were stratigraphically connected (Murszewski et al, 2020). Excavations conducted at DMQ since initial discovery have produced a large faunal assemblage (Adams et al, 2016) as well as hominin specimens representing Paranthropus robustus , Homo aff.…”