Age and context of the oldest known hominin fossils from Flores

Adam Brumm; Gerrit D. van den Bergh; Michael Storey; Iwan Kurniawan; Brent V. Alloway; Ruly Setiawan; Erick Setiyabudi; Rainer Grün; Mark W. Moore; Dida Yurnaldi; Mika R. Puspaningrum; Unggul P. Wibowo; Halmi Insani; Indra Sutisna; John A. Westgate; Nick J. G. Pearce; Mathieu Duval; Hanneke J. M. Meijer; Fachroel Aziz; Thomas Sutikna; Sander dan der Kaars; Stephanie Flude; Michael J. Morwood

doi:10.1038/nature17663

Age and context of the oldest known hominin fossils from Flores

Adam Brumm^*, Gerrit D. van den Bergh, Michael Storey, Iwan Kurniawan, Brent V. Alloway, Ruly Setiawan, Erick Setiyabudi, Rainer Grün, Mark W. Moore, Dida Yurnaldi, Mika R. Puspaningrum, Unggul P. Wibowo, Halmi Insani, Indra Sutisna, John A. Westgate, Nick J. G. Pearce, Mathieu Duval, Hanneke J. M. Meijer, Fachroel Aziz, Thomas SutiknaSander dan der Kaars, Stephanie Flude, Michael J. Morwood

^*Corresponding author for this work

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Recent excavations at the early Middle Pleistocene site of Mata Menge in the So'a Basin of central Flores, Indonesia, have yielded hominin fossils attributed to a population ancestral to Late Pleistocene Homo floresiensis. Here we describe the age and context of the Mata Menge hominin specimens and associated archaeological findings. The fluvial sandstone layer from which the in situ fossils were excavated in 2014 was deposited in a small valley stream around 700 thousand years ago, as indicated by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹ Ar and fission track dates on stratigraphically bracketing volcanic ash and pyroclastic density current deposits, in combination with coupled uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating of fossil teeth. Palaeoenvironmental data indicate a relatively dry climate in the So'a Basin during the early Middle Pleistocene, while various lines of evidence suggest the hominins inhabited a savannah-like open grassland habitat with a wetland component. The hominin fossils occur alongside the remains of an insular fauna and a simple stone technology that is markedly similar to that associated with Late Pleistocene H. floresiensis.

Original language	English
Journal	Nature
Volume	534
Issue number	7606
Pages (from-to)	249-253
Number of pages	5
ISSN	0028-0836
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17663
Publication status	Published - 2016

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Brumm, A., van den Bergh, G. D., Storey, M., Kurniawan, I., Alloway, B. V., Setiawan, R., Setiyabudi, E., Grün, R., Moore, M. W., Yurnaldi, D., Puspaningrum, M. R., Wibowo, U. P., Insani, H., Sutisna, I., Westgate, J. A., Pearce, N. J. G., Duval, M., Meijer, H. J. M., Aziz, F., ... Morwood, M. J. (2016). Age and context of the oldest known hominin fossils from Flores. Nature, 534(7606), 249-253. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17663

Brumm, A, van den Bergh, GD, Storey, M, Kurniawan, I, Alloway, BV, Setiawan, R, Setiyabudi, E, Grün, R, Moore, MW, Yurnaldi, D, Puspaningrum, MR, Wibowo, UP, Insani, H, Sutisna, I, Westgate, JA, Pearce, NJG, Duval, M, Meijer, HJM, Aziz, F, Sutikna, T, dan der Kaars, S, Flude, S & Morwood, MJ 2016, 'Age and context of the oldest known hominin fossils from Flores', Nature, vol. 534, no. 7606, pp. 249-253. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17663

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title = "Age and context of the oldest known hominin fossils from Flores",

abstract = "Recent excavations at the early Middle Pleistocene site of Mata Menge in the So'a Basin of central Flores, Indonesia, have yielded hominin fossils attributed to a population ancestral to Late Pleistocene Homo floresiensis. Here we describe the age and context of the Mata Menge hominin specimens and associated archaeological findings. The fluvial sandstone layer from which the in situ fossils were excavated in 2014 was deposited in a small valley stream around 700 thousand years ago, as indicated by 40Ar/39 Ar and fission track dates on stratigraphically bracketing volcanic ash and pyroclastic density current deposits, in combination with coupled uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating of fossil teeth. Palaeoenvironmental data indicate a relatively dry climate in the So'a Basin during the early Middle Pleistocene, while various lines of evidence suggest the hominins inhabited a savannah-like open grassland habitat with a wetland component. The hominin fossils occur alongside the remains of an insular fauna and a simple stone technology that is markedly similar to that associated with Late Pleistocene H. floresiensis.",

author = "Adam Brumm and {van den Bergh}, {Gerrit D.} and Michael Storey and Iwan Kurniawan and Alloway, {Brent V.} and Ruly Setiawan and Erick Setiyabudi and Rainer Gr{\"u}n and Moore, {Mark W.} and Dida Yurnaldi and Puspaningrum, {Mika R.} and Wibowo, {Unggul P.} and Halmi Insani and Indra Sutisna and Westgate, {John A.} and Pearce, {Nick J. G.} and Mathieu Duval and Meijer, {Hanneke J. M.} and Fachroel Aziz and Thomas Sutikna and {dan der Kaars}, Sander and Stephanie Flude and Morwood, {Michael J.}",

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AU - Brumm, Adam

AU - van den Bergh, Gerrit D.

AU - Storey, Michael

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AU - Alloway, Brent V.

AU - Setiawan, Ruly

AU - Setiyabudi, Erick

AU - Grün, Rainer

AU - Moore, Mark W.

AU - Yurnaldi, Dida

AU - Puspaningrum, Mika R.

AU - Wibowo, Unggul P.

AU - Insani, Halmi

AU - Sutisna, Indra

AU - Westgate, John A.

AU - Pearce, Nick J. G.

AU - Duval, Mathieu

AU - Meijer, Hanneke J. M.

AU - Aziz, Fachroel

AU - Sutikna, Thomas

AU - dan der Kaars, Sander

AU - Flude, Stephanie

AU - Morwood, Michael J.

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - Recent excavations at the early Middle Pleistocene site of Mata Menge in the So'a Basin of central Flores, Indonesia, have yielded hominin fossils attributed to a population ancestral to Late Pleistocene Homo floresiensis. Here we describe the age and context of the Mata Menge hominin specimens and associated archaeological findings. The fluvial sandstone layer from which the in situ fossils were excavated in 2014 was deposited in a small valley stream around 700 thousand years ago, as indicated by 40Ar/39 Ar and fission track dates on stratigraphically bracketing volcanic ash and pyroclastic density current deposits, in combination with coupled uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating of fossil teeth. Palaeoenvironmental data indicate a relatively dry climate in the So'a Basin during the early Middle Pleistocene, while various lines of evidence suggest the hominins inhabited a savannah-like open grassland habitat with a wetland component. The hominin fossils occur alongside the remains of an insular fauna and a simple stone technology that is markedly similar to that associated with Late Pleistocene H. floresiensis.

AB - Recent excavations at the early Middle Pleistocene site of Mata Menge in the So'a Basin of central Flores, Indonesia, have yielded hominin fossils attributed to a population ancestral to Late Pleistocene Homo floresiensis. Here we describe the age and context of the Mata Menge hominin specimens and associated archaeological findings. The fluvial sandstone layer from which the in situ fossils were excavated in 2014 was deposited in a small valley stream around 700 thousand years ago, as indicated by 40Ar/39 Ar and fission track dates on stratigraphically bracketing volcanic ash and pyroclastic density current deposits, in combination with coupled uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating of fossil teeth. Palaeoenvironmental data indicate a relatively dry climate in the So'a Basin during the early Middle Pleistocene, while various lines of evidence suggest the hominins inhabited a savannah-like open grassland habitat with a wetland component. The hominin fossils occur alongside the remains of an insular fauna and a simple stone technology that is markedly similar to that associated with Late Pleistocene H. floresiensis.

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DO - 10.1038/nature17663

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SN - 0028-0836

VL - 534

SP - 249

EP - 253

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

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ER -

Age and context of the oldest known hominin fossils from Flores

Abstract

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