Title:
Contemporaneity of Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and early Homo erectus in South Africa
Authors:
A.I.R. Herries, J.M. Martin, A.B. Leece & J.W. Adams
Published:
Science, Volume 368, Issue 6486, eaaw7293, 3 April 2020
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6486/eaaw7293.editor-summary#login-pane
Summary:
Fossil hominins from South Africa are enriching the story of early human evolution and dispersal. Herries et al. describe the geological context and dating of the hominin-bearing infilled cave, or palaeocave, at a site called Drimolen in South Africa (see the Perspective by Antón). They focus on the age and context of a recently discovered Homo erectus sensu lato fossil and a Paranthropus robustus fossil, which they dated to ∼2.04 million to 1.95 million years ago. This makes Drimolen one of the best-dated sites in South Africa and establishes these fossils as the oldest definitive specimens of their respective species ever discovered. The age confirms that species of Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and early Homo overlapped in the karst of South Africa ∼2 million years ago.
See also:
Indiana Bones, the Melbourne archaeology students and the fossil 'jigsaw puzzle' that wowed the world by Jane Cadzow, The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 June 2020