Wits Evolutionary Studies Institute (ESI)
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Item manual(DURASPACE, 2005-08-17) Diol, JoeItem An Acheulean handaxe from Gladysvale Cave site, Gauteng, South Africa.(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2006-03) Hall, G.; Pickering, R.; Lacruz, R.; Hancox, J.; Berger, L.R.; Schmid, P.WE DESCRIBE A SINGLE HANDAXE FROM fossiliferous breccias at Gladysvale Cave, South Africa. The artefact is the only known tool so far discovered during the controlled excavations conducted at this site over the last decade, and was recovered from decalcified sediments near the stratigraphic interface of two breccia units, making it difficult to assign it with confidence to either. The morphology of the handaxe indicates a middle-late Acheulean industry, and preliminary electron spin resonance and palaeomagnetic dating suggest an age of greater than 780 000 years.Item A partial skull of Paranthropus robustus from Cooper's Cave, South Africa.(Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2008-03) Berger, L.R.; Kuhn, B.F.; Steininger, C.A partial hominin skull (COB 101) was identified in the fossil collections of the Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, attributed to the Cooper's Cave site in South Africa. The find represents the most complete hominin specimen recovered from localities at this site to date. COB 101 comprises the supraorbital, zygomatic, infraorbital and nasoalveolar regions of the right side, and the right upper third premolar. The specimen has undergone post-depositional distortion that resulted in the flattening of the facial structures. Here we describe and compare COB 101 with other hominin material from Africa and find that this specimen shares numerous diagnostic features with Paranthropus robustus. The discovery of COB 101 augments the number of specimens attributed to this species from other South African sites and other Cooper's Cave localities.Item Cranial description and taxonomic re-evaluation of Kannemeyeria argintinensis (Therapsida: Dicynodontia)(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 2001) Renaut, Hancox, PJ AJExamination of the holotype skull of the Triassic dicynodont Kannemeyeria argentinensis Bonaparte reveals that many of purported diagnostic characters are distortion-related. A redescription of the holotype indicates that its inclusion in the genus Kannemeyeria cannot be supported. Several characters are, however, identical to the Argentine taxon Vinceria, and we suggest that the two taxa may be congeneric. This finding challenges the validity of a global Kannemeyeria-biochron, but not necessarily the relationships of tetrapod faunal groups in South America and Africa.Item Further evidence for eagle predation of, and feeding damage on, the Taung child.(ASSAf, 2007-11) Berger, L.R.; McGraw, W.S.We present new evidence supporting the hypothesis that a large raptor was responsible for the death of the c. 2.0-Myr-old Taung child, holotype of the early hominin species Australopithecus africanus. We compare the Taung child's skull with those of monkeys killed and eaten by modern crowned eagles, Stephanoaetus coronatus, in the Ivory Coast's Tai Forest. Close inspection of primate feeding remains from these large, powerful raptors reveals scratch marks in the orbital, frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital regions. Scratches similar in size and distribution are also present on the Taung child's skull. The new taphonomic evidence, combined with previously recognized similarities in breakage patterns and other assemblage characteristics, bolsters the case that a large bird of prey was responsible for the death of the juvenile hominin from Taung.Item Small-bodied humans from Palau, Micronesia.(Public Library of Science, 2008-03-12) Berger, L.R.; De Klerk, B.; Quinn, R.L.; Churchill, S.E.Newly discovered fossil assemblages of small bodied Homo sapiens from Palau, Micronesia possess characters thought to be taxonomically primitive for the genus Homo. Background: Recent surface collection and test excavation in limestone caves in the the rock islands of Palau, Micronesia, has produced a sizeable sample of human skeletal remains dating roughly between 940-2890 cal ybp. Principle Findings: Preliminary analysis indicates that this material is important for two reasons. First, Individuals from the older time horizons are small in body size even relative to "pygmoid" populations from Southeast Asia and Indonesia, and thus may represent a marked case of human insular dwarfism. Second, while possessing a number of derived features that align them with Homo sapiens, the human remains from Palau also exhibit several skeletal traits that are considered to be primitive for the genus Homo. Significance. These features may be previously unrecognized developmental correlates of small body size and, if soo, they may have important implications for interpreting the taxonomic affinities of fossil specimens of Homo.Item Palaeontologia africana Volume 44(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 2009)Item Palaeontologia africana Volume 43(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 2008)Item Palaeontologia africana Volume 42(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 2007)Item Palaeontologia africana Volume 41(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 2005)