The many branches of the tree; a personal view of Palaeobotany in Africa Marion Bamford Inaugural lecture University of the Witwatersrand 15 May 2014 Overview Permian floras Permo-Triassic flora and insects Early Cretaceous floras Mid Cretaceous Orapa flora Jurassic-Cretaceous woods West coast Tertiary woods, and pollen North African woods Early Miocene Rusinga Island Lukeino flora – Late Miocene Sterkfontein Koobi Fora Laetoli woods Olduvai Gorge Wonderwerk, Sibudu, Border Cave ++++ Wits experience • Botany and Microbiology • Palaeontology • BPI/ESI • Wood anatomy training – MRAC Brussels – Paris VI – Univ Claude Bernard, Lyon – Univ La Plata, Argentina Africa and Palaeobotany North Africa Tanzania Kenya Botswana Zimbabwe Namibia Botswana Mozambique South Africa Lawley (Early Permian- approx. 280 Ma) Glossopteris flora; SA coal Tertiary Cretaceous Jurassic Triassic Permian Carboniferous Devonian Silurian Glossopteris Fossil woods Taxonomy Biostratigraphy (Palaeoclimate) Tertiary Cretaceous Jurassic Triassic Permian Carboniferous Devonian Silurian Dicroidium Jurassic - Cretaceous wood taxonomy Conifer biogeography • Jurassic-Cretaceous conifers • Taxonomy • NB time period • Climate-distribution • Podocarpaceae • Araucariaceae 11 Philippe et al., 2004 Kirkwood Fm, Early Cretaceous; cycads, conifers, ferns Kirkwood- palaeofires project Buizenhouts River Charcoal – 5 conifer species; large-scale fires Orapa kimberlite pipe Late middle Cretaceous Orapa flora Numerous insects Angiosperm leaves Ferns NEW: climate from leaves African Cretaceous woods • Early Cretaceous • Low diversity gymnosperms • Modern families and extinct taxa • Late Cretaceous • Greater diversity Conifers • Angiosperms most diverse • North Africa - many • Southern Africa: Monimiaceae (2 taxa), Euphorbiaceae (4 taxa) Tertiary flora/woods • Eocene – angiosperms – clear family affinities and mixed • Oligocene – one • Miocene – well represented – west coast • Pliocene-Pleistocene – coastal and inland • Modern flora – very diverse • Pollen – many species Miocene West coast woods Auchas Arrisdrift Vredendal Rondeberg Anacardiaceae Burseraceae Combretaceae Meliaceae Podocarpaceae Vredendal Miocene Meliaceae Combretaceae Bamford 1999 Arrisdrift Miocene Burseraceae Combretaceae Fabaceae Cradle of humankind sites /Sterkfontein valley • Sterkfontein • Kromdraai • Swartkrans • Coopers A B • Bolt’s Farm • Haasgat • Gondolin • Gladysvale • Plover’s Lake • Malapa • Rising Star Sterkfontein fossil woods Dichapetalum mombuttense; Anastrabe intergerrima Sterkfontein Mbr 4 Wonderwerk Cave (2Ma – 0Ma) Excavation 1 (near entrance) Peter Beaumont ca 1970-1990 Michael Chazan, Liora Horwitz Wonderwerk Cave, Northern Cape Excavation 1. 1. Good dating 2. Microstratigraphy Chazan et al 2011 Dicot woodSedge 0.2cm 5. Burned plant fragments - fuel Oldest evidence of the controlled use of fire at Wonderwerk: • Older examples exist of use of fire BUT Wonderwerk has: • 1. Good dating: 1Mya • 2. Microstratigraphic context • 3. Burned bone • 4. Burned stone • 5. Plant fragments • Inspire other further research Berna et al., 2012, PNAS. Sibudu rockshelter and medicinal plants Cryptocarya woodii (Lauraceae) 77 000 years ago Wadley et al., 2011, Science, 77 000 years ago Cryptocarya woodii (Lauraceae) Research at Sibudu Rock Shelter KZN • MSA artefacts; fauna • Charcoal • Medicinal plants • PhD student: Sandy Lennox • Spirostachys africana, Tarchonanthus camphoratus • Phytoliths • Modern reference material • PhD student: May Murungi 32 EAST AFRICA Miocene - Pleistocene Collinson, Andrews, Bamford, 2009. JHE Early Miocene (18Ma) Rusinga Island, Kenya Fauna, hominoids Seed endocasts Leaf impessions Kaswanga Point Rusinga Island – Early Miocene Rusinga Island: Kaswanga Point – Hiwegi Formation Climate from leaf physiognomy Rusinga Island leaves Maxbauer et al. 2013. Pal. elect Seed endocasts – Nearest Living Relative – reconstruct vegetation and climate Late Miocene, Tugen Hills, Kenya: Lukeino Early hominin: Orrorin tugenensis Other sites with macroflora Lukeino Fm; Kapcharar site Leaves (all sites) Leaf features Leaf shape Leaf area Venation Apex shape Base shape Margin – teeth & type Margin – entire etc CLAMP results from Kapcharar • Altitude c. 2000m; Latitude 0° 50’N • Rainfall: – MAP: 1723 mm – Length of growing season: 10.6 months – MMGSP = 173 mm – Dry months total = 227 mm – Relative humidity = 76% • Temperature: – MAT: 19.8° C – WMMT: 25.4° C – CMMT: 14.3° C – Deciduous forest or woodland – with open areas nearby Bamford et al., 2013, Geobios Footprints at Laetoli Summary of projects: Upper Laetolil Beds, Laetoli, Tanzania Features • Hominin footprints • Australopithecus afarensis • Diverse fauna • Palaeoenvironment – Riverine setting, no lake – Mosaic woodland Projects • Landscape palaeoecology project (Terry Harrison) • Modern vegetation mapping (Peter Andrews) • NEW palaeoecology project (TZ: Magori, Mabulla, Muciba) – Footprint level – Flora, fauna – Isotopes Pliocene Laetoli, Tanzania Terry Harrison, NYU Laetoli, Noiti 1 – fossil wood site Laetoli seeds Laetoli leaves Vegetation reconstruction from fossil woods • Fossil plants • Upper Laetolil beds (ca 3.85 – 3.6 Ma) • Families: common African • Vegetation: forest, evergreen woodland, dry woodland, riverine and wooded grassland • Warm to hot climate • Lahar • Phytoliths: grass short cell morphotypes 50 Mapping of modern vegetation - thicket Laetoli, grass on mbuga Canopy Combretum spp. Albizia spp. Dombeya spp. Lower canopy Rhus natalensis, Acacia seyal, Grewia similis, Carissa edulis, Gymnosporium spp. Ground cover Hypoestes verticillaris, Tinnia aethiopica, Indigofera spicatum, Solanum nigrum, Lippia ukambense Liana Pterolobium stellatum More open areas Ziziphus mucronata, Acacia drepanolobium, Balanites aegyptiaca, Cordia ovalis, Maerua triphylla, Euphorbia candelabrum Dry well drained hillsides Commiphora spp., Terminalia brownii, Azanza garckeana, Sclerocarya birrea, Gardenia latea 7 Vegetation types recognised: eg Vegetation unit 2: Deciduous woodland (4 subunits) Vegetation Map Predictions for changing climate: Increased rainfall • Increased canopy height on well-drained soils • Decreased tree cover on poorly drained soils • Increase in Acacia species; increase in species diversity along rivers Decreased rainfall • Increase in height, density, species richness on water-logged soils • Species change on well- drained soils: drier species, more open vegetation • Riverine woodland species would shift downstream 55 56 Koobi Fora, East Lake Turkana, Kenya Fluvial and lacustrine deposits, tuffs Stone artefacts, fauna, fossil woods Koobi Fora and teaching palaeoecology Ileret River and gallery forest 58 Fossil wood from Okote Member, FwJj14 59 Lake Turkana - today 61 Site FxJj20, Area 41; upper Burgi Member Apocynaceae Funtumia sp. KF009 indicates groundwater forest butchery site of mammals, fish, crocodiles 62 Braun et al., 2010, PNAS Northern Kenya, Eastern Lake Turkana • Koobi Fora Formation • Upper Burgi Member (2.2 – 1.89 Ma) • Locality FxJj 20 • Archaeological site with earliest evidence of stone artefacts associated with large mammal resource exploitation • Clear understanding of manufacturing techniques • Fauna - >250 terrestrial species • Associated fossil woods 63 Olduvai Gorge Olduvai Gorge from Second Fault Pliocene Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania • Zinjanthropus (Paranthropus) boisei • Mary Leakey 1959 • Homo habilis ……. • Oldowan stone tool technology • Olduvai Landscape Palaeoanthropology Project 1987+ • Discovery driven AND inductive mode • 1. Model of landscape ecology • 2. Build predictive models for fauna/hominins on the landscape • 3. Testing and refining the models • i.e NOT simply discovery driven OLAPP – 1. model of landscape ecology (hazards and affordances) 67 68 Lake Compartment FLK Compartment MCK Compartment DK Compartment Naisiusiu Loc. 64 W. LMBII Lake MNK FLK VEK HWKW HWKE HWKEE- KK Down KK Up MCK TK-Loc.20 Long K JK-WK DK Complex THC Complex Naibor Soit Hill Kelogi Kelogi Hill Fifth Fault 1 km FLK Fault KK Fault Long K Fault 2nd Fault (topography, water, food locations) 69 OLAPP – 3. Test and refine the model (geotrenches, concentrations/types of lithics, bones, plants) 70 Materials and Methods a.Observation, b. Site selection c. Reference collection Ngorongoro Crater: Ngoitokitok forest-marsh transition Serengeti Open woodlands Riverine woodlands Open grasslands Kopjies Lake Manyara Okavango Delta Seekoeivlei Nature Reserve High altitude Fresh water Mixed grasses and sedges Large mammals Seekoeivlei wetland taphonomy 78 Weathering signatures; trampling, insect damage Phytoliths identified in T-107.2 Phytoliths identified in Spray paint layer Fossil evidence Palms Sedge: Cyperus sp. Typha sp. Woody twigs Silicified wood – Guibourtia coleosperma ts tls Ts – unidentified dicot wood ~ LMBII, HWKE Caesalpiniaceae Large shady tree Southern distribution Bamford 2005 Grassland below Tuff IF Bamford et al;, 2008 Grass culm MCK: Tr 108 surf Is the model correct? Conclusion Permian floras Permo-Triassic flora and insects Early Cretaceous floras Mid Cretaceous Orapa flora Jurassic-Cretaceous woods West coast Tertiary woods, and pollen North African woods Early Miocene Rusinga Island Lukeino flora – Late Miocene Sterkfontein Koobi Fora Laetoli woods Olduvai Gorge Wonderwerk, Sibudu, Border Cave ++++ Many separate projects - all related to plants Vegetation – Palaeoenvironment – Climate Permian Jurassic-Cretaceous Miocene Plio-Pleistocene Conclusion African links • Research sites • Similar vegetation/fauna • Student training • Societies – SASQUA, EAQUA, WAQUA • Workshops • Funding networks: PAST – “Scatterlings of Africa” • NRF, COSTECH, Leakey Foundation Future research • Multidisciplinary research • Predictive models and testing • Refined dating methods • Improved/new methods • Move from data collection to larger scale interpretation Acknowledgements Funders • NRF/DST • University of the Witwatersrand • PAST • Leakey Foundation • De Beers • Mellon Foundation • NSF • Catalan Government • French Government People • Wits Botany Staff • BPI/ESI Staff & Students • Eva Kovacs-Endrody • Roger Dechamps • Charles Peters • Rob Blumenschine & OLAPP • Peter Andrews • Rosa Maria Albert & GEPEG • Jack Harris & KFFS • Marc Philippe • Andrea Leenen • Alba Zamuner • Terry Harrison • Louis Scott • Lyn Wadley and many more 92 Slide 1: The many branches of the tree; a personal view of Palaeobotany in Africa Slide 2: Overview Slide 3: Wits experience Slide 4: Africa and Palaeobotany North Africa Tanzania Kenya Botswana Zimbabwe Namibia Botswana Mozambique South Africa Slide 5: Lawley (Early Permian- approx. 280 Ma) Glossopteris flora; SA coal Slide 6 Slide 7: Fossil woods Slide 8 Slide 9 Slide 10 Slide 11: Conifer biogeography Slide 12 Slide 13: Kirkwood Fm, Early Cretaceous; cycads, conifers, ferns Slide 14: Kirkwood- palaeofires project Slide 15 Slide 16: Orapa kimberlite pipe Slide 17: Late middle Cretaceous Orapa flora Slide 18: African Cretaceous woods Slide 19: Tertiary flora/woods Slide 20: Miocene West coast woods Slide 21: Vredendal Miocene Slide 22: Arrisdrift Miocene Slide 23: Cradle of humankind sites /Sterkfontein valley Slide 24: Sterkfontein fossil woods Slide 25: Dichapetalum mombuttense; Anastrabe intergerrima Slide 26: Wonderwerk Cave (2Ma – 0Ma) Slide 27: Excavation 1 (near entrance) Slide 28 Slide 29 Slide 30: Oldest evidence of the controlled use of fire at Wonderwerk: Slide 31: Sibudu rockshelter and medicinal plants Slide 32: Research at Sibudu Rock Shelter KZN Slide 33: EAST AFRICA Miocene - Pleistocene Slide 34 Slide 35 Slide 36 Slide 37 Slide 38 Slide 39: Late Miocene, Tugen Hills, Kenya: Lukeino Early hominin: Orrorin tugenensis Slide 40: Lukeino Fm; Kapcharar site Slide 41: Leaves (all sites) Slide 42: Leaf features Slide 43: CLAMP results from Kapcharar Slide 44: Footprints at Laetoli Slide 45: Summary of projects: Upper Laetolil Beds, Laetoli, Tanzania Slide 46: Pliocene Laetoli, Tanzania Slide 47: Laetoli, Noiti 1 – fossil wood site Slide 48: Laetoli seeds Slide 49: Laetoli leaves Slide 50: Vegetation reconstruction from fossil woods Slide 51: Mapping of modern vegetation - thicket Slide 52: Laetoli, grass on mbuga Slide 53 Slide 54 Slide 55: Predictions for changing climate: Slide 56 Slide 57: Koobi Fora and teaching palaeoecology Slide 58: Ileret River and gallery forest Slide 59: Fossil wood from Okote Member, FwJj14 Slide 60: Lake Turkana - today Slide 61 Slide 62: Apocynaceae Funtumia sp. KF009 indicates groundwater forest butchery site of mammals, fish, crocodiles Slide 63: Northern Kenya, Eastern Lake Turkana Slide 64 Slide 65: Olduvai Gorge from Second Fault Slide 66: Pliocene Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania Slide 67: OLAPP – 1. model of landscape ecology (hazards and affordances) Slide 68 Slide 69: (topography, water, food locations) Slide 70: OLAPP – 3. Test and refine the model (geotrenches, concentrations/types of lithics, bones, plants) Slide 71: Materials and Methods Slide 72: a.Observation, b. Site selection c. Reference collection Slide 73 Slide 74: Serengeti Slide 75: Lake Manyara Slide 76: Okavango Delta Slide 77: Seekoeivlei Nature Reserve Slide 78: Seekoeivlei wetland taphonomy Slide 79 Slide 80: Palms Slide 81: Sedge: Cyperus sp. Slide 82: Typha sp. Slide 83: Woody twigs Slide 84: Silicified wood – Guibourtia coleosperma Slide 85: Grassland below Tuff IF Slide 86: Grass culm MCK: Tr 108 surf Slide 87 Slide 88: Conclusion Slide 89: Many separate projects - all related to plants Vegetation – Palaeoenvironment – Climate Slide 90: African links Slide 91: Future research Slide 92: Acknowledgements