Browsing by Author "Herries, AIR"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Chronostratigraphy of a 270-ka sediment record from Lake Selina, Tasmania: combining radiometric, geomagnetic and climatic dating
    (Elsevier, 2021-03-01) Lisé-Pronovost, A; Fletcher, MS; Simon, Q; Jacobs, Z; Gadd, PS; Heslop, D; Herries, AIR; Yokayama, Y
    Lake sediment archives covering several glacial cycles are scarce in the Southern Hemisphere and they are challenging to date. Here we present the chronostratigraphy of the oldest continuous lake sediment archive in Tasmania, Australia; a 5.5 m and 270 ka (Marine Isotope Stage 8) sediment core from Lake Selina. We employ radiometric dating (radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence) and relative dating (geomagnetic and climate comparisons). Bayesian modeling of the radiometric ages reaches back to 80 ka (1.7 m) and relative dating using a dynamic programing algorithm allows dating of the full sequence. Elemental data, magnetic properties and beryllium isotopes from Lake Selina reveal a close fit to Antarctic ice core climate proxies. Weaker correlation during the Last Glacial Period (MIS 2–4) is attributed to additional local factors impacting Lake Selina proxies at a time of climate changes and human arrival into Tasmania. Over that period, full vector paleomagnetic records and authigenic 10Be/9Be ratios are combined to identify the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion for the first time in Australia and constrain the chronology. The multi-method approach provides two preferred age models, indiscernible within their uncertainties, which allows the use of a geomagnetic dipole-independent (full archive) or a climate-independent (111 ka to present) age model. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Enigmatic human remains from the Pleistocene-Holocene transition of southwest China and the complex evolutionary history of east Asians
    (Australian Geosciences Council, 2012-08-05) Curnoe, D; Ji, X; Herries, AIR; Bai, K; Taçon, PSC; Bao, Z; Fink, D; Zhu, Y; Hellstrom, JC; Luo, Y; Cassis, G; Su, B; Wroe, S; Hong, S; Parr, WCH; Huang, S; Rogers, N
    The Upper Pleistocene hominin fossil record of East Asia is poorly known due to a scarcity of well-described, reliably classified and accurately dated fossils. In 2008, we started a joint project involving six Chinese and five Australian institutions to examine the later Pleistocene human record from southwest China. The region has been identified from genetic research as a hotspot of human diversity, and has yielded a number of human remains thought to derive from Pleistocene deposits. We prepared, reconstructed, described and dated a new partial skeleton from a consolidated sediment block collected in 1979 from the site of Longlin Cave (Guangxi Province). We also undertook new excavations at Maludong (Yunnan Province) to clarify the stratigraphy and dating of a large sample of mostly undescribed human remains from the site. Both samples probably derive from the same population, exhibiting an unusual mixture of modern human traits, characters probably plesiomorphic for later Homo, and some unusual features. We dated charcoal with AMS radiocarbon dating and speleothem with the Uranium-series technique and the results show both samples to be from the Pleistocene-Holocene transition: ∼14.3–11.5 ka. At nearby sites, some modern humans had already begun the economic transition to agriculture by this time. We suggest the Longlin-Maludong humans represent either a late-surviving archaic population or a previously unknown modern human group who colonised East Asia probably without leaving descendants. The archaeological record of Maludong indicates these humans were engaging in complex behaviours, including ochring bones and shells and manufacturing containers from human skulls.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Further geological and palaeoanthropological investigations at the Maludong hominin site, Yunnan Province, Southwest China
    (Springer Nature, 2013-08-28) Ji, X; Curnoe, D; Bao, Z; Herries, AIR; Fink, D; Zhu, Y; Hellstrom, JC; Luo, Y; Tacon, PSC
    Three-dimensional mapping and section work undertaken by us in 2008 have identified 11 stratigraphic units at Maludong site. AMS radiocarbon dating of charcoal established an accurate and internally consistent age profile for the sequence of 17.8±0.2 ka to 13.2±0.1 ka. Archaeomagnetic analysis showed changes in externally derived pedogenically enhanced material consistent with a warming in climate between the cold period of Henrich Event 1 and the Bølling-Allerød interstadial. Human remains recovered during the 1989 excavation were derived from a deposit dating to this interstadial, or between 14.3±0.3 ka and 13.5±0.1 ka. Anthropogenic features, including burnt rocks, baked sediment and thick charcoal and ash layers, were identified and examined through archaeomagnetic analysis. Two monkey fossils are described here, one of them being reassigned from Macaca robustus to M. aff. M. assamensis. They confirm the young age of the site and also show signs of anthropogenic alteration in the form of burning. Additional human cranial remains are reported for the first time and new data are provided for some specimens described previously. A range of new features is identified that strengthen the affinities of the Maludong remains to archaic humans. The presence of this globally unique mosaic of archaic and modern features raises important questions about human evolutionary history in East Asia during the Late Upper Pleistocene. © The Authors - Open Access
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Human remains from the Pleistocene-Holocene transition of Southwest China suggest a complex evolutionary history for East Asians
    (PLOS, 2012-03-14) Curnoe, D; Ji, X; Herries, AIR; Kanning, B; Taçon, PSC; Zhende, B; Fink, D; Yunsheng, Z; Hellstrom, JC; Yun, L; Cassis, G; Bing, S; Wroe, S; Shi, H; Parr, WCH; Shengmin, H; Rogers, N
    Background Later Pleistocene human evolution in East Asia remains poorly understood owing to a scarcity of well described, reliably classified and accurately dated fossils. Southwest China has been identified from genetic research as a hotspot of human diversity, containing ancient mtDNA and Y-DNA lineages, and has yielded a number of human remains thought to derive from Pleistocene deposits. We have prepared, reconstructed, described and dated a new partial skull from a consolidated sediment block collected in 1979 from the site of Longlin Cave (Guangxi Province). We also undertook new excavations at Maludong (Yunnan Province) to clarify the stratigraphy and dating of a large sample of mostly undescribed human remains from the site. Methodology/Principal Findings We undertook a detailed comparison of cranial, including a virtual endocast for the Maludong calotte, mandibular and dental remains from these two localities. Both samples probably derive from the same population, exhibiting an unusual mixture of modern human traits, characters probably plesiomorphic for later Homo, and some unusual features. We dated charcoal with AMS radiocarbon dating and speleothem with the Uranium-series technique and the results show both samples to be from the Pleistocene-Holocene transition: ∼14.3-11.5 ka. Conclusions/Significance Our analysis suggests two plausible explanations for the morphology sampled at Longlin Cave and Maludong. First, it may represent a late-surviving archaic population, perhaps paralleling the situation seen in North Africa as indicated by remains from Dar-es-Soltane and Temara, and maybe also in southern China at Zhirendong. Alternatively, East Asia may have been colonised during multiple waves during the Pleistocene, with the Longlin-Maludong morphology possibly reflecting deep population substructure in Africa prior to modern humans dispersing into Eurasia. © 2012 Curnoe et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Scientific drilling of sediments at Darwin Crater, Tasmania
    (Copernicus Publications, 2019-06-12) Lisé-Pronovost, A; Fletcher, MS; Mallett, T; Mariani, M; Lewis, RJ; Gadd, PS; Herries, AIR; Blaauw, M; Heijnis, H; Hodgson, DA; Pedro, JB
    A 70 m long continental sediment record was recovered at Darwin Crater in western Tasmania, Australia. The sediment succession includes a pre-lake silty sand deposit overlain by lacustrine silts that have accumulated in the ∼816 ka meteorite impact crater. A total of 160 m of overlapping sediment cores were drilled from three closely spaced holes. Here we report on the drilling operations at Darwin Crater and present the first results from petrophysical whole core logging, lithological core description, and multi-proxy pilot analysis of core end samples. The multi-proxy dataset includes spectrophotometry, grain size, natural gamma rays, paleo- and rock magnetism, loss on ignition, and pollen analyses. The results provide clear signatures of alternating, distinctly different lithologies likely representing glacial and interglacial sediment facies. Initial paleomagnetic analysis indicate normal magnetic polarity in the deepest core at Hole B. If acquired at the time of deposition, this result indicates that the sediment 1 m below commencement of lacustrine deposition post-date the Matuyama–Brunhes geomagnetic reversal ∼773 ka. © Author(s) 2019.