Early Pleistocene 40Ar/39Ar ages for Bapang Formation hominins, Central Jawa, Indonesia

Roy Larick; Russell L Ciochon; Yahdi Zaim; Sudijono; Suminto; Yan Rizal; Fachroel Aziz; Mark Reagan; Matthew Heizler

doi:10.1073/pnas.081077298

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Early Pleistocene 40Ar/39Ar ages for Bapang Formation hominins, Central Jawa, Indonesia

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Early Pleistocene 40Ar/39Ar ages for Bapang Formation hominins, Central Jawa, Indonesia

Roy Larick, Russell L Ciochon, Yahdi Zaim, Sudijono, Suminto, Yan Rizal, Fachroel Aziz, Mark Reagan and Matthew Heizler

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.98(9), pp.4866-4871

04/17/2001

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.081077298

PMCID: PMC33129

PMID: 11309488

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Abstract

The Sangiran dome is the primary stratigraphic window for the Plio-Pleistocene deposits of the Solo basin of Central Jawa. The dome has yielded nearly 80 Homo erectus fossils, around 50 of which have known findspots. With a hornblende 40 Ar/ 39 Ar plateau age of 1.66 ± 0.04 mega-annum (Ma) reportedly associated with two fossils [Swisher, C.C., III, Curtis, G. H., Jacob, T., Getty, A. G., Suprijo, A. & Widiasmoro (1994) Science 263, 1118–1121), the dome offers evidence that early Homo dispersed to East Asia during the earliest Pleistocene. Unfortunately, the hornblende pumice was sampled at Jokotingkir Hill, a central locality with complex lithostratigraphic deformation and dubious specimen provenance. To address the antiquity of Sangiran H. erectus more systematically, we investigate the sedimentary framework and hornblende 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age for volcanic deposits in the southeast quadrant of the dome. In this sector, Bapang (Kabuh) sediments have their largest exposure, least deformation, and most complete tephrostratigraphy. At five locations, we identify a sequence of sedimentary cycles in which H. erectus fossils are associated with epiclastic pumice. From sampled pumice, eight hornblende separates produced 40 Ar/ 39 Ar plateau ages ranging from 1.51 ± 0.08 Ma at the Bapang/Sangiran Formation contact, to 1.02 ± 0.06 Ma, at a point above the hominin-bearing sequence. The chronological sequence of 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages follows stratigraphic order across the southeast quadrant. An intermediate level yielding four nearly complete crania has an age of about 1.25 Ma.

Biological Sciences

geochronology

Homo erectus

human evolution

Southeast Asia

tephrostratigraphy

Details

Title: Subtitle: Early Pleistocene 40Ar/39Ar ages for Bapang Formation hominins, Central Jawa, Indonesia
Creators: Roy Larick - URS Corporation (United Kingdom)
Russell L Ciochon - University of Iowa
Yahdi Zaim - University of Iowa
Sudijono - University of Iowa
Suminto - University of Iowa
Yan Rizal - University of Iowa
Fachroel Aziz - University of Iowa
Mark Reagan - University of Iowa
Matthew Heizler - University of Iowa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.98(9), pp.4866-4871
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.081077298
PMID: 11309488
PMCID: PMC33129
NLM abbreviation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
ISSN: 0027-8424
eISSN: 1091-6490
Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
Language: English
Date published: 04/17/2001
Academic Unit: Anthropology; Earth and Environmental Sciences
Record Identifier: 9984229166402771

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