A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the higher degree of Doctor of Philosophy. July, 2016. / Fossil primates are some of the most well represented fauna in South Africa’s fossil Plio-Pleistocene cave sites. Sterkfontein preserves the largest number of fossil primates and a large portion of these are cercopithecoid remains. This research project provides a taxonomic analysis of the abundant fossil cercopithecoid post-cranial limb elements discovered at the site. One thousand five hundred fourteen identifiable fossil cercopithecoid postcrania from the Sterkfontein caves are analysed. From these, five genera are identified from morphologically diagnostic postcranial elements; these are Papio, Parapapio, Theropithecus, Cercopithecoides and Cercopithecus. Theropithecus is identified in Member 4, earlier than previously known. It is established that size, form and function are important factors in taxonomic studies. They play a major role in taxonomic examinations; however, they cannot be treated as disconnected facets of a taxonomic exercise. Each plays an essential role in taxonomic analyses. The study confirms that the Member 4 environment, which illustrates the turn from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene and the most mosaic of all the Plio-Pleistocene sites of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, samples the most faunal variability in the Sterkfontein Cave deposits. This research supports the hypothesis that carnivores were not the main accumulating agent for the cercopithecoid fossil remains within the caves. The carnivores, however, impacted the fossil cercopithecoid assemblage. Leopards and hyaenas are identified as some of the carnivores which accumulated the fossil cercopithecoids within the Sterkfontein caves. The research has opened a new scope for taxonomic analysis of isolated fossil cercopithecoid postcrania in the southern African fossil cave sites. / LG2017

Student Number : 0001944J - PhD thesis - School of Geography, Archaeoloy nd Environmental Studies and School of Anatomical Science - Faculty of Science / The site of Sterkfontein is rich in fossil deposits spanning different time periods from as early as 4 million years to as recent as 116, 000 years. Stratigraphy, taxonomy, taphonomy, archaeology and palaeoenvironmental analysis from various infills have been under constant review as new materials are recovered from the ongoing excavations. It is the recovery of numerous new fossils that prompted a need for a review into earlier hypotheses, interpretations and conclusions arrived at by earlier researchers on the Member 4 and the Jacovec Cavern infills. New data indicates that the two infills, though spanning different time periods, share similarities but also display marked differences in taxonomy, taphonomy and palaeoenvironment. Taxonomically, the most striking difference between the two deposits is the higher frequency of taxa and species diversity within the Member 4 faunal assemblage than in the Jacovec Cavern faunal assemblage. There are nine bovid tribes represented in five subfamilies within Member 4 and six bovid tribes in three subfamilies within Jacovec Cavern. At least five primate species have been recovered from Member 4 while three primate species have been recovered from the Jacovec Cavern. Twelve carnivore species are represented in Member 4 while eleven are represented in Jacovec Cavern. Some categories of other fauna are limited to the Member 4 infill while others are limited to the Jacovec Cavern infill. Taphonomically, both assemblages are characterized by low frequencies of bone modification. These low frequencies are a result of a culmination of various agents of accumulation and varieties and intensities of postdepositional processes that impacted on the original deposited assemblage prior to recovery. The faunal assemblage in Member 4 was accumulated into the cave through a combination of voiding carnivores, “death trap” and natural death within the cave. The Jacovec Cavern fauna on the other hand was accumulated by carnivores, not in the cavern but on the surface above and within the vicinity of the cave entrance. Eventually fluvial action incorporated the surface materials, including faunal remains into the Jacovec Cavern. Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction indicates a correlation of climatic conditions similar to that derived from analysis of terrigenous sediments off the coast of Africa. For Member 4, palaeoenvironmental reconstruction indicates the existence of a mix of forest and open savannah with more emphasis on woodland, while a mosaic of open grassland and dense forest, equivalent to today’s tropical forest in Africa is suggested for the Jacovec Cavern.

The objective of this study was to examine whether the premolars and molars found at Sterkfontein Sts Mbr. 4 and StW Mbr. 5 are morphometrically similar to the degree that all individuals could belong to the same species, A. africanus. Mesial-distal (MD) and buccal-lingual (BL) measurements were obtained from maxillary premolars (P3 and P4) and molars (M1, M2, and M3) of Homo, Pan, and Gorilla, and compared to their counterparts attributed to A. africanus from Sterkfontein. Specimen samples were statistically analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses. The results support the acceptance of the null hypothesis, indicating that the dental remains from Sts Mbr. 4 and StW Mbr 5 are from the same species.

Thesis (M.A.(Geography & Environmental Studies)) -- University of the Witwatersrand, Arts Faculty, 1973 / The Sterkfontein Cave System is a karst cave developed on the dolomites of the Transvaal system, fifty kilometres north-west of Johannesburg in South Africa. It lies beneath a small hill and was first exploited as a source of lime. Later it became a tourist and scientific attraction of world renown when some of the first australopithecine remains were recovered from a deposit within it. [Abbreviated abstract. Open document to view full version] / WS2017

Ph.D., Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011 / Work on Sterkfontein cave deposits has generally focussed on clarifying the life histories of interned hominin remains. Less attention has been paid to the depositional context of the fossils and the specific stratigraphic processes involved in the formation of deposits, and their interaction within the cave system. Also lacking is an understanding of the complex processes influencing the distribution and integrity of the faunal and artefact assemblages. This research applied a broad-spectrum multidisciplinary approach to investigate a previously unexamined area of the caves with a particularly rich depositional history. The underground central deposits represent several infills of important fossil and artefact-bearing sediments. These sediments have accumulated into one of the deepest central areas of the Sterkfontein cave system creating a confluence area with a complex formation history. Three excavations (STK-MH1, STK-MH2 and STK-EC1) uncovered seven deposits. These deposits document a depositional history ranging from the earliest introduction of allogenic sediments (STK-MH1 T4), to the commercial exploitation of the caves through mining and tourism (STK-MH1 T1, STK-MH2). The stratigraphic sequence for the underground central deposits exhibits multiple formation processes including deposition (through numerous processes), erosion, collapse, diagenetic modification, deformation and displacement. The detailed stratigraphic history of these deposits was elucidated utilising sedimentological, fabric, stratigraphic, taphonomic and taxonomic analyses. As well as deciphering the complex formation history of this important area, this research attempted to identify the influence of cave sedimentation processes on faunal distribution and assemblage integrity. Faunal assemblages are prone to extensive modification caused by sedimentation and re-sedimentation processes mixing and distributing deposits through the caves. Varying sedimentological properties within fossil-bearing sediment gravity flows can cause the destruction of primary context taphonomic evidence, the concentration of fossils representing multiple stratigraphically distinct facies, and deposit-wide fossil distributions based on element size and shape. In addition to these processes, it was found that different skeletal elements change shape in different ways through breakage, thereby changing the specific mobility of the fossils and their potential distribution through the sediment body. Not identifying or not accounting for these post-depositional processes can lead to non-representative sampling, and to the misinterpretation of taphonomic and taxonomic data.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2017 / During the Plio-Pleistocene, the Earth experienced a period of gradual cooling, leading to a decrease in atmospheric temperature and increased seasonality. This resulted in the aridification of large parts of Africa, and this is believed to have encouraged human evolution and innovation. Palaeoenvironmental analyses using sediment deposits as palaeoclimate proxies in the Cradle of Humankind have been used to understand the timing and intensity of this aridification by determining how changes in environmental conditions and seasonal cycles affected the South African landscape. These changes are recorded within the carbon and oxygen isotopic signatures of speleothems, which have precipitated within the Sterkfontein Caves system. The aim of this study is to understand the degree to which modern speleothems represent the modern climate and environment, and thereby deduce the reliability of speleothem deposits in the Sterkfontein Caves system as palaeoclimate proxies. Samples of modern speleothems were collected from different chambers of the Sterkfontein Caves, along with the collection of modern drip water samples bi-weekly over a period of 14 months. Oxygen and carbon stable light isotope analyses of these modern speleothem and drip water samples were used to obtain modern temperature, precipitation and vegetation data. These data were then compared to modern climatic and environmental records for atmospheric temperatures and precipitation from weather stations around the Sterkfontein Caves area. The δ13C trends produced from the modern speleothem samples reflected the current vegetation distribution in terms of C4 and C3 vegetation very well, while the temperatures calculated from the δ18O values of the modern speleothem and drip water samples displayed variations related to kinetic fractionation effects, rendering these data less useful in reflecting the current atmospheric temperatures. The δ18O values of the drip water samples, along with the measured drip rate reflected current precipitation seasonality, taking into account groundwater residence time and recharge rate. The conditions within the cave conducive to formation of the speleothems was well reflected by the pH and electro-conductivity values produced from the drip water samples. These values also provided further insight into the exterior climatic conditions. Overall, the carbon and oxygen stable light isotope data revealed patterns present in the modern speleothem and drip water samples, which could be further related to changes in local climate during the precipitation of these modern speleothems from drip water sources. This, to a certain degree, provides evidence of the reliability of speleothems in the Sterkfontein Caves system as suitable palaeoclimate proxies with regards to vegetation and precipitation interpretations, over a longer term scale and at higher sampling resolution. / MT 2018

Sterkfontein West Pit, dated to 1.7-1.9 Ma, has yielded a number of fossils that are difficult to classify, such as StW 252, which comprises cranial bone fragments, and a full set of robust maxillary anterior and posterior teeth. The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether dental measurements of StW 252 more closely align with those of Australopithecus africanus, Australopithecus robustus, Homo sapiens or the African apes. For M1 and M2, StW 252 is distinct from the comparative samples, and is particularly large buccolingually for M1 and mesiodistally for M2, partly resembling the dimensions of A. africanus, whereas for M3, StW 252 is mesiodistally and buccolingually large. Canonical scores axes show StW 252 as extreme in terms of size and polarized from A. robustus in terms of shape. StW 252 is distinct from both A. africanus and A. robustus, indicating an additional hominin taxon may be represented at Sterkfontein West Pit.

Student Number : 9903519M - MSc research report - School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies - Faculty of Science / Goldsmith’s is a newly discovered fossil and archaeological site 4km south-west of the famous Sterkfontein Cave Site, in the buffer zone of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. It preserves one of the rare occurrences in South African fossil cave sites of stone artefacts with associated fossil fauna. Thirteen artefacts from two Stone Age cultures are represented within the site: namely the Earlier Stone Age and the Middle Stone Age. Eleven stone artefacts represent the Earlier Stone Age, dated to ca, 2-1 million years within the Sterkfontein Valley sites, while two artefacts represent the MSA. The stone tools from both cultures are not embedded in breccia and may have originated from decalcified breccias, or alternatively from slope wash. Various faunal taxa were recovered including bovids, primates, carnivores and others. Carnivores are the most highly represented, followed by bovids. Analysis of bone surface modifications indicate that the majority of the bones are slightly weathered, and some bone specimens are also abraded, suggesting that they may have accumulated through slope wash. The high frequencies of carnivore remains, including Dinofelis and a representation of most carnivore body parts, support a possible death trap scenario. The fauna suggests a palaeoenvironment with open woodland or savannah within the vicinity of a closed environment.