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Malapa Excavation

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HeritageAuthority(s): 

Case Type: 

ProposalDescription: 

Continuation of excavations at the fossil hominid bearing site of Malapa

Expanded_Motivation: 

I have held the permit for the Malapa site since 2008 when the first fossil hominid material was discovered there. Since that time the site has produced an abundant fossil record of both fauna, hominins and botanical remains. We have, during the period, produced a significant literature (see the attached publication list) on this material and its context consisting of no less than 51 refereed papers. We publish consistently and the work is comprehensive, not only focusing on the hominid material but exploring in depth the ecology, taphonomy, site formation and fauna. This body of work makes the site one of the best described sites in the UNESCO world heritage site. Research Goals for the present permit period Malapa is still the only site where remains of the c1.98 MYA species Australopithecus sediba has been discovered and thus continued work at the site is critical for understanding this species in the context of hominid evolution as well as its role within the environment c2 MYA. Equally the fauna at Malapa is extraordinary in its quality of preservation and included numerous articulated remains as well as the preservation of organic material in association with bone. Thus it is of equal value to the hominin material. Our research goals for this permit period are as follows: 1) To continue the exposure of the “stone feature” and move the excavation in a westerly direction, concentrating between squares located between N6 – N11 to approximately E8. This will expose the probable MSA area and allow us to collect material from this important area to better understand its context and compare it with similarly aged sites in the region and South Africa. 2) To continue to excavate in the miners rubble in the base of the main pit to explore the depths of this pit and recover fossils removed from their context by mining activities as well as the form of the main pit. 3) Recover selected material from the main Au. sediba area (in the vicinity of N5 – N6 and E1,2 and W1,2. This is hard rock work and will only be done as preparation allows. 4) Apply GPR to the site. 5) Create an understanding of the relationship between the supposed MSA material and the Au. sediba containing areas. 6) Continue to test hypotheses about the ecological context of the material from these two areas. 7) Continue to test hypotheses on the chronological age of the material through sampling and continued dating. 8) Continue studies of the anatomy, functional morphology and behaviour of animals and hominids recovered. Excavations Excavation Methods Excavations at Malapa will continue following practices evolved since 2008. Excavation in “soft” or decalcified material will follow archaeological best practice where physical excavation takes place using a combination of instruments suitable for the task at hand. These include trowels (both metal and plastic), spoons, small plastic and wooden probes etc. We excavate in 1m x 1m excavation squares laid out on the Malapa grid. The Malapa grid is laid out to true North and exists both physically and virtually. See “Hand Drawn Excavation Plan”. We dig in arbitrary levels of 5cm’s. All artefacts are scanned in using a laser theodolite and all levels and objects are photographed in-situ, drawn into plan and scanned prior to removal. All sediment is wet sieved on-site through 1.4 mm mesh. Recovered items are placed in bags with labels in protective wrapping, then in plastic boxes before being transported off site. No fossils or artefacts remain on-site after recovery but are immediately transported to the University for curation (see curation plan below). Hard breccia excavation provides additional challenges and cannot be conducted as described above. We have there developed methods of recovery for in-situ material that follow a similar mapping protocol as above, but include white light scanning of the surface of material and the placing of orientation markers in the form of metal engine putty with identifying numerical positions on the blocks prior to removal. Blocks are removed using an application of lateral and vertical pressure applied by the Malapa structure winch as well as jacks and block and chains that place lateral pressure (either pulling or pressing) on rocks. We have found this method successful in taking advantage of natural stress fractures in the rock and are able to pry large blocks away from in-situ positions with minimal damage to the fossils they contain. All blocks are then removed to the laboratories of the University of the Witwatersrand where preparation occurs as described under “Preparation” in this application. Field notes are kept and curated at the University of the Witwatersrand. We presently operate on average 3 days a week in the field with three or four excavators and a site supervisor. Two days a week are dedicated to curation. We are exploring the possibility of extending these work days funding permitting. We are also exploring the possibility of hosting an undergraduate or graduate level field school on site. Curation Plan Curation will follow the methods presently developed by us in conjunction with the Curator of Collections at the University for Malapa material. Namely recovered material (whether these are blocks, artefacts or fossils) is brought immediately back to our labs at the University of the Witwatersrand upon recovery. Material is accessioned into the University collections weekly with blocks receiving block numbers and fossil material receiving sequential U.W. 88 - numbers within our catalogue system following the University system of site codes. Fossils will be individually, photographed, stored with an identification number (accession number) and boxed in line with our present practice. I will continue to fund a qualified person as curator of the Malapa collections during the period of the permit to ensure timely and efficient handling of the material and context information. The curator will work with Malapa material for no less than 2 days a week. I will continue to provide the curator with copies of the catalogue as it is updated on a regular basis. As discussed with the Curator it is our plan to move the bulk of the Malapa collection into the main holding area and I will commit funds to build protective transparent lockable doors over the assigned shelving in order to protect the integrity of the collection from casual mishandling. Blocks recovered from Malapa will continue to be scanned on a weekly basis during University term periods in the CT facilities of the CMAH in order to ascertain their contents for preparation prioritization. Preparation and conservation We will continue to attempt to minimize the addition of glues, solvents or other preservation material in order to conserve potentially valuable information such as organic preservation, aDNA contamination etc. Where necessary, only removable materials will be used for bonding or holding fragile pieces together. Physical preparation will only be done under magnification using a microscope. Where possible, this preparation will be recorded. Detailed photographs will be taken during the course of preparation and logged against both block and specimen numbers. Physical preparation will be done with a microscribe and we will attempt at all times to retain original matrix to minimize overpreparation and for future studies. Virtual preparation will be explored as preferable wherever possible. Surface scans will be created for all material and physical casts will be printed from this 3D data. I would also like to add a filming permit in my name to the application to allow ongoing filming for documentaries and research purposes at the site. While held in my name, from time to time the filming on-site would also be supervised by Renier Van de Merve (site foreman), Justin Makunka (Principal Technician) or Marina Elliott (Field Scientist).

ApplicationDate: 

Wednesday, January 23, 2019 - 10:46

CaseID: 

13384

OtherReferences: 

ReferenceList: 

CitationReferenceType
1. L. R. Berger, D.J. de Ruiter, S.E. Churchill, P. Schmid, K.J. Carlson, P.G.M. Dirks and J.M. Kibii (2010) Australopithecus sediba: A new species of Homo-like Australopith from South Africa. Science, vol. 328. 195-204. 2. P.H.G.M. Dirks, j.M. Kibii, B.F. Kuhn, C. Steininger, S.E. Churchill, J.D. Kramers, R. Pickering, D.L. Farber, A. Meriaux, A.I.R. Herries, G.C.P. King and L.R. Berger (2010) Geological Setting and Age of Australopithecus sediba from southern Africa. Science. vol. 328. pp 205-208. 3. Pickering, R., Dirks, P.H.G.M., Jinnah, Z., de Ruiter, D., Chruchill, S.E., Herries, A.I.R., Woodhead, J.D., Hellstrom, J.C. and Berger, L.R. (2011) Australopithecus sediba at 1.977 Ma and implications for the origins of the genus Homo. Science. 333, 1421-1423 4. Kibii, J.M., Chruchill, S.E., Schmid, P., Carlson, K.J., Reed, N.D., de Ruiter, D.J. and Berger, L.R. (in Press) . A new partial pelvis of Australopithecus sediba. Science. 333, 1407-1411. 5. Zipfel, B., De Silva, J.M., Kidd, R.S., Carlson, K.J., Churchill, S.E. and Berger, L.R. (2011) The Foot and Ankle of Australopithecus sediba. Science. 333, 1417-1420. 6. Carlson, K.J., Stout, D., Jashervili, T., de Ruiter, D.J., Tafferou, P., Carlson, K. and Berger, L.R. (2011) The Endocast of MH1, Australopithecus sediba. Science. 333, 1402-1407. 7. Kivell, T.L., Kibii, J., Churchill, S.E., Schmid, P. and Berger, L.R. (2011) Australopithecus sediba hand demonstrates mosaic evolution of locomotor and manipulative abilities. Science. 333, 1411-1417. 8. Aurore Val; Kristian J. Carlson; Christine Steininger; Job M. Kibii; Cecil Churms; Brian F. Kuhn; and Lee R. Berger (2011) Application of 3D techniques to identify fossil remains: an elephant shrew hemi-mandible from the Plio-Pleistocene site of Malapa (Gauteng Province, South Africa). South African J. Sci.107(11/12) 9. Brian F Kuhn, .Lars Werdelin, Adam Hartstone-Rose, Rodrigo S. Lacruz, Lee R. Berger (2011) Fossil Carnivora from Malapa. Plos One. 10.1371/journal.pone.0026940 10. Berger, L.R. (2012) Building a nation one project at a time: Reply to ‘On human evolution, Australopithecus sediba and nation building’ S. Afr. J. Sci. 108 (1/2) 11. Henry, A., Ungar, P., Passey, B., Sponheimer, M., Rossouw, L., Bamford, M., Sandberg, P., de Ruiter, D. and Berger, L.R. (2012) The diet of Australopithecus sediba. Nature. 12. Berger, L.R. (2012) Australopithecus sediba and the earliest origins of the genus Homo. J. Arch. Sciences. Vol. 90, 1-16. 13. DE Roberts, A du Plessis, J Steyn, LR Botha, S Pityana, LR Berger (2012) An investigation of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for use as a control in the laser removal of rock from fossils found at the Malapa hominin site, South Africa. Spec. Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy.73. 48-54. 14. Dirks, P. and Berger, L.R. (2012) Hominin bearing caves and landscape dynamics in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. J. of African Earth Sciences. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2012.09.012 15. Hartstone-Rose, A. , Brian F Kuhn, Shahed Nalla, Lars Werdelin, Lee R Berger (2013) A new species of fox from the Australopithecus sediba type locality, Malapa, South Africa. Trans. R. Soc. S. Afr. 10.1080/0035919X.2012.748698 16. De Ruiter, D., DeWitt, T.J., Carlson, K., Brophy, J., Schroeder, L., Ackerman, R., Churchill, S.E. and Berger, L.R. (2013) Mandibular remains support taxonomic validity of Australopithecus sediba. Science. 340 (6129) 17. Williams, S., Ostrofsky, K.R., Frater, N., Churchill, S.E., Schmid, P. and Berger, L.R. (2013) Numerical Composition and hyperlordosis in the vertebral column of Australopithecus sediba. Science. 340 (6129) 18. DeSilva, J., Holt, K.G., Chruchill, S.E., Carlson, K., Walker, C., Zipfel, B. and Berger, L.R. (2013) The lower limb and the mechanics of walking in Australopithecus sediba. Science. 340 (6129), 19. Irish, J. , Gautelli-Steinberg, D., Legge, S., de Ruiter, D. And Berger, L.R. (2013) The dental morphology and the phylogenetic place of Australopithecus sediba. Science. 340 (6129) 20. Peter Schmid, Steven E. Churchill, Shahed Nalla, Eveline Weissen, Darryl J. de Ruiter, and Lee R. Berger. Mosaic Morphology in the Thorax of Australopithecus sediba (2013) Science. 340 (6129) 21. Steven E. Churchill, Trenton W. Holliday, Kristian J. Carlson, Tea Jashashvili, Marisa E. Macias, Sandra Mathews, Tawnee L. Sparling, Peter Schmid, Darryl J. de Ruiter, and Lee R. Berger. (2013) The upper limb of Australopithecus sediba. Science. 340 (6129), 22. Berger, L.R. (2013) The Mosaic Nature of Australopithecus sediba. Science. 340 (6129), 23. A du Plessis, J Steyn, DE Roberts, LR Botha, LR Berger (2013) A proof of concept demonstration of the automated laser removal of rock from a fossil using 3D X-ray tomography data. Journal of Archaeological Science. 40, 4607-4611. 24. JD Irish, D Guatelli-Steinberg, SS Legge, DJ de Ruiter, LR Berger (2014) News and views: Response to ‘Non-metric dental traits and hominin phylogeny’by Carter et al., with additional information on the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System and phylogenetic ‘place’of Australopithecus sediba. Journal of human evolution. 129-134. 25. Smilg, J.S. and Berger, L.R., (2015). Discovering Hominins-Application of Medical Computed Tomography (CT) to Fossil-Bearing Rocks from the Site of Malapa, South Africa. PloS one, 10(12), p.e0145340. 26. Ross, C., Strait, D., Ledogar, J., Smith, A., Villmoare, B., Benazzi, S., Weber, G., Spencer, M., Dechow, P., Grosse, I. and Richmond, B., (2015). Biomechanical studies of the zygoma: A review of in vivo (italic) and FEM studies of the lateral orbital wall and zygomatic arch. The FASEB Journal, 29(1 Supplement), pp.212-4. 27. Lacruz, R.S., Bromage, T.G., O’Higgins, P., Toro-Ibacache, V., Warshaw, J. and Berger, L.R., 2015. Distinct growth of the nasomaxillary complex in Au. sediba. Scientific reports, 5. 28. Berger, L.R., (2015). World Heritage Site: Many ways to access hominin fossil finds. Nature, 523(7562), pp.531-531. 12 29. Christopher C Gilbert, Christine M Steininger, Job M Kibii, Lee R Berger (2015) Papio cranium from the hominin-bearing site of Malapa: implications for the evolution of modern baboon cranial morphology and South African Plio-Pleistocene biochronology. Plos One, 10, e0133361 30. L’Abbé, E.N., Symes, S.A., Pokines, J.T., Cabo, L.L., Stull, K.E., Kuo, S., Raymond, D.E., Randolph-Quinney, P.S. and Berger, L.R., (2015). Evidence of fatal skeletal injuries on Malapa Hominins 1 and 2. Scientific reports, 5, p.15120. 31. Val, A., Dirks, P.H., Backwell, L.R., d’Errico, F. and Berger, L.R., (2015). Taphonomic analysis of the faunal assemblage associated with the hominins (Australopithecus sediba) from the Early Pleistocene cave deposits of Malapa, South Africa. PloS one, 10(6), p.e0126904. 32. Justin A. Ledogar, Amanda L. Smith, Stefano Benazzi,Gerhard W. Weber, Mark A. Spencer, Keely B. Carlson, Kieran P. McNulty, Paul C. Dechow,Ian R. Grosse, Callum F. Ross, Brian G. Richmond, Barth W. Wright, Qian Wang, Craig Byron, Kristian J. Carlson, Darryl J. de Ruiter, Lee R. Berger, Kelli Tamvada,Leslie C. Pryor, Michael A. Berthaume & David S. Strait (2016) Mechanical evidence that Australopithecus sediba was limited in its ability to eat hard foods. Nature Communications 7,10596, doi:10.1038/ncomms10596 33. Bastir, M., Martínez, D.G., Williams, S.A., Nalla, S., Eyre, J., Oishi, M., Ogihara, N., Churchill, S.E., Berger, L. and Schmid, P., (2016). Preliminary findings of 3D analyses of the costal remains of Australopithecus sediba. PaleoAnthropology, pp.A2-A3. 34. Kuhn, B. F., Hartstone-Rose, A., Lacruz, R. S., Herries, A. I., Werdelin, L., Bamford, M. K., & Berger, L. R. (2016). The carnivore guild circa 1.98 million years: biodiversity and implications for the palaeoenvironment at Malapa, South Africa. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 96(4), 611-616. 35. Daegling, D. J., Carlson, K. J., Tafforeau, P., de Ruiter, D. J., & Berger, L. R. (2016). Comparative biomechanics of Australopithecus sediba mandibles. Journal of human evolution, 100, 73-86. 36. Holt, E., Dirks, P., Placzek, C. and Berger, L., 2016. The stable isotope setting of Australopithecus sediba at Malapa, South Africa. South African Journal of Science, 112(7-8), pp.1-9. 13 37. Irish, J. D., Hemphill, B. E., de Ruiter, D. J., & Berger, L. R. (2016). The apportionment of tooth size and its implications in Australopithecus sediba versus other Plio‐pleistocene and recent African hominins. American journal of physical anthropology, 161(3), 398-413. 38. Brophy, J.K., de Ruiter, D.J., Fortelius, M., Bamford, M. and Berger, L.R., (2016). Pleistocene Bovidae (Mammalia) from Malapa, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Palaeontologia Electronica, 19(2), pp.1-22. 39. Randolph-Quinney, P.S., Williams, S.A., Steyn, M., Meyer, M.R., Smilg, J.S., Churchill, S.E., Odes, E.J., Augustine, T., Tafforeau, P. and Berger, L.R., (2016). Osteogenic tumour in Australopithecus sediba: Earliest hominin evidence for neoplastic disease. South African Journal of Science, 112(7-8), pp.1-7. 40. Carlson, K.B., de Ruiter, D.J., DeWitt, T.J., McNulty, K.P., Carlson, K.J., Tafforeau, P. and Berger, L.R., 2016. Developmental simulation of the adult cranial morphology of Australopithecus sediba. South African Journal of Science, 112(7-8), pp.1-9. 41. Meyer, M.R., Williams, S.A., Schmid, P., Churchill, S.E. and Berger, L.R., (2017). The cervical spine of Australopithecus sediba. Journal of Human Evolution, 104, pp.32-49. Cameron, N., Bogin, B., Bolter, D. and Berger, L.R., (2017). The postcranial skeletal maturation of Australopithecus sediba. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 14 42. Lazagabaster, I.A., Brophy, J., Sanisidro, O., Pineda-Munoz, S. and Berger, L., 2018. A new partial cranium of Metridiochoerus (Suidae, Mammalia) from Malapa, South Africa. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 145, pp.49-52. 43. Val, A., Backwell, L.R., Dirks, P.H., d'Errico, F. and Berger, L.R., 2018. Reconstruction of the burial position of two hominin skeletons (Australopithecus sediba) from the early Pleistocene Malapa cave site, South Africa. Geoarchaeology, 33(3), pp.291-306. 44. Scott A. Williams, Jeremy M. DeSilva, and Darryl J. De Ruiter (2018) "Special Issue: Australopithecus sediba --- Malapa at 10: Introduction to the Special Issue on Australopithecus sediba" PaleoAnthropology 2018:49-55 45. Darryl J. De Ruiter, Keely B. Carlson, Juliet K. Brophy, Steven E. Churchill, Kristian J. Carlson, and Lee R. Berger (2018) "Special Issue: Australopithecus sediba --- The Skull of Australopithecus sediba" PaleoAnthropology 2018:56-155 46. Scott A. Williams, Marc R. Meyer, Sahed Nalla, Daniel García-Martínez, Theirra K. Nalley, Jennifer Eyre, Thomas C. Prang, Markus Bastir, Peter Schmid, Steven E. Churchill, and Lee R. Berger (2018) "Special Issue: Australopithecus sediba --- The Vertebrae, Ribs, and Sternum of Australopithecus sediba" PaleoAnthropology 2018:156-233 47. Steven E. Churchill, David J. Green, Elen M. Feuerriegel, Marisa E. Macias, Sandra Matthews, Kristian J. Carlson, Peter Schmid, and Lee R. Berger (2018) "Special issue: Australopithecus sediba --- The Shoulder, Arm, and Forearm of Australopithecus sediba" PaleoAnthropology 2018:234-281 48. Steven E. Churchill, Job M. Kibii, Peter Schmid, Nichelle D. Reed, and Lee R. Berger (2018) "Special issue: Australopithecus sediba --- The Pelvis of Australopithecus sediba" PaleoAnthropology 2018:334-356 49. Jeremy M. DeSilva, Kristian J. Carlson, Alexander G. Claxton, William E.H. Harcourt-Smith, Ellison J. McNutt, Adam D. Sylvester, Christopher S. Walker, Bernhard Zipfel, Steven E. Churchill, and Lee R. Berger (2018) "Special issue: Australopithecus sediba --- The Anatomy of the Lower Limb Skeleton of Australopithecus sediba" PaleoAnthropology 2018:357-405 50. Trenton W. Holliday, Steven E. Churchill, Kristian J. Carlson, Jeremy M. DeSilva, Peter Schmid, Christopher S. Walker, and Lee R. Berger (2018) "Special issue: Australopithecus sediba --- Body Size and Proportions of Australopithecus sediba" PaleoAnthropology 2018:406-422 51. Amey Y. Zhang and Jeremy M. DeSilva (2018) "Special issue: Australopithecus sediba --- Computer Animation of the Walking Mechanics of Australopithecus sediba" PaleoAnthropology 2018:423-432
 
 

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