TY - JOUR
T1 - Revised age and stratigraphy of the classic Homo erectus-bearing succession at Trinil (Java, Indonesia)
AU - L. Hilgen, Sander
AU - Pop, Eduard
AU - Adhityatama, Shinatria
AU - Veldkamp, Tom A.
AU - W.K. Berghuis, Harold
AU - Sutisna, Indra
AU - Yurnaldi, Dida
AU - Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume
AU - Reimann, Tony
AU - Nowaczyk, Norbert
AU - F. Kuiper, Klaudia
AU - Krijgsman, Wout
AU - B. Vonhof, Hubert
AU - Ekowati, Dian Rahayu
AU - Alink, Gerrit
AU - Gde Dyah Mega Hafsari, Ni Luh
AU - Drespriputra, Olafianto
AU - Verpoorte, Alexander
AU - Bos, Remco
AU - Simanjuntak, Truman
AU - Prasetyo, Bagyo
AU - Joordens, Josephine C.A.
PY - 2023/2/1
Y1 - 2023/2/1
N2 - Obtaining accurate age control for fossils found on Java (Indonesia) has been and remains challenging due to geochronologic and stratigraphic uncertainties. In the 1890s, Dubois excavated numerous faunal fossils—including the first remains of Homo erectus—in sediments exposed along the Solo River at Trinil. Since then, various, and often contradictory age estimates have been proposed for the Trinil site and its fossils. However, the age of the fossil-bearing layers and the fossil assemblage remains inconclusive. This study constructs a chronostratigraphic framework for the Trinil site by documenting new stratigraphic sections and test pits, and by applying 40Ar/39Ar, paleomagnetic, and luminescence (pIRIR290) dating methods. Our study identifies two distinct, highly fossiliferous channel fills at the Trinil site. The stratigraphically lower Bone-Bearing Channel 1 (BBC-1) dates to 830–773 ka, while Bone-Bearing Channel 2 (BBC-2) is substantially younger with a maximum age of 450 ± 110 ka and an inferred minimum age of 430 ± 50 ka. Furthermore, significantly younger T2 terrace deposits are present at similar low elevations as BBC-1 and BBC-2. Our results demonstrate the presence of Early and Middle Pleistocene, and potentially even late Middle to Late Pleistocene fossiliferous sediments within the historical excavation area, suggesting that Dubois excavated fossils from at least three highly fossiliferous units with different ages. Moreover, evidence for reworking suggests that material found in the fossil-rich strata may originate from older deposits, introducing an additional source of temporal heterogeneity in the Trinil fossil assemblage. This challenges the current assumption that the Trinil H.K. fauna –which includes Homo erectus-is a homogeneous biostratigraphic unit. Furthermore, this scenario might explain why the Trinil skullcap collected by Dubois is tentatively grouped with Homo erectus fossils from Early Pleistocene sediments at Sangiran, while Trinil Femur I shares affinities with hominin fossils of Late Pleistocene age.
AB - Obtaining accurate age control for fossils found on Java (Indonesia) has been and remains challenging due to geochronologic and stratigraphic uncertainties. In the 1890s, Dubois excavated numerous faunal fossils—including the first remains of Homo erectus—in sediments exposed along the Solo River at Trinil. Since then, various, and often contradictory age estimates have been proposed for the Trinil site and its fossils. However, the age of the fossil-bearing layers and the fossil assemblage remains inconclusive. This study constructs a chronostratigraphic framework for the Trinil site by documenting new stratigraphic sections and test pits, and by applying 40Ar/39Ar, paleomagnetic, and luminescence (pIRIR290) dating methods. Our study identifies two distinct, highly fossiliferous channel fills at the Trinil site. The stratigraphically lower Bone-Bearing Channel 1 (BBC-1) dates to 830–773 ka, while Bone-Bearing Channel 2 (BBC-2) is substantially younger with a maximum age of 450 ± 110 ka and an inferred minimum age of 430 ± 50 ka. Furthermore, significantly younger T2 terrace deposits are present at similar low elevations as BBC-1 and BBC-2. Our results demonstrate the presence of Early and Middle Pleistocene, and potentially even late Middle to Late Pleistocene fossiliferous sediments within the historical excavation area, suggesting that Dubois excavated fossils from at least three highly fossiliferous units with different ages. Moreover, evidence for reworking suggests that material found in the fossil-rich strata may originate from older deposits, introducing an additional source of temporal heterogeneity in the Trinil fossil assemblage. This challenges the current assumption that the Trinil H.K. fauna –which includes Homo erectus-is a homogeneous biostratigraphic unit. Furthermore, this scenario might explain why the Trinil skullcap collected by Dubois is tentatively grouped with Homo erectus fossils from Early Pleistocene sediments at Sangiran, while Trinil Femur I shares affinities with hominin fossils of Late Pleistocene age.
KW - Ar/Ar
KW - Biostratigraphy
KW - Hominin evolution
KW - Luminescence dating
KW - Paleomagnetism
KW - Pleistocene
U2 - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107908
DO - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107908
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85144575969
SN - 0277-3791
VL - 301
JO - Quaternary Science Reviews
JF - Quaternary Science Reviews
M1 - 107908
ER -