Abstract
This research addresses the potential contribution of strontium isotopes to the reconstruction of early hominid behavior at the Swartkrans site in the Sterkfontein Valley of Gauteng Provence (formally known as the Transvaal), South Africa. We report that, while there is considerable variability in the 87Sr/ 86Sr of whole soils within a 15 km radius of this site, available soil and grassland plant 87Sr/ 86Sr is much less variable and generally above 0.730. This value is higher (more radiogenic) than the 87Sr/ 86Sr of plants growing within the greenbelt surrounding the Blaaubank stream adjacent to Swartkrans and streamwater itself (0.721). The difference between grassland and riparian strontium isotope composition suggests a method for determining habitat utilization by early hominids. In this study, a geological explanation for a natural difference between Blaaubank stream and grassland Sr is suggested, based on relatively less radiogenic Sr (having lower 87Sr/ 86Sr values) in the carbonate component of the local dolomite when compared to other nearby geological formations. The explanation was tested initially using a top-down approach in which the 87Sr/ 86Sr ratios of water, soil, and plants from the entire Blaaubank catchment were measured. Next, a bottom-up approach was used to examine Swartkrans Member I faunal species known to have obtained their Sr from well-defined habitats. The results are that (1) pollution is not the explanation for the relatively low 87Sr/ 86Sr ratios of the Blaaubank stream, (2) Swartkrans Member I carbonate has a similar 87Sr/ 86Sr to that of modern Blaaubank water, indicating that relationships seen today existed in the Pleistocene, and (3) Pleistocene riparian fauna have relatively low 87Sr/ 86Sr ratios when compared to fauna adapted to drier habitats. Together these results make it possible to interpret the strontium isotope composition of Pleistocene early hominids from Swartkrans in terms of habitat utilization.
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