Cave Breccias Research Articles

The earliest report of bone-bearing breccia from a Monte Christo Formation cave (South Africa)

A series of historical documents by the 19th-century amateur naturalist and palaeontologist Alfred Brown report the earliest discovery of bone-bearing cave breccia in the former Transvaal (South Africa). The oldest of these reports dates from 1890 and predates the first mention of the existence of bone-bearing breccia at the famous Sterkfontein-Kromdraai caves by five years. The breccia fragment was kept by Brown in his collection, where it was noted to come from the Monte Christo gold mine near Ventersdorp (North-West Province). Brown's specimen is lost, but we could relocate the mine and confirm the presence of breccia deposits. Alfred Brown's notes are the earliest scientific report about the bone-bearing nature of Plio-Pleistocene South African caves and the first to acknowledge them as a potential source of hominin fossils, some 30 years before the discovery of the Taung Child, Australopithecus africanus. The finding strengthens the chronology of the discovery of the South African fossil hominin sites. It also significantly shortens the gap between the gold rush and the first discovery of bone-bearing breccia in the Witwatersrand.

Cosmogenic nuclide dating of Australopithecus at Sterkfontein, South Africa

Sterkfontein is the most prolific single source of Australopithecus fossils, the vast majority of which were recovered from Member 4, a cave breccia now exposed by erosion and weathering at the landscape surface. A few other Australopithecus fossils, including the StW 573 skeleton, come from subterranean deposits [T. C. Partridge etal., Science 300, 607-612 (2003); R. J. Clarke, K. Kuman, J. Hum. Evol. 134, 102634 (2019)]. Here, we report a cosmogenic nuclide isochron burial date of 3.41 ± 0.11 million years (My) within the lower middle part of Member 4, and simple burial dates of 3.49 ± 0.19 My in the upper middle part of Member 4 and 3.61 ± 0.09 My in Jacovec Cavern. Together with a previously published isochron burial date of 3.67 ± 0.16 My for StW 573 [D. E. Granger etal., Nature 522, 85-88 (2015)], these results place nearly the entire Australopithecus assemblage at Sterkfontein in the mid-Pliocene, contemporaneous with Australopithecus afarensis in East Africa. Our ages for the fossil-bearing breccia in Member 4 are considerably older than the previous ages of ca. 2.1 to 2.6 My interpreted from flowstones associated with the same deposit. We show that these previously dated flowstones are stratigraphically intrusive within Member 4 and that they therefore underestimate the true age of the fossils.

High-resolution high-throughput thermal neutron tomographic imaging of fossiliferous cave breccias from Sumatra

We employ high-throughput thermal-neutron tomographic imaging to visualise internal diagnostic features of dense fossiliferous breccia from three Pleistocene cave localities in Sumatra, Indonesia. We demonstrate that these seemingly homogeneous breccias are an excellent source of data to aid in determining taphonomic and depositional histories of complex depositional sites such as tropical caves. X-ray Computed Tomographic (CT) imaging is gaining importance amongst palaeontologists as a non-destructive approach to studying fossil remains. Traditional methods of fossil preparation risk damage to the specimen and may destroy contextual evidence in the surrounding matrix. CT imaging can reveal the internal composition and structure of fossils contained within consolidated sediment/rock matrices prior to any destructive mechanical or chemical preparation. Neutron computed tomography (NCT) provides an alternative contrast to X-rays, and in some circumstances, is capable of discerning denser matrices impenetrable to or yielding no contrast with CT imaging. High-throughput neutron imaging reduces neutron fluence during scanning which means there is less residual neutron-induced radioactivation in geological samples; allowing for earlier subsequent analyses. However, this approach remains unutilised in palaeontology, archaeology or geological surveys. Results suggest that the primary agents in the formation of the breccias and concentration of incorporated vertebrate remains are several rapid depositional phases of water and sediment gravity flow. This study highlights the potential for future analyses of breccia deposits in palaeontological studies in caves around the world.

Taphonomic Analyses of Cave Breccia in Southeast Asia: A Review and Future Directions

Karst-derived breccia is the most analysed deposit in fossil-bearing Southeast Asian caves due to its superior preservation potential for human, faunal, archaeological, and palaeontological data. The study of breccia can provide a better understanding of human and faunal histories, and an opportunity to investigate site taphonomy and insights into environments of deposition and post-depositional processes. We review the literature on approaches used to improve the taphonomic understanding of cave deposits in Southeast Asia and how these deposits fit into a cave’s life history. We discuss common methods used to extract taphonomic data retained in Southeast Asian cave deposits and the associated opportunities to discern the mechanisms of cave formation, depositional history, and faunal accumulation. While attempts have previously been made to discern the taphonomic characteristics of Pleistocene vertebrate remains in the region, there has been no comprehensive review outlining methods used to understand taphonomic histories and the biases introduced through these processes. We illustrate the challenges of researching cave breccias in Southeast Asia and the knowledge gaps brought about by conventional methodologies. Uncertainties exist about the extent to which breccia can be examined to infer the taphonomic history of a vertebrate assemblage. These uncertainties exist in part because of dating complexities. This review demonstrates that a taphonomic analysis of breccia in complex long-term accumulations requires a multi-disciplinary approach. We recommend using digital techniques to record spatial distribution data for a thorough interpretation of taphonomic characteristics.

Apidima 1 and Apidima 2: Two anteneandertal skulls in the Peloponnese, Greece

Work in Apidima A Cave began in 1976 after the discovery of a portion of a human skull by Andreas Andreikos in a cave breccia, identified in 1978 by Théodoros Pitsios, and named Apidima 1. The cave is located below the plateau of Aeropolis, in the Mani Peninsula (Maina or Maïna), in the Peloponnese, in the south of Greece. The first work in the cave brought to light a second skull, Apidima 2. These two skulls were lying vertically against the cave wall, on the same sedimentary layer, 15cm away from each other, side by side and facing in opposite directions. The Apidima 1 occipital seems to belong to a male individual whereas the Apidima 2 face appears to be female. They were carefully extracted from the breccia at the initiative of Théodoros Pitsios and were painstakingly disengaged in the laboratory between 1979 and 2012. The Apidima 1 skull is a portion of the back of the skull and the better preserved Apidima 2 consists of the face and the frontoparietal zones. These remains are in a similar state of fossilisation and were dated by the U/Th method between 220 and 130 ka, with an average age of about 170 ka. The anatomical study shows that they can be attributed to the same group of evolved European Homo erectus hominins, with some early Neanderthal traits, similar to the skulls of la Sima de los Huesos, Swanscombe, Biache St Vaast and Lazaret, and that they can be differentiated from classic Neanderthals. The frontoparietal curve and low biparietal breadth of the crania can be compared to early forms, such as Arago 21-47, Ceprano, Petralona, but several traits announce a Neanderthal morphology, such as, for example, a suprainiac fossa observable on Apidima 1. The deposition of these two skulls in Apidima Cave A, laid out side by side, with no other human remains, lithic artefacts or faunal remains, evokes a death-related anthropogenic ritual. Beside these skulls, three pebbles gathered on the beach below the cave can be considered as an intentional deposit related to the symbolic preoccupations of these Anteneandertals. During the major regression of isotopic stage 6, the beach was at a much lower level than the present-day beach.

First Systematic Study of Late Pleistocene Rat Fossils from Batu Caves: New Record of Extinct Species and Biogeography Implications

This paper presents the first systematic study of rat (Murinae) isolated dental fossils collected from Late Pleistocene (66000 years ago) cave breccia deposits in Cistern Cave, Batu Caves, Selangor. The cave is partly deposited with fine, coarse and pebbly breccia mixed with abundant mammal fossil cemented to the wall and ceiling of the cave. A total of 39 specimens of teeth and jaw fragments of Murinae were recovered among other large and small mammal remains. Dental morphology and size comparisons suggest that the fossils belong to extinct and extant species which occurred in Peninsular Malaysia and adjacent regions. The species identified are Chiropodomys gliroides, Leopoldamys sabanus, Leopoldamys minutus, Maxomys whiteheadi, Maxomys rajah and Rattus rattus. Almost all species identified from the fossils are known as markers for lowland forested environments.

Cave stratigraphies and cave breccias: Implications for sediment accumulation and removal models and interpreting the record of human occupation

Many of the key debates in archaeology hinge on the chronology and interpretation of data gathered from cave and rockshelter stratigraphies, especially those in karstic limestone environments which are selectively targeted by archaeologists because of their superior preservation characteristics. It has long been recognized that such sites often contain a variety of cemented deposits including cave breccias and that some breccias contain anthropogenic inclusions such as stone artefacts, shell and burnt animal bones. Cementation enhances the survival through time of such brecciated deposits. This can result in chrono-stratigraphic intervals surviving on cave walls and speleothems that are no longer represented in the stratigraphy of cave floors. This has important implications for understanding apparent presence/absence of human occupation and cultural continuity as seen in archaeo-stratigraphy in caves and rockshelters, especially in relation to human migration in the humid tropics in SE Asia and the Pacific, and over Pleistocene to Holocene timescales. Here we discuss localized breccia formation, the erosional processes that leave remnant deposits adhering to walls and speleothems at heights well above current cave floors, and the possible significance of local and regional processes, especially changing base levels, in triggering gutting out phases impacting cave floor sediment architectures. Equally significant in terms of chronological completeness, representativeness and bias is the contribution made by cultural materials encased in older breccias as they erode and are (re-)incorporated into younger accumulating cultural deposits. Case studies from cave sites in Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste are used to illustrate these issues.

Brief communication: Plio‐Pleistocene eagle predation on fossil cercopithecids from the Humpata Plateau, southern Angola

Recent studies suggest a large raptor such as the crowned eagle (Stephanaoetus coronatus) was responsible for collecting at least a portion of the primate fauna from the South African fossil site of Taung, including its lone hominin specimen. This taphonomic signature at Taung is currently regarded as a unique and, most likely, isolated case in primate and human evolution. However, the activities of large, carnivorous birds should also be detectable at other primate fossil localities in Africa if raptors have been a strong selective force throughout primate evolution. Over the last 60 years, a collection of extinct cercopithecids has been assembled from several cave breccias on the Humpata Plateau in southern Angola. The material, dated near the Plio-Pleistocene boundary, includes an assortment of craniodental and postcranial remains variably assigned to Papio (Dinopithecus) cf. quadratirostris, Parapapio, Cercopithecoides, and Theropithecus. We compare the Angolan and Taung material to remains of extant primates killed by crowned eagles in the Ivory Coast's Tai National Park. Our analysis indicates that the size distribution and composition of fauna from the localities is quite similar and that there are striking consistencies in damage to the crania from each site. The absence of large bodied (>20 kg) primates and other mammalian taxa at the Taung hominin locality and Tai, and their rarity in Angola, combined with the strong likelihood that raptor nests were positioned near fissure openings at both fossil localities, provides additional support for eagle involvement. On the basis of this evidence, we conclude that at least some of the Angolan cercopithecids were most likely raptor prey and hypothesize that raptor predation has been a strong and perhaps underappreciated selective force during the course of primate evolution.

Indications for a humid climate in the Western Desert of Egypt 11–10 Myr ago: evidence from Galagidae (Primates, Mammalia)

The timing of desertification of the Sahara Desert is poorly understood, with recent estimates indicating an onset of hyper-aridity during the Latest Miocene. Field work in Egypt in 2005 has led to the discovery of evidence that indicates that 11–10 Ma the Western Desert was covered in woodland. Fossiliferous cave breccia at Sheikh Abdallah, Western Desert, Egypt, has yielded a Late Miocene (11–10 Ma) microvertebrate fauna, which contains Galagidae, Microchiroptera, Macroscelididae, Soricidae, Erinaceidae, and Rodentia. The locality also yielded the remains of frogs, snakes, lizards, and birds. The fauna indicates a mean annual rainfall in excess of 500 mm and perhaps as much as 1,200 mm. This palaeoclimatic information is important because it reveals that the Sahara Desert, which is today the largest in the world, was either considerably smaller during the Late Miocene than it is today, or that it did not yet exist as a continuous hyper-arid belt right across the continent. This data accords with estimates of a Latest Miocene (8–7 Ma) increase in aridity in the Sahara. To cite this article: M. Pickford et al., C. R. Palevol 5 (2006) .

Earliest Known Procaviid Hyracoid from the Late Miocene of Namibia

Despite the great diversity of known fossil hyracoids that belong to the archaic family Pliohyracidae, practically nothing has been unravelled about the origin and diversification of the modern family Procaviidae (containing four genera of Pliocene to Recent age). A new species of procaviid hyrax is reported from Namibian cave breccias dating to the earlier part of the late Miocene. The new species is represented by dental, postcranial, and fragmentary cranial specimens. Despite its 1.0 x 10 7 -year age, the new hyracoid cannot be generically distinguished from the modern genus Heterohyrax. The new species differs from extant H. brucei in its less molarized anterior premolars, and its molar cusps that are slightly more inflated basally. The possible relevance of the new fossil for the origin and radiation of the family Procaviidae is discussed.

Primate bearing Plio-Pleistocene cave deposits of Humpata, Southern Angola

Numerous fossil primates have been discovered in cave breccias of the Humpata Plateau in Southern Angola. Associated faunal remains suggest an age for the sediments near the Plio-Pleistocene boundary. This report deals principally with the geological context of the cave breccias, their ages and their palaeontology.

Geochronology of Sandia Cave

Haynes, C. Vance, Jr., and George A. Agogino. Geochronology of Sandia Cave. Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology, number 32, 32 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, 1986.—Excavations in Sandia Cave, New Mexico, in the late 1930s provided the first recognized stratigraphic evidence for a preFolsom culture in North America. This, the Sandia complex, is represented by diagnostic projectile points found in a loose deposit underlying a limonite ocher deposit which, in turn, underlies a cave breccia containing Folsom artifacts and reportedly sealed by an overlying dripstone. Our investigations in the 1960s revealed that the Sandia deposit (unit X) is in fact, a rodent deposit created by bioturbation of the limonite ocher (unit C) and contains material derived from most of the other deposits. A second dripstone (unit D) is recognized as being much older (preoccupation) than the post-Folsom dripstone, instead of being a contemporary facies as originally reported. Its absence from the deposits near the mouth of the cave is believed to be due to removal during the mining of the yellow ocher by Paleo-Indians. Paleoclimatic interpretations of the stratigraphic units include (1) a warm moist period for the derivation of the ocher by leaching from a pedalferic paleosol formed during a previous cool moist period, (2) desiccation of the ocher during a dry climate, (3) formation of the lower dripstone during a cool moist period, (4) gypsum precipitation (unit E) due to either a dry period or opening of the cave or both, and (5) accumulation of dust and debris (units F and H) under dry conditions alternating with dripstones (units G and I) and breccia cementation under wet conditions. From 14,000 B.P. on, the cave interior was accessible to man and animals. Accumulation of dust and debris (unit F) occurred during a dry period during which a portion of the lower dripstone was removed, presumably by Paleo-Indians in order to extract ocher. During the sbusequent moist period the artifact-bearing debris became cemented by cave drip where not protected by the lower dripstone. Under recent climatic conditions another loose debris layer (unit J) has accumulated during the middle and late Holocene and has always been connected to the lower loose-debris deposit (unit X). We conclude that Sandia points are definitely less than 14,000 years old and suggest they may be specialized Clovis or Folsom artifacts used for mining ocher. However, we cannot preclude a pre-Clovis age or even postFolsom. Undisturbed cave strata provide valuable paleoenvironmental data, but redeposition and bioturbation is the rule rather than the exception for most, if not all, cave deposits that were once unconsolidated debris. OFFICIAL PUBLICATION DATE is handstamped in a limited number of initial copies and is recorded in the Institution's annual report, Smithsonian Year. SERIES COVER DESIGN: North American Indian design of mounted horsemen on animal skin. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Haynes, C. Vance (Caleb Vance), 1928Geochronology of Sandia Cave. (Smithsonian contributions to anthropology ; no. 32) Bibliography: p. Supt. of Docs, no.: SI 1.33:32 1. Sandia Cave (N.M.) 2. Paleo-Indians—New Mexico. 3. New Mexico—Antiquities. I. Agogino, George. II. Title. III. Series. GN1.S54 no. 32 [E78.N65] 3 0 1 s [978.9'01] 85-600237

A probable cave breccia in Middle Cambrian limestone, southern Nevada; petrography and paleomagnetic constraints on the time of formation

ABSTRACT A spectacular limestone breccia, which occurs at or near the contact between the Carrara Formation (Early-Middle Cambrian) and Bonanza King Formation (Middle Cambrian) in the Desert Range, southern Nevada, probably reflects a cave that has subsequently collapsed and healed. The breccia blocks are angular; represent a diverse suite of shallow-water limestones that can be recognized laterally in undisputed strata; and exhibit clean truncation of late diagenetic fabrics, such as stylolites and blocky spar cements, at clast edges. In the blocks, the in situ directions of a secondary magnetization have been scattered. The age of this magnetization probably lies in the range Late Cretaceous to mid-Cenozoic, which suggests that the time of brecciation is no older than Late Cretaceous. The reccia must be older than late Tertiary, however, because it is truncated by Basin-and-Range normal faulting.

Another Look at the Australopithecine Cave Breccias of the Transvaal1

A reexamination of sediments from the Transvaal Australopithecine cave breccias suggests that at each site accumulation took place under relatively dry conditions. The sediments themselves do not support the hypothesis of alternating occupations under different climatic and vegetational conditions by australopithecines with distinct dietary adaptations.

VI. A description of the skull and skeleton of a peculiarly modified rupicaprine antelope (Myotragus balearicus , Bate), with a notice of a new variety, M. balearicus var. major

In the spring of 1909, during a short visit to the Balearic Islands in search of fossil vertebrates, Miss D. M. A. Bate discovered in some cavern deposits in Majorca the remains of the remarkable ungulate to which she afterwards gave the name Myotragus balericus . Subsequent visits led to the accumulation of more material and to the discovery that the animal also occurred in Minorca, where its remains were found associated with those of a very large land tortoise which has recently been described!* under the name of Testudo gymnesica . In both Majorca and Minorca the bones were usually found in cave breccias, laid down in caverns which in nearly all cases have been more or less destroyed by the sea, only fragments of the original deposits remaining. An excellent account of these caves and the mode of occurrence of the fossils has recently been published by Miss Bate.

I.—On the Pleistocene Ossiferous Deposits of the Balearic Islands

Like so many of the islands of the Mediterranean the Balearic group has yielded interesting remains of an extinct Pleistocene fauna. These have been discovered in cave breccias and in fissures of which a brief description may be of interest.Previous to 1909 the only record of the occurrence of any Pleistocene mammalian remains in the Balearic Islands was, I believe, that of De la Marmora, who mentioned indications of a bone breccia in the hill of Belver, near Palma, where he observed a bone which appeared to be that of a Lagomys or a rabbit. Since then, as the result of three short visits undertaken by the writer, a quantity of ossiferous remains have been obtained from the caves and fissures of Mallorca and Menorca. It may be mentioned that I failed to locate the breccia recorded near Belver.