Reynolds S C, Clarke R J, Kuman K A
School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Medical School, South Africa.
J Hum Evol. 2007 Sep;53(3):260-71. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2007.02.004. Epub 2007 Jul 10.
The Lincoln-Fault cave system lies adjacent to the Sterkfontein Cave system in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Lincoln Cave contains a mid- to late Pleistocene fossiliferous deposit which has been dated using uranium series methods to between 252,600+/-35,600 and 115,300+/-7,700 years old. Although speleologists presumed that there was no connection between the Lincoln Cave and Sterkfontein Cave systems, results of excavations conducted in 1997 suggest a link between the deposits. Detailed comparisons of artifacts, fauna, hominid material, and a statistical correspondence analysis (CA) of the macromammalian fauna in the deposits strongly support this hypothesis. The recovery of Early Acheulean-type artifacts from the Lincoln Cave suggests that older artifacts eroded out of Sterkfontein Member 5 West and were redeposited into the younger Lincoln Cave deposits. The close physical proximity of these deposits, and the nature of the material recovered from them, indicates that the material was probably redeposited via a link between the two cave systems. Although faunal mixing is present, it is possible to say that large carnivorans become more scarce at Sterkfontein during the mid- to late Pleistocene, while small canids and felids appear to become more abundant, indicating that large and small carnivorans probably varied their use of the site through time. This may also reflect an increasing presence of humans in the Sterkfontein area during the mid- to late Pleistocene.
林肯断层洞穴系统位于南非豪登省人类摇篮世界遗产地的斯泰克方丹洞穴系统附近。林肯洞穴包含一个更新世中晚期的化石沉积层，已通过铀系法测定其年代在252,600±35,600年至115,300±7,700年之间。尽管洞穴学家推测林肯洞穴和斯泰克方丹洞穴系统之间没有联系，但1997年进行的挖掘结果表明这些沉积层之间存在联系。对沉积物中的人工制品、动物群、原始人类材料进行的详细比较，以及对大型哺乳动物群进行的统计对应分析（CA）有力地支持了这一假设。从林肯洞穴中发现的早期阿舍利类型的人工制品表明，较古老的人工制品从斯泰克方丹第5层西部被侵蚀出来，并重新沉积到较年轻的林肯洞穴沉积物中。这些沉积物在地理位置上非常接近，以及从中回收的材料的性质，表明这些材料可能是通过两个洞穴系统之间的联系重新沉积的。尽管存在动物群混合现象，但可以说在更新世中晚期，大型食肉动物在斯泰克方丹变得更加稀少，而小型犬科动物和猫科动物似乎变得更加丰富，这表明大型和小型食肉动物可能随着时间的推移改变了它们对该地点的利用方式。这也可能反映出在更新世中晚期，人类在斯泰克方丹地区的活动日益增加。
