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In South Africa, the contemporaneity of various Hominin species in the Pleistocene fossil record makes it complex to understand the evolutionary history and subsistence behaviors of these lineages. Understanding the environments in which they lived and how their remains got accumulated in the caves is required to provide reliable answers to these issues. Here we present the results of the analysis of a rich micromammal assemblage from Early Pleistocene Cooper’s D site, which has yielded remains attributed to the species Paranthropus robustus. Taphonomic analysis indicates that these remains were likely accumulated by species of the Family Tytonidae, most likely Tyto alba. The specimens have undergone post-predation modifications, showing a high degree of breakage probably resulting from trampling, as well as severe manganese infiltration which obscures the reading of bone surfaces and does not allow to detect possible weathering effects. The overrepresentation of the mandibles in the assemblage raises questions about supplementary post-depositional modifications and reflects the effects of an unknown taphonomic process. The association of micromammals supports previous interpretations of the environment at Cooper’s as a mosaic landscape dominated by grassland, also indicating a strong woody component near a permanent water source. With the addition of micromammals to the list of studied taxa, the Early Pleistocene site of Cooper’s Cave becomes one of the best documented sites from the region of the Cradle of Humankind in terms of species richness and palaeoecological inferences.

International audience; The simultaneous presence of several hominin species in South Africa during the Plio-Pleistocene, especially the first representatives of the genus Homo, Paranthropus and possibly late surviving Australopithecines, makes it difficult to understand the evolutionary history of these lineages, as well as their technical and subsistence behaviors. It then appears necessary to better characterize the occupations related to each species, and in particular the environment in which each of them has evolved. Small mammals such as rodents are good palaeoecological markers, but remain poorly studied in early hominin sites in South Africa. In order to understand the evolutionary dynamics of this time, the MiCoTaph project aims to reconstruct the taphonomic and palaeoenvironmental context of the Paranthropus robustus occupations of Cooper's D (Bloubank Valley, South Africa, < 1.4 Ma). An interdisciplinary approach is applied using taxonomic, taphonomic and palaeoecological methods to analysis the micromammal remains.

Approximately 74 thousand years ago (ka), the Toba caldera erupted in Sumatra. Since the magnitude of this eruption was first established, its effects on climate, environment and humans have been debated. Here we describe the discovery of microscopic glass shards characteristic of the Youngest Toba Tuff-ashfall from the Toba eruption-in two archaeological sites on the south coast of South Africa, a region in which there is evidence for early human behavioural complexity. An independently derived dating model supports a date of approximately 74 ka for the sediments containing the Youngest Toba Tuff glass shards. By defining the input of shards at both sites, which are located nine kilometres apart, we are able to establish a close temporal correlation between them. Our high-resolution excavation and sampling technique enable exact comparisons between the input of Youngest Toba Tuff glass shards and the evidence for human occupation. Humans in this region thrived through the Toba event and the ensuing full glacial conditions, perhaps as a combined result of the uniquely rich resource base of the region and fully evolved modern human adaptation.

Includes bibliographical references., The study sites investigated in this thesis are situated along the southwest coast of South Africa in an area dominated by the sclerophyllous fynbos of the Strandveld and Sandveld, which supports a well-known micromammal (murid, soricid, macroscelid, bathyergid and chrysochlorid) fauna. This study presents the results of a taphonomic, taxonomic and palaeoecological study of micromammal assemblages from two palaeontological sites in the Saldanha Bay/Langebaanweg area on the west coast, in the western Cape Province, South Africa. The micromammalian populations of these two sites are compared both taxonomically, and taphonomically, with other fossil sites on the west coast dating to the Terminal Pleistocene and Holocene. The older of the two sites is 'E' Quarry at Langebaanweg. a disused phosphate mine, which is the only site in the western Cape Province representing the Mio-Pliocene, a slice of time when modem micromammal genera were emerging. The second site investigated in this thesis is the late Middle Pleistocene site of Hoedjiespunt 1, which fills a significant gap in the continuum of micromammal evolution in the western Cape. This site contained faunal remains accumulated by a brown hyaena (Hyaena brunnea), and micromammal bones and teeth were recovered from the same sediments. The Hoedjiespunt 1 micromammal assemblages have added to the information available on the past distribution of several species in the Saldanha area, and have confirmed the presence of several endemic species in the west coast area during the late Middle Pleistocene. A comparison between the other west coast fossil sites and Hoedjiespunt 1 indicates that conditions on the west coast in the late Middle Pleistocene were relatively more arid. The micromammals from Langebaanweg 'E' Quarry indicate that fynbos microhabitats were well established during the Mia-Pliocene on the west coast. Both the fynbos, and most of the micro mammal genera present at LBW, have families resident in the west coast area today. The micromammal assemblages from Langebaanweg indicate that the general micromammal population in the area remained relatively unchanged during the period of deposition of the two main fossil-bearing members of the Varswater Formation. There is no compelling evidence to suggest that any marked climatic or environmental change took place during this period.

Bibliography: pages 103-110., Up until the present, analyses of micromammal assemblages in South Africa have been based upon the premise that the agent responsible for the accumulation of these assemblages was the Barn owl. These micromammal assemblages were used to make extrapolations of past changes in vegetation and climate. It was assumed that the agent of accumulation, the Barn owl, remained constant. This thesis used taphonomy to analyse the micromammal bones from Elands Bay Cave in order to question the traditional assumption of the Barn owl as predator arid to ascertain which predator/s had been responsible for the accumulation of the microfaunal assemblages. The methods used to identify the accumulator of the microfaunal assemblages from Elands Bay Cave were based on those used by Andrews (1990a) in his investigation of the bone contents of pellets and scats of several species of owl, diurnal birds of prey and small carnivores. The results from Andrew's(1990a) analyses provided comparative information on breakage patterns of the cranial and postcranial bones and on the acid etching (produced during digestion) on micromammal bones and teeth, caused by the various species of predator. Information on the habits of various predators was collected. This information was used in combination with the results obtained from the analysis of the breakage patterns of the mandibles, maxillae and long bones, and from the acid etching on the incisors, in order to ascertain the agent of accumulation of the micromammal bones from Elands Bay Cave. The breakage patterns of the long bones and the acid etching on the incisors of the micromammals indicated that a variety of predators had contributed to the micromammal assemblages in the Holocene packages of the site. The Terminal Pleistocene packages appeared to have been deposited by a Bamowl but there was some circumstantial evidence that people may have also been responsible for the accumulation of some of the micromarnmal remains in these packages. The results from this thesis indicate that taphonomy should be used to ascertain the predator of micromammal assemblages prior to using the assemblages to trace palaeoenvironmental change. The use of taphonomy at Elands Bay Cave highlighted some of the problems that may arise when dealing with small samples and also raised the issue of the affect that the period of deposition of an archaeological assemblage could have on the micromammal population represented. This thesis found evidence that contradicts the traditional assumption, usually made in the analysis of micromammal assemblages in South Africa, that short-term fluctuations in rodent communities may be safely ignored during analysis.