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Relocation of the 1936 Mojokerto skull discovery site near Perning, East Java
Huffman O.F.a, Zaim Y.b, Kappelman J.a, Ruez Jr. D.R.a, de Vos J.c, Rizal Y.b, Aziz F.d, Hertler C.e
a Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, United States
b Department of Geology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia
c Naturalis, The National Museum of Natural History, Netherlands
d Geological Research and Development Centre, Indonesia
e J. W. Goethe University, Zoological Institute, Vertebrate Paleobiology, Germany
f United States
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624529070653{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner layout=”boxed”][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1624695412187{border-right-width: 1px !important;border-right-color: #dddddd !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-radius: 1px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Abstract” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]The fossil calvaria known as the Mojokerto child’s skull was discovered in 1936, but uncertainties have persisted about its paleoenvironmental context and geological age because of difficulties in relocating the discovery site. Past relocation efforts were hindered by inaccuracies in old base maps, intensive post-1930s agricultural terracing, and new tree and brush growth. Fortunately geologic cross sections and site photographs from 1936-1938 – not fully utilized in past relocation fieldwork – closely circumscribe site geography and geology. These documents match the conditions at just one sandstone outcrop. It is situated on the southern margin of a topographic nose at the upper end of a ∼18 m-wide gully (∼0663760 m E, 9183430 m N, UTM Zone 49M), ∼15 m southeast of the Kumai et al. (1985) relocation. The relocated discovery bed is ∼3.3 m of fossiliferous pebbly sandstone, a river-channel deposit cut into tuffaceous mudstone. The sandstone and mudstone beds correspond to original site descriptions. Pebbly sandstone is also found within the skull. The calvaria is well-preserved and taphonomically similar to large and fragile specimens found among several hundred vertebrate fossils excavated from the sandstone in 2001-2002. Since no well-preserved fossils were found intact at the surface of the sandstone, the good condition of the Mojokerto skull suggests that it was buried fully when discovered. The relocated hominin bed is the uppermost fluvial sandstone of a marine-deltaic sequence in the upper Pucangan Formation. The Mojokerto child probably died along the ancient seacoast, judging from the large extent of the deltaic facies and evidence that the calvaria experienced minimal transport. The relocated discovery bed is ∼20 m stratigraphically above the horizon from which the widely cited 1.81 ± 0.04 Ma 40Ar/39Ar date for the skull (Swisher et al., 1994, Science 263, 1118) was obtained. Additional field and laboratory results will be required to determine the skull’s age. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Author keywords” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Indexed keywords” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]Homo erectus,Homo modjokertensis,Indonesia,Pithecanthropus[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Funding details” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]We thank Aart Berkhout, Bernhard W. Seubert and Johan Volker for the translating documents; Richard Buffler, Djuhaeni and Frank Wesselingh for contributing to Fig. 4 ; Simon R. Gowen and Rony L. Swennen for evaluating the age of the banana plant in old site photographs; Todd Green and Christopher Huffman for producing challenging graphics; Dale Hudler for Total Data Station training and post-field analysis; Hisao Kumai, Michael Morwood and Carl Swisher III for discussing their past work in the discovery area; Mark Leckie and William Mclntosh for advice on planktic foraminifera and radioisotopic dating, respectively; and Pat Shipman for contributing observations on the Mojokerto skull taphonomy and 1930s documents. The manuscript was improved by comments from Richard Buffler, Pat Shipman, Lucy Todd and four anonymous reviewers. Financial support from the Leakey Foundation and the National Science Foundations (BCS 0113688) to OFH and the German Research Foundation (HE-3593/1-1) to CH is gratefully acknowledged.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”DOI” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.11.002[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_column_text]Widget Plumx[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row]