TY - JOUR
T1 - The eastern Kendeng Hills (Java, Indonesia) and the hominin-bearing beds of Mojokerto, a re-interpretation
AU - Berghuis, H.w.k.
AU - Van Kolfschoten, Thijs
AU - Adhityatama, Shinatria
AU - Troelstra, S.r.
AU - Noerwidi, Sofwan
AU - Suriyanto, Rusyad Adi
AU - Wibowo, Unggul Prasetyo
AU - Pop, Eduard
AU - Kurniawan, Iwan
AU - Hilgen, Sander L.
AU - Veldkamp, A.
AU - Joordens, Josephine C.a.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was carried out with permission of the Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education ( RISTEK research permits: 263/SIP/FRP/ES/Dit. KI/VII/2016 of Josephine Joordens; 284/SIP/FRP/E5/Dit.KI/IX/2018 and 343/E5/E5.4/SIP/2019 of Harold Berghuis) under the project ‘Studying Human Origin in East Java’. We thank Arkenas and in particular Dr. I Made Geria for facilitating our inspiring and enduring cooperation. We are grateful to the pak Parman and the other people of Marmoyo, Sumberingin, Kabuh and Perning for their hospitality and support. We thank Frank Wesselingh and Bert Hoeksema for their mollusc and coral identifications. The fieldwork was funded by the Treub Foundation (Maatschappij voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek in de Tropen), the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University and the Dutch Research Council NWO (Grant number 016. Vidi.171.049 ).
Funding Information:
This study was carried out with permission of the Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education (RISTEK research permits: 263/SIP/FRP/ES/Dit. KI/VII/2016 of Josephine Joordens; 284/SIP/FRP/E5/Dit.KI/IX/2018 and 343/E5/E5.4/SIP/2019 of Harold Berghuis) under the project ‘Studying Human Origin in East Java’. We thank Arkenas and in particular Dr. I Made Geria for facilitating our inspiring and enduring cooperation. We are grateful to the pak Parman and the other people of Marmoyo, Sumberingin, Kabuh and Perning for their hospitality and support. We thank Frank Wesselingh and Bert Hoeksema for their mollusc and coral identifications. The fieldwork was funded by the Treub Foundation (Maatschappij voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek in de Tropen), the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University and the Dutch Research Council NWO (Grant number 016. Vidi.171.049).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022
PY - 2022/11/1
Y1 - 2022/11/1
N2 - The eastern Kendeng Hills (Java, Indonesia) expose a 1000 m thick series that is used as a stratigraphic standard, representing the emergence of eastern Java from the sea. The fluvial top is rich in vertebrate fossils and yielded the Mojokerto (Perning) hominin skullcap, which is regarded as the earliest evidence of Homo erectus on Java, with age estimates ranging between 1.9 and 1.49 Ma. The series is commonly regarded as an uninterrupted record of coastal progradation. However, recent studies show that the emergence of eastern Java has been a complex process, under influence of tectonism, volcanism, sea-level fluctuations and fluvial dynamics, leaving a fragmented depositional record that varies from site to site. This is at odds with the prevailing stratigraphic practice of long-distance correlations and questions the existing interpretations of the eastern Kendeng reference sections. Here we present the results of a fieldwork-based re-interpretation of this key stratigraphic record, which we identified as the fill of a previously unrecognized Plio-Pleistocene embayment, surrounded by elongate uplift zones. Clinoform-bedded sandstones relate to a stage of explosive, high-silica volcanism, supplying large volumes of ash. The embayment fill is incised and covered by fluvial deposits, which we relate to the Middle Pleistocene Brantas. The fluvial strata have a cyclic build-up, probably representing sea-level controlled stages of aggradation and degradation. Based on a reconstruction of fluvial cycles, we provisionally link the conglomerate bed in which the Mojokerto Homo erectus was found to MIS14 (∼550ka). We infer that the published radiometric ages derive from reworked volcanic clasts that make up this incisive fluvial lag and are not representative for the age of deposition. Our study places the eastern Kendeng series in a new landscape context and changes our view of the timing of hominin migration to Java.
AB - The eastern Kendeng Hills (Java, Indonesia) expose a 1000 m thick series that is used as a stratigraphic standard, representing the emergence of eastern Java from the sea. The fluvial top is rich in vertebrate fossils and yielded the Mojokerto (Perning) hominin skullcap, which is regarded as the earliest evidence of Homo erectus on Java, with age estimates ranging between 1.9 and 1.49 Ma. The series is commonly regarded as an uninterrupted record of coastal progradation. However, recent studies show that the emergence of eastern Java has been a complex process, under influence of tectonism, volcanism, sea-level fluctuations and fluvial dynamics, leaving a fragmented depositional record that varies from site to site. This is at odds with the prevailing stratigraphic practice of long-distance correlations and questions the existing interpretations of the eastern Kendeng reference sections. Here we present the results of a fieldwork-based re-interpretation of this key stratigraphic record, which we identified as the fill of a previously unrecognized Plio-Pleistocene embayment, surrounded by elongate uplift zones. Clinoform-bedded sandstones relate to a stage of explosive, high-silica volcanism, supplying large volumes of ash. The embayment fill is incised and covered by fluvial deposits, which we relate to the Middle Pleistocene Brantas. The fluvial strata have a cyclic build-up, probably representing sea-level controlled stages of aggradation and degradation. Based on a reconstruction of fluvial cycles, we provisionally link the conglomerate bed in which the Mojokerto Homo erectus was found to MIS14 (∼550ka). We infer that the published radiometric ages derive from reworked volcanic clasts that make up this incisive fluvial lag and are not representative for the age of deposition. Our study places the eastern Kendeng series in a new landscape context and changes our view of the timing of hominin migration to Java.
KW - ITC-ISI-JOURNAL-ARTICLE
U2 - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107692
DO - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107692
M3 - Article
SN - 0277-3791
VL - 295
JO - Quaternary science reviews
JF - Quaternary science reviews
M1 - 107692
ER -