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The Pleistocene Hominid Site of Ternifine, Algeria: New Results on the Environment, Age, and Human Industries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Denis Geraads ,
Jean-Jacques Hublin ,
Jean-Jacques Jaeger ,
Haiyan Tong ,
Sevket Sen  and
Philippe Toubeau
Denis Geraads
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Paléontologie des Vertébrés et Paléontologie humaine, T.25, Université Paris VI. pl. Jussieu, 75230 Paris Cedex 05, France
Jean-Jacques Hublin
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Paléontologie des Vertébrés et Paléontologie humaine, T.25, Université Paris VI. pl. Jussieu, 75230 Paris Cedex 05, France
Jean-Jacques Jaeger
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Paléontologie des Vertébrés et Paléontologie humaine, T.25, Université Paris VI. pl. Jussieu, 75230 Paris Cedex 05, France
Haiyan Tong
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Paléontologie des Vertébrés et Paléontologie humaine, T.25, Université Paris VI. pl. Jussieu, 75230 Paris Cedex 05, France
Sevket Sen
Affiliation:
Laboratoire des faibles radio-activités, CNRS, 91190 GiflYvette, France
Philippe Toubeau
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées, Section Géologie des Matériaux, 58 bld Lefebvre, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France
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Abstract

A new multidisciplinary research program, started in 1981, provided new data on the stratigraphy, fauna, and human industries, as well as the first results on paleomagnetism and sedimentology, for the Ternifine site in Algeria, which yielded the earliest hominid remains known in North Africa. The fossils were deposited in a swamp or lake surrounded by a very open, dry environment. The lake was fed by artesian springs that raised the underlying Miocene sands. Although nothing suggests a camp or butchery site, we discovered the first undisputable bone artifact in this site, the earliest known in this part of Africa. According to paleontological data, 700,000 yr B.P. is a likely age for the Ternifine deposits, which is consistent with the paleomagnetic results.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , May 1986 , pp. 380 - 386
Copyright
University of Washington

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