Kromdraai B Layer 1
Basic information
Sample name: Kromdraai B Layer 1
Sample aka: Cradle of Humankind; KB
Reference: C. K. Brain. 1975. An interpretation of the bone assemblage from the Kromdraai australopithecine site, South Africa. In Paleoanthropology: Morphology and Paleoecology (eds. R. H. Tuttle), pp. 225-243 [ER 4411]
Geography
Country: South Africa
State: Gauteng
Coordinate: 26° 0' 41" S, 27° 45' 0" E
Coordinate basis: stated in text
Scale: quarry
Time interval: Early Pleistocene
Zone: Gelasian
Section: Kromdraai
Unit number: 1
Unit order: above to below
Geography comments: the exact coordinate is given by Braga et al. (2022) but has an erroneous longitude of 27º44'60", which is interpreted to mean 27º45'0"
there are two cave sites at Kromdraai: "Kromdraai Faunal Site or KA" and "The australopithecine site... designated KB" or Kromdraai B
the material comes from the "northern wall of the exposure"
the Kromdraai deposit "was likely accumulated prior to 2 Ma" and is below a reversed polarity interval, so it is Gelasian and not Calabrian
there are two cave sites at Kromdraai: "Kromdraai Faunal Site or KA" and "The australopithecine site... designated KB" or Kromdraai B
the material comes from the "northern wall of the exposure"
the Kromdraai deposit "was likely accumulated prior to 2 Ma" and is below a reversed polarity interval, so it is Gelasian and not Calabrian
Environment
Lithology: breccia
Taphonomic context: cave, carnivore accumulation, human accumulation
Archaeology: stone tools
Habitat comments: layer 1 is from "surface-six feet": Vrba (1981) says that the three layers "potentially included fossils from Members 1-4" as defined at that time, which corresponds to units P, Q, R, S, and T of Braga et at. (2022)
"the entire profile" including all three layers consisted of "decalcified breccia"
"the most striking feature of the bone accumulation is the extreme fragmentation of the individual pieces... It is not impossible that the cave was used a carnivore lair from time to time; the presence of carnivore coprolites tends to support this" but the fragmentation "suggests that these might well represent food remains of primitive men"
five stone artifacts are present, including "one unquestionable artifact in chert" and four "less convincing"
"the entire profile" including all three layers consisted of "decalcified breccia"
"the most striking feature of the bone accumulation is the extreme fragmentation of the individual pieces... It is not impossible that the cave was used a carnivore lair from time to time; the presence of carnivore coprolites tends to support this" but the fragmentation "suggests that these might well represent food remains of primitive men"
five stone artifacts are present, including "one unquestionable artifact in chert" and four "less convincing"
Methods
Life forms: carnivores, primates, ungulates, other large mammals, other small mammals, lizards, turtles
Sampling methods: quarry, screenwash
Sample size: 232 specimens
Sampled by: C. K. Brain
Years: 1955, 1956
Sampling comments: the KB site was originally collected in 1941 by Broom, who discovered the type specimen of Paranthropus robustus, but the material recorded here was collected by Brain with stratigraphic control in 1955 and 1956: no further Paranthropodus specimens were found, although the original set was "from the upper part of the deposit"
"The bone fragments were sieved" and "brushed in running water"
bones of "rodents, insectivores, and birds" representing "the prey of owls" are mentioned but not identified, although the birds are listed on the basis of Pockock (1970) without being split into layers (because Pockock failed to do so)
"The bone fragments were sieved" and "brushed in running water"
bones of "rodents, insectivores, and birds" representing "the prey of owls" are mentioned but not identified, although the birds are listed on the basis of Pockock (1970) without being split into layers (because Pockock failed to do so)
Metadata
Sample number: 4691
Contributor: John Alroy
Enterer: John Alroy
Modifier no: John Alroy
Created: 2025-09-03 04:48:24
Modified: 2025-09-03 04:54:46
Abundance distribution
14 species
4 singletons
total count 232
geometric series index: 22.6
Fisher's α: 3.275
geometric series k: 0.7174
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.7821
Shannon's H: 1.8606
Good's u: 0.9828
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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Register
| †Papio robinsoni | 75 | |
| †Papio angusticeps | 17 | |
| †Cercopithecoides williamsi | 7 | |
| plus 265 indeterminate cercopithecids | ||
| Bovidae indet. Antelope I | 14 | |
| Bovidae indet. Antelope II | 69 | |
| Bovidae indet. Antelope III | 25 | |
| Canis sp. | 1 | |
| "jackal" | ||
| Herpestes sp. | 1 | |
| "mongoose" | ||
| Hyaena cf. brunnea = Parahyaena cf. brunnea | 1 | 48 kg carnivore |
| Panthera pardus | 2 | 33 kg carnivore |
| plus 38 indeterminate carnivores | ||
| Lepus sp. | 5 | |
| cf. | ||
| Procavia sp. | 1 | |
| Testudinidae indet. | 6 | |
| "cf. Testudo sp." | ||
| Cordylus cf. giganteus | 8 | |