Les micromammifères et la formation de la « Name Chamber » à Sterkfontein, Afrique du Sud

The depositional history of the Name Chamber at the Sterkfontein early hominid site is complex, as is the case with most such cavities. Unravelling this history may therefore benefit from the input of less usual lines of evidence to complement baseline geological investigations. In this case, micromammalian remains from the Western Talus of the Name Chamber provide tentative evidence for the depositional history of these deposits. Correlation of samples based on minimum numbers of individuals referred to genera occurring in one third or more of the samples suggests that a large proportion of the Western Talus material, particularly that from the area infiltrated by the Eastern Talus deposit, originated in the vicinity of squares P54, Q54 and Q55 in the main excavation, from a depth spanning the boundary between Acheulean and Oldowan levels in Member 5. Differences in general diversity between the samples from the main excavation and some from the Name Chamber support the proposal that surface sediments of the homogeneous deposits have been contaminated by material entering the cavern during the 1994 opening of the feeder shaft. Initial taphonomic analysis indicates that all samples, both the original and those from the Name Chamber, were accumulated by the same avian predator, that is, one or more of three owl species (barn owl Tyto alba, grass owl Tyto capensis and marsh owl Asio capensis).