@article{c27e6d1ef0f248838cae737eda932724,
title = "40Ar/39Ar dating, paleomagnetism, and tephrochemistry of Pliocene strata of the hominid-bearing Woranso-Mille area, west-central Afar Rift, Ethiopia",
abstract = "40Ar/39Ar dating of tuffs and mafic lavas, tephra geochemistry, and paleomagnetic reversal stratigraphy have been used to establish the chronostratigraphy of the Pliocene hominid-bearing fossiliferous succession at Woranso-Mille, a paleontological study area in the western part of the central Afar region of Ethiopia. The succession in the northwestern part of the study area ranges in 40Ar/39Ar age from 3.82-3.570 Ma, encompassed by paleomagnetic subchron C2Ar (4.187-3.596 Ma). One of the major tuff units, locally named the Kilaytoli tuff, is correlative on the basis of age and geochemistry to the Lokochot Tuff of the Turkana Basin. A hominid partial skeleton (KSD-VP-1) was found in strata whose precise stratigraphic position and age is still under investigation, but is believed to correspond to the later part of this interval. Woranso-Mille fills a significant gap in the fossil record of northeastern Africa at the time of the lower to middle Pliocene transition, when many extant species lineages of African fauna were established.",
keywords = "Afa, Ar/Ar Dating, Ethiopia, Hominid, Paleomagnetism, Pliocene, Tephrochemistry, Woranso-Mille",
author = "Deino, {Alan L.} and Scott, {Gary R.} and Beverly Saylor and Mulugeta Alene and Angelini, {Joshua D.} and Yohannes Haile-Selassie",
note = "Funding Information: We would like to thank the Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ethiopia for issuing field permits, the National Museum of Ethiopia for laboratory facilities and storage of the fossils, the Mille District Administration for facilitating our work in the area, and the Afar people of Mille, Waki, and Waytaleyta areas for their participation in fieldwork. We also thank our field assistants, Ephrem Ambissa, Woganu Amerga, Alemayehu Asfaw, Endale, Assefa, Ahmed Elema, Yihuntsega Kassu, Kampiro Kayranto, Samuel Mamo, and others. We thank Alemu Ademassu for laboratory assistance and casting, and Stephanie Melillo for field participation and some figures in this work. We are grateful to Frank Brown for providing a sample of the Lokochot Tuff for EMPA analysis. Y.H.S. thanks the late Clark Howell, Tim White, Berhane Asfaw, and Yonas Beyene for their encouragement to conduct the survey. We also thank the Middle Awash project for logistical support. This project was funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, The Leakey Foundation, The National Science Foundation (Grant Nos. BCS-0234320, BCS-0542037, and BCS-0321893), and The National Geographic Society. This paper greatly benefited from helpful comments by Jonathan Wynn and anonymous reviewers. ",
year = "2010",
month = feb,
doi = "10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.11.001",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "58",
pages = "111--126",
journal = "Journal of human evolution",
issn = "0047-2484",
publisher = "Academic Press Inc.",
number = "2",
}