Palaeomagnetism and the age of the Makapansgat hominid site

The time of deposition of the Makapansgat Limeworks site in South Africa, containing several hominid fossils, has an important bearing on hominid phylogeny in Africa. Hence, in an attempt to determine this age, a palaeomagnetic analysis of the site has been performed and the results are reported here. Member 3 (from which most of the important hominid fossils have been recovered) appears to have an age greater than 2.90 Ma and possibly greater than 3.06 Ma but less than 3.32 Ma. Previously it has not been possible to delineate the age of this important member with any degree of accuracy. The most likely position for the underlying Member 2 is in that section of the Gauss normal epoch predating the Mammoth event and having age limits of 3.06–3.32 Ma.