Chronological Research of the hominid fossil tibia from Sambungmacan, Jawa

Research Project

Project/Area Number	09440283
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	人類学(含生理人類学)
Research Institution	Ochanomizu University
Principal Investigator	MATSUURA Shuji Ochanomizu Univ., Human Life & Environ.Sci., Assoc.Prof., 生活科学部, 助教授 (90141986)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	KONDO Megumi Ochanomizu Univ., Human Life & Environ.Sci., Res.Assistant, 生活科学部, 助手 (40302997)
Project Period (FY)	1997 – 1998
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 1998)
Budget Amount *help	¥6,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥6,400,000) Fiscal Year 1998: ¥1,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000) Fiscal Year 1997: ¥4,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,500,000)
Keywords	Indonesia / Java Man / dating / fossil bone / constituent analysis / human evolution / palaeoanthropology / anthropology
Research Abstract	In September 1977, a fossilized shaft fragment of a hominid right tibia was found together with faunal remains from the Solo River short-cut canal site at Sambungmacan in Central Jawa, Indonesia. The Plio-Pleistocene sediments exposed at the site consist of the Kalibeng, Kabuh and Setri Formations in ascending order. While the exact findspot of the hominid tibia (surface discovery) in the field is unknown, the fluorine content of this specimen has been found to correspond to that of vertebrate bones in situ from the Kabuh and Setri Formations, and has thus suggested that the Sambungmacan tibia would be referred to a fossil hominid which may be included in 'Java Man' or 'Solo Man'. However, in the case of Sambungmacan, we could not settle the stratigraphic provenance (the Kabuh Formation or the Setri Formation? ) of the tibia with the fluorine analysis alone, and the clarification of its antiquity has awaited further research. Recent studies have shown that a new geochemical approach by multielement analyses of bone using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectrometry, in company with the fluorine assay, is very effective for purposes of provenance discrimination of fossil bones from the Sangiran area, Central Jawa ; and have assisted the geochronological placement of the Sangiran hominids. This report is concerned with the application of the multielement approach to the Sambungmacan tibia. The results imply that the hominid tibia in question has its origin in the Kabuh Formation. The present approach would be promising for the clarification of the stratigraphic provenance of the hominid braincase found from Sambungmacan in 1973. The antiquity of the tibia may also have a significant bearing on the ongoing controversy surrounding the geological age of the hominid femora from Trinil which led the species name of Pithecanthropus (now Homo) erect us.