New data provided by technology developed at Purdue University has determined that fossils from the Cradle of Humankind are much older than previously thought. The technology was used on fossils and sediment found at Sterkfontein Caves in South Africa — home to famous fossils like Mrs. Ples. With the new dating method, the fossils’ age has been extended by roughly one million years, making them older than Lucy.
Darryl Granger, a professor of earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences in Purdue University’s College of Science, along with an international team of scientists developed the technology. They’ve been working on Australopithecus fossils as well as sediment found in Sterkfontein Caves. Using this technology, researchers were able to determine that the sediment samples collected from the cave dated about 3.4 to 3.7 million-years-old — previously thought to be 2 to 2.5 million-years-old. This new information helps place fossils like Lucy (3.2 million) and ...
