Robert Pickering
Biographic Data
| ID | 100281 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Robert Pickering |
| GIVEN NAMES | Robert |
| FAMILY NAME | Pickering |
| SIGNATURE | PICKERING R |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Cape Town |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2663-7574 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 42 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 313 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 42 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1979 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Paleoanthropology: Decolonizing and Building for the Future
The study of human evolution, also known as palaeoanthropology, focuses on our distant and more recent human past; what shaped us as a lineage, genus, and species; and how we came to be the diverse single species we are today. However, the bulk of this research, knowledge production, and understanding has been driven by the global North to the exclusion of non‐Western scientists, despite the deep and rich fossil record of formerly colonized regio…
Challenging the antiquity of the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa: Geochronological evidence restricts the age of Eurotomys bolti and Parapapio to less than 2.3 Ma at Waypoint 160, Bolt's Farm
Waypoint 160 is a paleocave at Bolt's Farm in the 'Cradle of Humankind,' South Africa. It is known for the novel murid taxa Eurotomys bolti, argued to be morphologically intermediate between Eurotomys pelomyoides from Langebaanweg (∼5.1 Ma) and the earliest Otomyinae from Makapansgat Limeworks (∼3.0-2.6 Ma). Based on the presence of this specimen, an age of ∼4.5 Ma was inferred for Waypoint 160, making it far older than other Cradle sites. This b…
Wonderwerk Cave, Northern Cape Province: An Early–Middle Pleistocene Paleoenvironmental Sequence for the Interior of South Africa
Localities in the interior of South Africa, such as Taung and Vaal River sites, were intensively researched after hominins were discovered (Péringuey, 1911; Dart, 1925a; Goodwin, 1928), but then neglected for the fossil-rich, dolomitic breccia sites in Gauteng Province (e.g., Cooke, 1963, 1967; Vrba, 1976; Brain, 1981, Brain and Sillen, 1988; Bamford, 1999; Pickering and Kramers, 2010; Herries and Shaw, 2011; Reynolds et al., 2011; Lee-Thorp and …
Ecosystem engineering in the Quaternary of the West Coast of South Africa
Despite advances in our understanding of the geographic and temporal scope of the Paleolithic record, we know remarkably little about the evolutionary and ecological consequences of changes in human behavior. Recent inquiries suggest that human evolution reflects a long history of interconnections between the behavior of humans and their surrounding ecosystems (e.g., niche construction). Developing expectations to identify such phenomena is remar…
Contemporaneity of Australopithecus , Paranthropus , and early Homo erectus in South Africa
Dating the Drimolen hominins Fossil hominins from South Africa are enriching the story of early human evolution and dispersal. Herries et al. describe the geological context and dating of the hominin-bearing infilled cave, or palaeocave, at a site called Drimolen in South Africa (see the Perspective by Antón). They focus on the age and context of a recently discovered Homo erectus sensu lato fossil and a Paranthropus robustus fossil, which they d…
Fabric Analysis and Chronology at Ga-Mohana Hill North Rockshelter, Southern Kalahari Basin: Evidence for In Situ, Stratified Middle and Later Stone Age Deposits
Human Osteological Remains from Alta Vista, Zacatecas: An Analysis of the Isolated Bone
This chapter focuses on isolated bones that are found in the archaeological context. The conjoined study of human osteological remains and mortuary sites in an archaeological context has been a focus of investigation in the New World for nearly 100 years. The human skeleton may also indicate environmental stress as evidenced by pathology. The floor was constructed of numerous layers of white plaster, a trait used by Kelley to indicate that constr…
A Window into Africa’s Past Hydroclimates: The Sisal_v1 Database Contribution
Africa spans the hemispheres from temperate region to temperate region and has a long history of hominin evolution. Although the number of Quaternary palaeoclimatic records from the continent is increasing, much of the history of spatial and temporal climatic variability is still debated. Speleothems, as archives of terrestrial hydroclimate variability, can help reveal this history. Here we review the progress made to date, with a focus on the fi…
Upholding "good science" in human origins research: A response to Chan et al (2019)
The recent publication by Chan et al (2019) entitled “Human origins in a southern African palaeo-wetland and first migrations” fails to meet scientific standards for publication in two ways. First, it neglects its scientific duty to discuss the entire body of scientific evidence around human origins, which leads to unsupportable claims. Second, it reinforces racialized power dynamics within the science of human origins. We argue that the authors …
Connections, culture and environments around 100 000 years ago at Klasies River main site
Lead (Pb) isotope signatures for silcrete sources from the Willandra Lakes region, Australia: A pilot study of a new method for provenancing silcrete artefacts
Geoarchaeological and 3D visualisation approaches for contextualising in-situ fossil bearing palaeokarst in South Africa: A case study from the ∼2.61 Ma Drimolen Makondo
Absorbed Residue Evidence for Prehistoric Datura Use in the American Southeast and Western Mexico
Absorbed residue studies have been used in subsistence research for decades. Only more recently have the chemical methods employed been used to explore the consumption of ritual concoctions such as those including cacao, yaupon holly, and alcohol. In this article we use mass spectrometry to identify Datura residues in prehistoric contexts from western Mexico and the American Southeast. Datura is a genus of flowering plants that contain hallucinog…
Appendix: Dating Methods Applied to Azokh Cave Sites
The context of hominin behaviour at Elandsfontien in the Mid-Pleistocene
Recent advances and future prospects of the U–Th and U–Pb chronometers applicable to archaeology
U–Pb Dating Small Buried Stalagmites from Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa: A New Chronometer for Earlier Stone Age Cave Deposits
Ma age for underwater remains constrain antiquity and longevity of the Dominican primate Antillothrix bernensis
A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective on the Age of Australopithecus in Southern Africa
U-Pb dating of flowstones: Challenges, age models and success stories
Australopithecus sediba at 1.977 Ma and Implications for the Origins of the Genus Homo
Further U-series dating and the magnetic stratigraphy of the hosting cave deposits show that Australopithecus sediba lived just under 2 million years ago, near or just before the emergence of Homo .
The Clarendon Edition of the Works of John Locke: The Correspondence of John Locke: In Eight Volumes, Vol. 1: Introduction; Letters Nos. 1–461
Judith Robinson-Valéry 1933-2010
Re-appraisal of the stratigraphy and determination of new U-Pb dates for the Sterkfontein hominin site, South Africa
Timing and climatic impact of Greenland interstadials recorded in stalagmites from northern Turkey
A 50 kyr‐long exceptionally well‐dated and highly resolved stalagmite oxygen ( δ 18 O) and carbon ( δ 13 C) isotope record from Sofular Cave in northwestern Turkey helps to further improve the dating of Greenland Interstadials (GI) 1, and 3–12. Timing of most GI in the Sofular record is consistent within ±10 to 300 years with the “iconic” Hulu Cave record. Larger divergences (>500 years) between Sofular and Hulu are only observed for GI 4 and 7. …
Re-appraisal of the stratigraphy and determination of new U-Pb dates for the Sterkfontein hominin site, South Africa
New Australopithecus robustus fossils and associated U-Pb dates from Cooper's Cave (Gauteng, South Africa)
Australopithecus robustus is one of the best represented hominin taxa in Africa, with hundreds of specimens recovered from six fossil localities in the Bloubank Valley area of Gauteng Province, South Africa. However, precise geochronological ages are presently lacking for these fossil cave infills. In this paper, we provide a detailed geological background to a series of hominin fossils retrieved from the newly investigated deposit of Cooper's D …
Stratigraphy, U-Th chronology, and paleoenvironments at Gladysvale Cave: Insights into the climatic control of South African hominin-bearing cave deposits
Newly discovered fossil- and artifact-bearing deposits, uranium-series ages, and Plio-Pleistocene hominids at Swartkrans Cave, South Africa
Probable human hair found in a fossil hyaena coprolite from Gladysvale cave, South Africa
Geoarchaeological and 3D visualisation approaches for contextualising in-situ fossil bearing palaeokarst in South Africa: A case study from the ∼2.61 Ma Drimolen Makondo
Fabric Analysis and Chronology at Ga-Mohana Hill North Rockshelter, Southern Kalahari Basin: Evidence for In Situ, Stratified Middle and Later Stone Age Deposits
Recent advances and future prospects of the U–Th and U–Pb chronometers applicable to archaeology
U–Pb Dating Small Buried Stalagmites from Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa: A New Chronometer for Earlier Stone Age Cave Deposits
Ma age for underwater remains constrain antiquity and longevity of the Dominican primate Antillothrix bernensis
Upholding "good science" in human origins research: A response to Chan et al (2019)
The recent publication by Chan et al (2019) entitled “Human origins in a southern African palaeo-wetland and first migrations” fails to meet scientific standards for publication in two ways. First, it neglects its scientific duty to discuss the entire body of scientific evidence around human origins, which leads to unsupportable claims. Second, it reinforces racialized power dynamics within the science of human origins. We argue that the authors …
Absorbed Residue Evidence for Prehistoric Datura Use in the American Southeast and Western Mexico
Absorbed residue studies have been used in subsistence research for decades. Only more recently have the chemical methods employed been used to explore the consumption of ritual concoctions such as those including cacao, yaupon holly, and alcohol. In this article we use mass spectrometry to identify Datura residues in prehistoric contexts from western Mexico and the American Southeast. Datura is a genus of flowering plants that contain hallucinog…
Lead (Pb) isotope signatures for silcrete sources from the Willandra Lakes region, Australia: A pilot study of a new method for provenancing silcrete artefacts
The context of hominin behaviour at Elandsfontien in the Mid-Pleistocene
Archaeological Interpretations of West Mexican Ceramic Art From the Late Preclassic Period: Three Figurine projects
Scholars of West Mexico generally rely on the ceramic figurine tradition found in shaft tombs for interpreting the prehistory of the Late Preclassic period. Three new projects on shaft-tomb ceramics seek to advance our understanding of the Late Formative culture and societies of this region. First, ceramic figures are examined for evidence of the ball game in West Mexico; second, for cultural information about domestic and community organization;…
Challenging the antiquity of the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa: Geochronological evidence restricts the age of Eurotomys bolti and Parapapio to less than 2.3 Ma at Waypoint 160, Bolt's Farm
Waypoint 160 is a paleocave at Bolt's Farm in the 'Cradle of Humankind,' South Africa. It is known for the novel murid taxa Eurotomys bolti, argued to be morphologically intermediate between Eurotomys pelomyoides from Langebaanweg (∼5.1 Ma) and the earliest Otomyinae from Makapansgat Limeworks (∼3.0-2.6 Ma). Based on the presence of this specimen, an age of ∼4.5 Ma was inferred for Waypoint 160, making it far older than other Cradle sites. This b…
Three‐dimensional computed tomography of the mummy Wenuhotep
Computed tomography allows cross‐sectional imaging of anthropological as well as clinical subjects. Recently, technical innovations have made three‐dimensional reconstruction of these images feasible. We performed two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional computed tomography of a Late Period Egyptian mummy to reexamine findings seen on previous radiographic studies and to evaluate the usefulness of these techniques in paleopathology. Two‐dimensional …
Energy and Integrated Poetic Experience in the Abstract Poetic Prose of Valéry's Cahiers
Je manque de mots: Limits of self-expression in the lyrical prose of Valéry's Cahiers
Three‐dimensional computed tomography of the mummy Wenuhotep
Computed tomography allows cross‐sectional imaging of anthropological as well as clinical subjects. Recently, technical innovations have made three‐dimensional reconstruction of these images feasible. We performed two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional computed tomography of a Late Period Egyptian mummy to reexamine findings seen on previous radiographic studies and to evaluate the usefulness of these techniques in paleopathology. Two‐dimensional …
Les Chants de Maldoror: Images of the Writer at Work
"Paul Valéry's "My Early Days in England
Archaeological Interpretations of West Mexican Ceramic Art From the Late Preclassic Period: Three Figurine projects
Scholars of West Mexico generally rely on the ceramic figurine tradition found in shaft tombs for interpreting the prehistory of the Late Preclassic period. Three new projects on shaft-tomb ceramics seek to advance our understanding of the Late Formative culture and societies of this region. First, ceramic figures are examined for evidence of the ball game in West Mexico; second, for cultural information about domestic and community organization;…
Parler juste dans l'incertain: L'univers poétique de Jean-Michel Maulpoix
Bone Voyage: A Journey in Forensic Anthropology. Stanley Rhine
L'Espace de la note
Journal Article L'Espace de la note Get access Robert Pickering Robert Pickering Université Blaise-Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar French Studies, Volume 59, Issue 4, October 2005, Pages 578–579, https://doi.org/10.1093/fs/kni271 Published: 01 October 2005
L'Écriture gouvernée: L'organisation complète du poème chez Mallarmé et Valéry
By Jean-Pierre Chausserie-Laprée. (Textuelles). Aix-en-Provence, Publications de l'Université de Provence, 2003. 347 pp. Pb €29.00. In this intricately argued analysis of Mallarmé's ‘Apparition’, ‘Brise marine’, ‘L'Azur’, ‘Hérodiade’, ‘Ouverture ancienne d'Hérodiade’, ‘Toast funèbre’, and of Valéry's La Jeune Parque, ‘Le Cimetière marin’, ‘Fragments du Narcisse’ and ‘Le Rameur’, Professor Chausserie-Laprée adds a final impressive study to his emi…
A Personal Homenaje to Phil Weigand
Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale was “the” place to be for anyone interested in North or West Mexican studies. J. Charles Kelley, Carroll “Cal” Riley, Campbell Pennington, and Basil Hedrick constituted the cadre of scholars who specialized in the region but also served as mentors and models for what anthropological archaeology could be, even in the pre-Binfordian days. Walter Taylor also was there…
Stratigraphy, U-Th chronology, and paleoenvironments at Gladysvale Cave: Insights into the climatic control of South African hominin-bearing cave deposits
Recent developments in Quaternary dating methods
An overview of methods to numerically date continental Quaternary deposits is provided including radiocarbon, Uranium series, cosmogenic nuclides, luminescence and electron spin resonance. Physical background and methodology are briefly described and potential problems as well as recent developments in the field are highlighted
An “Honest Visionary” and “Dishonest Scallywag”: Blending Fact, Opinion, and Interest into a Front-End Evaluation
Within the history museum setting, there can be disconnect between historical “fact,” museum goals, and visitor perception and expectation. This disconnect is often exaggerated when the content of the museum is controversial or skewed by popular belief. The current research applied a conceptual model that attempts to describe both fact and fiction while balancing historical expertise and visitor expectations when developing themes for a historica…
Timing and climatic impact of Greenland interstadials recorded in stalagmites from northern Turkey
A 50 kyr‐long exceptionally well‐dated and highly resolved stalagmite oxygen ( δ 18 O) and carbon ( δ 13 C) isotope record from Sofular Cave in northwestern Turkey helps to further improve the dating of Greenland Interstadials (GI) 1, and 3–12. Timing of most GI in the Sofular record is consistent within ±10 to 300 years with the “iconic” Hulu Cave record. Larger divergences (>500 years) between Sofular and Hulu are only observed for GI 4 and 7. …
Probable human hair found in a fossil hyaena coprolite from Gladysvale cave, South Africa
Newly discovered fossil- and artifact-bearing deposits, uranium-series ages, and Plio-Pleistocene hominids at Swartkrans Cave, South Africa
New Australopithecus robustus fossils and associated U-Pb dates from Cooper's Cave (Gauteng, South Africa)
Australopithecus robustus is one of the best represented hominin taxa in Africa, with hundreds of specimens recovered from six fossil localities in the Bloubank Valley area of Gauteng Province, South Africa. However, precise geochronological ages are presently lacking for these fossil cave infills. In this paper, we provide a detailed geological background to a series of hominin fossils retrieved from the newly investigated deposit of Cooper's D …
The Clarendon Edition of the Works of John Locke: The Correspondence of John Locke: In Eight Volumes, Vol. 1: Introduction; Letters Nos. 1–461
Judith Robinson-Valéry 1933-2010
Re-appraisal of the stratigraphy and determination of new U-Pb dates for the Sterkfontein hominin site, South Africa
Australopithecus sediba at 1.977 Ma and Implications for the Origins of the Genus Homo
Further U-series dating and the magnetic stratigraphy of the hosting cave deposits show that Australopithecus sediba lived just under 2 million years ago, near or just before the emergence of Homo .
U-Pb dating of flowstones: Challenges, age models and success stories
A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective on the Age of Australopithecus in Southern Africa
Recent advances and future prospects of the U–Th and U–Pb chronometers applicable to archaeology
Geography (28 works) · Archaeology (27 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (22 works) · Geology (19 works) · Paleontology (17 works) · Cave (16 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (13 works) · Biology (11 works) · Paleontology (11 works) · Art (10 works)