Robyn Pickering
Biographic Data
| ID | 3741100 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Robyn Pickering |
| GIVEN NAMES | Robyn |
| FAMILY NAME | Pickering |
| SIGNATURE | PICKERING R |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 260 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
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…
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 …
Appendix: Dating Methods Applied to Azokh Cave Sites
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
Re-appraisal of the stratigraphy and determination of new U-Pb dates for the Sterkfontein hominin site, 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 …
Stratigraphy, U-Th chronology, and paleoenvironments at Gladysvale Cave: Insights into the climatic control of South African hominin-bearing cave deposits
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
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 …
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…
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
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 …
Re-appraisal of the stratigraphy and determination of new U-Pb dates for the Sterkfontein hominin site, South Africa
U-Pb dating of flowstones: Challenges, age models and success stories
A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective on the Age of Australopithecus in Southern Africa
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
Appendix: Dating Methods Applied to Azokh Cave Sites
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 …
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…
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 …
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…
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…
Geography (12 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (12 works) · Archaeology (10 works) · Geology (10 works) · Cave (9 works) · Paleontology (9 works) · Biology (7 works) · Geology (7 works) · Paleontology (7 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (5 works)