Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface: the new Pleistocene
- Foreword
- Part I Definition of the base of the Quaternary
- Part II Characterization of the Pleistocene boundary-stratotype
- Part III The paleontological context of the Pleistocene boundary
- Part IV The Pleistocene boundary in regional sequences
- 11 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in Italy
- 12 Stratigraphy of the Plio–Pleistocene sequence of the Mediterranean coastal belt of Israel and its implications for the evolution of the Nile Cone
- 13 The Pliocene–Pleistocene transition in the Iberian Peninsula
- 14 Biostratigraphy and calibrated climatic chronology of the Upper Pliocene and Lower Pleistocene of France
- 15 The Plio–Pleistocene of England and Iceland
- 16 The Neogene–Ouaternary boundary in The Netherlands
- 17 The Tertiary–Quaternary boundary in western Germany
- 18 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in eastern Germany
- 19 The Plio–Pleistocene of Hungary
- 20 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in Romania
- 21 The Pliocene and Pleistocene of the European part of the Commonwealth of Independent States
- 22 The N/Q boundary in Asian Russia and Tadjikistan
- 23 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in the Indian subcontinent
- 24 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in Japan: the Osaka Group, Kinki district
- 25 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in Japan: stratigraphy in the Boso Peninsula, central Japan
- 26 The base of the Quaternary in China
- 27 Plio–Pleistocene deposits and the Quaternary boundary in sub-Saharan Africa
- 28 Plio–Pleistocene reference sections in Indonesia
- 29 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in New Zealand
- 30 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in continental sequences of North America
- Index
27 - Plio–Pleistocene deposits and the Quaternary boundary in sub-Saharan Africa
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 November 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface: the new Pleistocene
- Foreword
- Part I Definition of the base of the Quaternary
- Part II Characterization of the Pleistocene boundary-stratotype
- Part III The paleontological context of the Pleistocene boundary
- Part IV The Pleistocene boundary in regional sequences
- 11 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in Italy
- 12 Stratigraphy of the Plio–Pleistocene sequence of the Mediterranean coastal belt of Israel and its implications for the evolution of the Nile Cone
- 13 The Pliocene–Pleistocene transition in the Iberian Peninsula
- 14 Biostratigraphy and calibrated climatic chronology of the Upper Pliocene and Lower Pleistocene of France
- 15 The Plio–Pleistocene of England and Iceland
- 16 The Neogene–Ouaternary boundary in The Netherlands
- 17 The Tertiary–Quaternary boundary in western Germany
- 18 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in eastern Germany
- 19 The Plio–Pleistocene of Hungary
- 20 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in Romania
- 21 The Pliocene and Pleistocene of the European part of the Commonwealth of Independent States
- 22 The N/Q boundary in Asian Russia and Tadjikistan
- 23 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in the Indian subcontinent
- 24 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in Japan: the Osaka Group, Kinki district
- 25 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in Japan: stratigraphy in the Boso Peninsula, central Japan
- 26 The base of the Quaternary in China
- 27 Plio–Pleistocene deposits and the Quaternary boundary in sub-Saharan Africa
- 28 Plio–Pleistocene reference sections in Indonesia
- 29 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in New Zealand
- 30 The Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in continental sequences of North America
- Index
Summary
Introduction
According to the definition of the lower boundary of the Pleistocene epoch at Vrica (Pasini and Colalongo, Chapter 2, this volume), the top of the Olduvai subchron can be used as a convenient approximation of the Quaternary boundary in nonmarine areas. In Africa, several highly fossiliferous stratigraphic sequences are known in which the limits of the Olduvai subchron can be placed, either by direct paleomagnetic observations or through good radiometric control. The faunal associations in those sequences can then be used for correlating other deposits in which paleomagnetic or radiometric age data are not available. The major sequences with geochronological control are in East Africa, whereas the occurrences in southern (and northern) Africa are generally deficient with regard to isotope age determinations and paleomagnetic data.
East African Plio–Pleistocene deposits
The highland areas of East Africa, including Ethiopia, have been strongly affected by tectonic and volcanic activity since at least the early Miocene, and the rift valleys and downwarped areas have provided unusually good traps for the accumulation of fossil-bearing sediments, in many cases associated with lavas or volcanic tuffs that furnish radiometric or fission-track ages. Geochemical “fingerprinting” of tuffs has also been employed successfully as a correlation tool. The broad geological framework has been described by a number of specialists, and the fossil mammals have been treated extensively (Maglio and Cooke, 1978).
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- The Pleistocene Boundary and the Beginning of the Quaternary , pp. 254 - 263Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1996
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