A new date for Ramapithecus

Abstract

Recent work in the Middle Siwalik rocks of the Potwar Plateau in northern Pakistan is doing much to further our understanding of Miocene mammalian evolution, in particular the evolution of Ramapithecus and Sivapithecus, hominoids considered important for human ancestry¹. It is crucial to the understanding of hominoid evolution to place the fossils in as precise a chronologic framework as possible. As there is a lack of material suitable for radiometric dating, it is necessary to rely on the correlation of the magnetic stratigraphy associated with the Siwalik faunas to the calibrated magnetic polarity tune scale (MPTS). Initial age estimates by Barndt et al.² were based on reconnaissance level palaeomagnetic sampling. The more detailed sampling presented here suggests a revised correlation of the local magnetic stratigraphy to the time scale and hence a revised age estimate for Ramapithecus: 8 Myr now seems more likely than the previous estimate of 9 Myr.