Abstract
The Okote Tuff Complex crops out in the Koobi Fora region next to the north-eastern shores of Lake Turkana, northern Kenya. It occurs in the upper part of the ∼450 m thick, essentially flat lying, Plio-Pleistocene sequence of fluvial, deltaic and lacustrine sediments comprising the Koobi Fora Formation1–3. Many important archaeological sites and hominid fossils, including the Homo erectus finds discussed in the accompanying papers4,5, are stratigraphically close to the level of the Okote Tuff Complex6 or its correlatives, so that its precise numerical age is of great interest. Previously published isotopic ages, mainly by the 40Ar/39Ar dating technique, exhibited a very wide scatter7. Here we report comprehensive K–Ar data showing that pumices within one of the tuffs of the Okote Tuff Complex have an age of 1.64 ±0.03 Myr, which is in the earliest Pleistocene8.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bowen, B. E. & Vondra, C. F. Nature 242, 391–393 (1973).
Findlater, I. C. in Koobi Fora Research Project Vol. 1 (eds Leakey, M. G. & Leakey, R.E.F.), 14–31 (Clarendon, Oxford, 1978).
Cerling, T. E. & Brown, F. H. Nature 299, 216–221 (1982).
Brown, F. H., Harris, J., Leakey, R. E. & Walker, A. Nature 316, 788–792 (1985).
Brown, F. H. & Feibel, C. S. Nature 316, 794–797 (1985).
Leakey, M. G. & Leakey, R. E. F. (eds) Koobi Fora Research Project Vol. 1 (Clarendon, Oxford, 1978).
Fitch, F. J. & Miller, J. A. in Earliest Man and Environments in the Lake Rudolf Basin (eds Coppens, Y., Howell, F. C., Isaac, G. LI & Leakey, R. E. F.) 123–147 (University of Chicago Press, 1976).
Berggren, W. A. et al. Quat. Res. 13, 277–302 (1980).
McDougall, I., Maier, R., Sutherland-Hawkes, P. & Gleadow, A. J. W. Nature 284, 230–234 (1980).
Findlater, I. C. in Earliest Man and Environments in the Lake Rudolf Basin (eds Coppens, Y., Howell, F. C., Isaac, G.LI & Leakey, R.E.F.) 94–104 (University of Chicago Press, 1976).
Findlater, I. C. in Geological Background to Fossil Man (ed. Bishop, W. W.) 415–420 (Scottish Academic, Edinburgh, 1978).
McDougall, I. Bull. geol. Soc. Am. 96, 159–175 (1985).
McDougall, I. Nature 294, 120–124 (1981).
Brock, A. & Isaac, G. LI. Nature 247, 344–348 (1974).
Hillhouse, J. W., Ndombi, J. W. M., Cox, A. & Brock, A. Nature 265, 411–415 (1977).
McDougall, I. in The Earth: Its Origin, Structure and Evolution (ed. McElhinny, M. W.) 534–566 (Academic, London, 1979).
Brown, F. H., McDougall, I., Davies, T. & Maier, R. in Anthropology: The Hard Evidence (ed. Delson, E.) (Liss, New York, in the press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McDougall, I., Davies, T., Maier, R. et al. Age of the Okote Tuff Complex at Koobi Fora, Kenya. Nature 316, 792–794 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/316792a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/316792a0
This article is cited by
-
Length estimate for KNM-ER 736, a hominid femur from the lower pleistocene of East Africa
Human Evolution (1986)
-
Palaeoanthropology: Palaeobiology and age of African Homo erectus
Nature (1985)
-
Early Homo erectus skeleton from west Lake Turkana, Kenya
Nature (1985)
-
Stratigraphical notes on the Okote Tuff Complex at Koobi Fora, Kenya
Nature (1985)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
