A microstratigraphic reevaluation of the Florisbad spring site, Free State Province, South Africa: Formation processes and paleoenvironment

A microstratigraphic reevaluation of the Florisbad spring site, South Africa, reveals that its deposits were formed by alternating aeolian sand layers reworked by lacustrine water during wet Pleistocene phases and peat layers formed in marshes during dry phases. This refined stratigraphic sequence confirms earlier paleoenvironmental reconstructions while providing new insights into the formation processes of the site's sediments, which contain Middle Stone Age artifacts and fossil bones dating to the Middle Pleistocene. The study used a multianalytical approach including sediment micromorphology, FTIR, and XRD to analyze sediments in their original context, addressing previous limitations in understanding the genesis of these deposits.

Toffolo, M. B., Brink, J. S., van Huyssteen, C., & Berna, F. (2017). A microstratigraphic reevaluation of the Florisbad spring site, Free State Province, South Africa: Formation processes and paleoenvironment. Geoarchaeology, 32(4), 456–478. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21616