The `human revolution' in lowland tropical Southeast Asia: the antiquity and behavior of anatomically modern humans at Niah Cave (Sarawak, Borneo), , Barker G, Barton H, Bird M, Daly P, Datan I, Dykes A, Farr L, Gilbertson D, Harrisson B, Hunt C,

Recent research in Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia suggests that we can no longer assume a direct and exclusive link between anatomically modern humans and behavioral modernity (the `human revolution'), and assume that the presence of either one implies the presence of the other: discussions of the emergence of cultural complexity have to proceed with greater scrutiny of the evidence on a site-by-site basis to establish secure associations between the archaeology present there and the hominins who created it. This paper presents one such case study: Niah Cave in Sarawak on the island of Borneo, famous for the discovery in 1958 in the West Mouth of the Great Cave of a modern human skull, the `Deep Skull,' controversially associated with radiocarbon dates of ca. 40,000 years before the present. A new chronostratigraphy has been developed through a re-investigation of the lithostratigraphy left by the earlier excavations, AMS-dating using three different comparative pre-treatments including ABOX of charcoal, and U-series using the Diffusion-Absorption model applied to fragments of bones from the Deep Skull itself. Stratigraphic reasons for earlier uncertainties about the antiquity of the skull are examined, and it is shown not to be an `intrusive' artifact. It was probably excavated from fluvial-pond-desiccation deposits that accumulated episodically in a shallow basin immediately behind the cave entrance lip, in a climate that ranged from times of comparative aridity with complete desiccation, to episodes of greater surface wetness, changes attributed to regional climatic fluctuations. Vegetation outside the cave varied significantly over time, including wet lowland forest, montane forest, savannah, and grassland. The new dates and the lithostratigraphy relate the Deep Skull to evidence of episodes of human activity that range in date from ca. 46,000 to ca. 34,000 years ago. Initial investigations of sediment scorching, pollen, palynomorphs, phytoliths, plant macrofossils, and starch grains recovered from existing exposures, and of vertebrates from the current and the earlier excavations, suggest that human foraging during these times was marked by habitat-tailored hunting technologies, the collection and processing of toxic plants for consumption, and, perhaps, the use of fire at some forest-edges. The Niah evidence demonstrates the sophisticated nature of the subsistence behavior developed by modern humans to exploit the tropical environments that they encountered in Southeast Asia, including rainforest

Essais d'Hydraulique souterraine et fluviale, 1905, Maillet E.

Conduits souterrains en relation avec les terrasses fluviales, 1961, Ek C.

Sedimentary and Morphological Development of the Borenore Caves, New South Wales, Part I, 1973, Frank, R. M.

(of parts I and II) The Borenore Caves, west of Orange, occur in a partly metamorphosed Silurian limestone outcrop of about 5.5km2 which forms an impounded karst. Both of the main caves, the Arch Cave and the Tunnel Cave, contain large quantities of clastic sediments. Evidence from the position and kind of sediments and from the bedrock features show that both caves have undergone a predominantly fluvial development by a sequence of stream captures. The same type of evidence indicates a dry climatic phase for the Borenore area about 28,000 BP.

The dynamics of solutional and mechanical erosion in limestone catchments on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, 1974, Smith D. I. , Newson M. D.

Sedimentary Development of the Walli Caves, New South Wales, 1974, Frank, R.

The sedimentary history of the Walli Caves began with the deposition of finely laminated clay during the latter part of bedrock development in the phreatic zone. After aeration and entrance development, entrance facies accumulated, and this was followed by the deposition of large amounts of fluvial and lacustrine deposits. Episodic fluvial erosion of these deposits then took place, and flowstone was formed extensively during periods between each active erosion phase to produce a striking sequence of suspended flowstone sheets.

Karst Geomorphology of the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, PhD Thesis, 1976, Cowell, Daryl William

This is the first detailed examination of the karst geomorphology of the Bruce Peninsula. It attempts to review all aspects including pavement phenomena and formation (microkarst features), surface and subsurface karst hydrology (meso to macro scale) and water chemistry. The latter is based on over 250 samples collected in 1973 and 1974.
The dolomite pavement is the best example of its kind that has been described in the literature. It covers much of the northern and eastern parts of the peninsula and can be differentiated into three types based on karren assemblages. Two of these are a product of lithology and the third reflects local environmental controls. The Amabel Formation produces characteristic karren such as rundkarren, hohlkarren, meanderkarren, clint and grike, kamentizas and rillenkarren on glacially abraded biohermal structures. The Guelph Formation develops into a very irregular, often cavernous surface with clint and grike and pitkarren as the only common recognizable karren. The third assemblage is characterized by pitkarren and is found only in the Lake Huron littoral zone. Biological factors are believed to have played a major role in the formation of the pavement. Vegetation supplies humic acids which help boost the solution process and helps to maintain a wet surface. This tends to prolong solution and permit the development of karren with rounded lips and bottoms.
Three types of drainage other than normal surface runoff are found on the Bruce. These are partial underground capture of surface streams, complete underground capture (fluvio-karst), and wholly vertical drainage without stream action (holokarst). Holokarst covers most of the northern and eastern edge of the peninsula along the top of the escarpment. Inland it is replaced by fluvial drainage, some of which has been, or is in the process of being captured. Four perennial streams and one lake disappear into sinkholes. These range from very simple channel capture and resurgence, as shown by a creek east of Wiarton, to more mature and complex cave development of the St. Edmunds cave near Tobermory. Partial underground capture represents the first stage of karst drainage. This was found to occur in one major river well inland of the fluvio-karst and probably occurs in other streams as well. This chapter also examines the possible future karst development of the Bruce and other karst feature such as isolated sinks and sea caves.
The water chemistry presented in Chapter 5 represents the most complete data set from southern Ontario. It is examined on a seasonal basis as well as grouped into classes representing water types (streams, Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, inland lakes, swamps, diffuse springs and conduit springs). The spring analyses are also fitted into climatic models of limestone solution based on data from other regions of North America. It was found that solution rates in southern Ontario are very substantial. Total hardness ranges from 150 to 250 ppm (expressed as CaCO3) in most lakes and streams and up to 326 ppm in springs. These rates compare with more southerly latitudes. The theoretical equilibrium partial pressure of CO2 was found to be the most significant chemical variable for comparing solution on different kinds of carbonates and between glaciated and non-glaciated regions. Expect for diffuse flow springs and Lake Huron, the Bruce data do not separate easily into water types using either graphical or statistical (i.e. Linear Discriminant Analysis) analyses. This is partly because of the seasonality of the data and because of the intimate contact all waters have with bedrock.

Geomorphology of the North Karst, South Nahanni River Region, Northwest Territories, Canada, PhD Thesis, 1976, Brook, George Albert,

First investigated on the ground in June 1972, the Nahanni karst of northern Canada is the most complex karst terrain yet reported from high latitudes. It is centered at 61°28' N, longitude 124°05' W and lies within the zone of discontinuous permafrost. Mean annual temperature is 24°F and mean total precipitation 22.3 inches. Principal karst forms are fracture-located karst streets and irregularly-shaped closed depression called karst platea which may be up to 600 feet in depth. Platea often contain karst towers which are residuals of wall recession. Vertical-walled pond dolines up to 120 feet deep are common in bare karst areas while subjacent karst collapse, subsidence and suffosion depressions occur on marginal shale- and drift-mantled surfaces. Three small poljes have been identified, two produced entirely by solution, the other a structural form. These are periodically inundated. There are several peripheral fluvial canyons up to 3,000 feet deep that are blocked by glacial drift and which presently drain underground. Similarity in the hydrogeological properties of Nahanni Formation limestones at a variety of scales has led to the development of morphologically-identical karst forms which range in size from inches up to hundreds of feet. Furthermore, many of these landforms are part of a developmental sequence that at one scale links vertical-walled dolines, karst streets, platea and poljes; and at another links solution pits, grikes and joint hollows on limestone pavements. The evidence suggests that poljes form by the coalescence of dolines and uvalas just as Cvijic suggested in 1918. In attempting to explain the almost "tropical" nature of the sub-arctic Nahanni karst landform assemblage, a number of facts are of importance.
(a) The Nahanni Formation limestones have been highly warped and intensively fractures during the past one million years. Open fractures have encouraged karstification by allowing easy movement of water underground. Warping has provided the relief necessary for the development of solutional forms with a distinct vertical component.
(b) The karst can not be considered relict because it was glaciated during the Pleistocene. In addition the hydrological activity in it today is comparable with that in many humid tropical karst areas.
(c) Solutional denudation rates governed by aspects of surficial and bedrock geology may in some localized areas be equivalent to rates in humid tropical carbonate regions.
(d) At present rates, the most highly developed forms could have been produced within the last 200,000 years and because there is evidence to indicate that the karst may not have been glaciated for up to 250,000 years, such a period has been available for solutional development.
Because the Nahanni region has not been glaciated for an extremely long period, it may be one of only a few high-latitude carbonate terrains that have had time to develop fully. Its very existence questions the validity of the concept that the intensity and direction of karst development is climate-controlled. In the Nahanni at least, the structural and lithological properties of the host limestone appear to have been of greater importance. The labyrinth karst type present in regions of humid-tropical to sub-arctic climate, is an outstanding example of a structurally-controlled karst landscape. It may well be that the same controls also influence the distributions of other karst types.

Present Karstic base level in the main canyons of oriental Languedoc and Plans of Provence., 1978, Fabre G. , Nicod Jean

In a karstic country cut by a canyon in which runs an allogenic river, there are several base levels (karstic, fluvial...); chiefly if the limestones develop greatly under the bottom of the gorge. The difficulty of characterizing them appears in all the definitions given. From the example of the three most important canyons of the Eastern Bas Languedoc (South-East of France) and with the different geological controls (s.l.) one ascertains that at present: a) When an allogenic and surface river is perennial without important loss there is a total connection between fluvial level and karstic base level. b) When an allogenic and temporary surface river doesn't flow and has losses, there is no connection between the major fluvial and base level and the karstic base level.

Karst development in Ordovician carbonates: Western Platform of Newfoundland, Master of Science (MS) Thesis, 1978, Karolyi, Marika Sarolta

The Appalachian fold belt system in Newfoundland is divided into three tectonic divisions: Western Platform; Central Mobile Belt; Avalon Platform Rocks of the Western Platform range in age from Precambrian to Carboniferous. Major karst areas are found there is Ordovician and Carboniferous rocks. Karst features of the study area (Goose Arm to Bonne Bay Big Pond) are in the Ordovician carbonates of the undivided St. George and Table Head Formations, covering a few hundred square kilometers. Features include karren, sinkholes, sinking streams, and karst springs, caves and other solutional and collapse features.
In the study area multiple fold and faulting episodes complicate the geology. Extensive and probably repeated glaciations have produced rugged terrane with U-shaped valleys and as much as 300m relief on the carbonates. There is variable but thick till cover. A class or classes of ice-scoured closed depressions with internal drainage are recognized. Postglacial karst forms are limited to varieties of karren (mainly littoral), small sinkholes, and cave systems that are inaccessively small in most instances. Distribution of all karst features is highly irregular.
Hydrologic patterns follow fluvial, fluviokarstic and holokarstic drainage. Large number of sinking ponds have seasonal overflow channels. The ground water drainage routes are generally short and shallow, with varied hydraulic gradients. Few instances of ground water route integration to regional springs is found.
The water chemistry of the area displays a tight normal distribution of hardness. This is attributed to the ponding effect. Seasonal trends show an overall increase in total hardness and other parameters, with some ponds showing linear increases and others cyclic variations.
Karst type and distribution is complex and irregular, but both glaciokarstic and karstiglacial development is present. The majority of karst forms point to karstiglacial development where previous karst forms have been modified by ice. Karstification is controlled by geology, rock lithology, hydraulic gradients and glacial scour and infill. Karstic processes continue to operate today, modifying the scoured basins and creating new karst forms.

Gulemwawaya: A Cave in Welded Tuff At Budoya, Fergusson Island, Papua New Guinea, 1981, Ollier, C. D.

A 30m cave in pyroclastic deposits on the flank of a volcano is thought to be made by eluviation and fluvial erosion, and possibly supported mechanically by welded tuffs above. This note is to record a small but significant cave that deserves further attention. I visited the cave for about half an hour in July 1980 and had no facilities for survey or photography.

Depositional history of the late Pleistocene limestones of the Kenya coast, 1984, Braithwaite Cjr,

The coastal limestones of Kenya extend approximately 180 km N-S from Malindi to the Tanzanian border. They are at least 20 m thick and may be subdivided into sedimentary units representing major periods of marine deposition punctuated by sub-aerial erosion. Their foundations are formed by thick fluvial and aeolian quartz sands but there is local evidence of marine deposition following these. In the main limestone unit, deposited about 240,000 years ago, initial high energy shallow-shelf deposition was replaced by quiet water sediments with scattered corals. Sea level stood about 8 m higher than at present. Quartzose sands were confined to western areas. A return to shallow water heralded a new phase of emergence and erosion, producing karst surfaces and sub-aerial sediments. These are overlain by herring-bone cross-bedded quartz-rich calcarenites which were the products of a tidally dominated shelf and, at Watamu and Wasini, pass upwards into aeolian dune deposits. However, these were also emersed and subject to karst erosion before deposition of a further widespread marine limestone. Within this, coral knolls are well developed. Much of the sediment accumulated in shallow water, but the ecological succession indicates that knolls were at times in deeper waters. These deposits formed about 125,000 years ago when sea level ultimately stood 15-20 m above its present position. More recently in the area sea level has again fallen. However, the descent was not continuous and pauses were marked by marine terrace formation and subsequent karst erosion with sub-aerial deposition. Brief reversals caused both terraces and sediments to be overlain by thin marine deposits. Sea level paused at its present position about 30,000 years ago when the present reef platform was probably defined. It continued to fall to a maximum of about-120 m before rising to its existing level 7000 years ago and beginning the current cycle of sediment accumulation

Les karsts du gypse dans la dépression de l'Ebre, 1985, Guttierez M. , Ibanez M. J. , Pena J. L. , Rodriguez J. , Soriano M. A.

A FEW EXAMPLES OF GYPSUM KARSTS IN THE EBRO DEPRESSION (SPAIN) - Three areas where dissolution processes in gypsum formations have taken place, are studied. They show different geologic arrangements, one of them being folded, another in a flat--lying strata, and the third one covered by a thick unit of alluvials of the Ebro river. The climatic conditions are similar for these areas. Several kinds of dolines morphology, uvalas and large depressions similar to poljes can be distinguished. It seems to be established in the origin of some of these landforms, an interrelation between the fluvial processes and the dissolution ones.

Recent fluvial cave sediments, their origin and role in speleogenesis, 1989, Kranjc A.

A MIDDLE PROTEROZOIC PALEOKARST UNCONFORMITY AND ASSOCIATED SEDIMENTARY-ROCKS, ELU BASIN, NORTHWEST CANADA, 1991, Pelechaty S. M. , James N. P. , Kerans C. , Grotzinger J. P. ,

A major palaeokarst erosion surface is developed within the middle Proterozoic Elu Basin, northwestern Canada. This palaeokarst is named the sub-Kanuyak unconformity and truncates the Parry Bay Formation, a sequence of shallow-marine dolostones that were deposited within a north-facing carbonate platform under a semi-arid climate. The sub-Kanuyak unconformity exhibits up to 90 m of local relief, and also formed under semi-arid conditions when Parry Bay dolostones were subaerially exposed during a relative sea-level drop of about 180 m. Caves and various karren developed within the meteoric vadose and phreatic zones. Their geometry, size and orientation were largely controlled by northwest- and northeast-trending antecedent joints, bedding, and lithology. Near-surface caves later collapsed forming valleys, and intervening towers or walls, and plains. Minor terra rossa formed on top of highs. Karstification was most pronounced in southern parts of Bathurst Inlet but decreased northward, probably reflecting varying lengths of exposure time along a north-dipping slope. The Kanuyak Formation is up to 65 m thick, and partially covers the underlying palaeokarst. It consists of six lithofacies: (i) breccia formed during collapse of caves, as reworked collapse breccia and regolith; (ii) conglomerate representing gravel-dominated braided-fluvial deposits; (iii) sandstone deposited as braided-fluvial and storm-dominated lacustrine deposits; (iv) interbedded sandstone, siltstone and mudstone of sheet flood origin; (v) dolostones formed from dolocretes and quiet-water lacustrine deposits; and (vi) red-beds representing intertidal-marine mudflat deposits. Rivers flowed toward the northwest and northeast within karst valleys and caves; lakes were also situated within valleys; marine mudflat sediments completely cover the palaeokarst to the north. A regional correlation of the sub-Kanuyak unconformity with the intra-Greenhorn Lakes disconformity within the Coppermine homocline suggests that similar styles of karstification occurred over an extensive region. The Elu Basin palaeokarst, however, was developed more landward, and was exposed for a longer period of time than the Coppermine homocline palaeokarst