The depositional history of the Name Chamber at the Sterkfontein early hominid site is complex, as is the case with most such cavities. Unravelling this history may therefore benefit from the input of less usual lines of evidence to complement baseline geological investigations. In this case, micromammalian remains from the Western Talus of the Name Chamber provide tentative evidence for the depositional history of these deposits. Correlation of samples based on minimum numbers of individuals referred to genera occurring in one third or more of the samples suggests that a large proportion of the Western Talus material, particularly that from the area infiltrated by the Eastern Talus deposit, originated in the vicinity of squares P54, Q54 and Q55 in the main excavation, from a depth spanning the boundary between Acheulean and Oldowan levels in Member 5. Differences in general diversity between the samples from the main excavation and some from the Name Chamber support the proposal that surface sediments of the homogeneous deposits have been contaminated by material entering the cavern during the 1994 opening of the feeder shaft. Initial taphonomic analysis indicates that all samples, both the original and those from the Name Chamber, were accumulated by the same avian predator, that is, one or more of three owl species (barn owl Tyto alba, grass owl Tyto capensis and marsh owl Asio capensis).

中文翻译：

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微型哺乳动物和南非斯特克方丹命名室的形成

Sterkfontein 早期人类遗址的 Name Chamber 的沉积历史很复杂，大多数此类洞穴的情况也是如此。因此，解开这段历史可能会受益于输入不太常用的证据来补充基线地质调查。在这种情况下，来自名称室西距骨的微型哺乳动物遗骸为这些沉积物的沉积历史提供了初步证据。基于三分之一或更多样本中所指属的最少个体数量的样本相关性表明，大部分西距骨材料，特别是来自东距骨矿床渗入区域的材料，起源于正方形附近P54、Q54和Q55在主基坑中，从跨越成员 5 的 Acheulean 和 Oldowan 层之间边界的深度开始。 主要挖掘的样本与名称室的一些样本之间的总体多样性差异支持了同质沉积物的表层沉积物已被进入洞穴的物质污染的提议在 1994 年打开进料轴期间。最初的埋藏分析表明，所有样本，包括原始样本和来自 Name Chamber 的样本，都是由同一个鸟类捕食者积累的，即三种猫头鹰物种中的一种或多种（谷仓猫头鹰 Tyto alba、草鸮 Tyto capensis 和沼泽猫头鹰 Asio辣椒）。主要挖掘的样本和命名室的一些样本之间的总体多样性差异支持了同质沉积物的表层沉积物已被 1994 年馈线竖井开放期间进入洞穴的材料污染的建议。最初的埋藏分析表明，所有样本，包括原始样本和来自 Name Chamber 的样本，都是由同一个鸟类捕食者积累的，即三种猫头鹰物种中的一种或多种（谷仓猫头鹰 Tyto alba、草鸮 Tyto capensis 和沼泽猫头鹰 Asio辣椒）。主要挖掘的样本和命名室的一些样本之间的总体多样性差异支持了同质沉积物的表层沉积物已被 1994 年馈线竖井开放期间进入洞穴的材料污染的建议。最初的埋藏分析表明，所有样本，包括原始样本和来自 Name Chamber 的样本，都是由同一个鸟类捕食者积累的，即三种猫头鹰物种中的一种或多种（谷仓猫头鹰 Tyto alba、草鸮 Tyto capensis 和沼泽猫头鹰 Asio辣椒）。