Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42160299›Full record

ArticlePloS one2026

Cave morphology and human-mediated sediment deposition: Late Pleistocene to Holocene evolution of the cave floor at Panga ya Saidi, coastal Kenya.

Jennifer M Miller, Ceri Shipton, Nikos Kourampas, Josep M Parés, Hubert Vonhof, Mohammad Javad Shoaee, Arturo Cueva-Temprana, Makayla Harding, Alison Crowther, Dovydas Jurkenas and 7 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Jennifer M MillerCenter for Social Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3444-8650
Ceri ShiptonCollege of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Nikos KourampasEdinburgh School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Josep M ParésGeochronology & Geology, Spanish National Research Center for Human Evolution, Burgos, Spain.
Hubert VonhofDepartment of Climate Geochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany.
Mohammad Javad ShoaeeDepartment of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
Arturo Cueva-TempranaDepartment of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
Makayla HardingSchool of Social Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Alison CrowtherSchool of Social Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Dovydas JurkenasDepartment of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
Doreen MutoroIndependent Researcher, Nairobi, Kenya.
Jacopo Niccolò CerassoniDepartment of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5546-1555
Ricardo FernandesDepartment of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
Christine MaromaNational Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya.
Emmanuel NdiemaNational Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya.
Nicole BoivinDepartment of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
Michael D PetragliaSchool of Social Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Panga ya Saidi (PYS), a cave situated in a forested upland near the coast of Kenya, contains an archaeological record that spans at least 78,000 years and is crucial for understanding the evolution of Homo sapiens populations in eastern Africa. Here we report on new systematic excavation, three-dimensional scanning, radiocarbon dating, and geoarchaeological analyses that provide insights on sedimentary dynamics, occupation patterns, and site-formation processes at PYS. Our data show that while unroofed parts of the cave probably contain the deepest stratigraphies, these are likely to be dominated by colluvial influx and yield limited cultural deposits. Sheltered zones near the chamber edges exhibit better stratigraphic integrity and higher artifact densities, with deposits exceeding 5.5 meters in thickness in the main excavation area. In this area, marked shifts in occupation intensity and sediment sources enable us to reconstruct the evolution of the inhabited cave space. Our findings underscore PYS as a key site for understanding human behavior, adaptation, and environmental interactions from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene, with implications for broader interpretations of the evolution of Homo sapiens populations in eastern Africa.

Indexed as

Biological EvolutionCavesGeologic SedimentsArchaeologyFossilsHumansKenyaRadiometric Dating

Identifiers

PMID42160299
PMCPMC13189332

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.