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Boschin F, Columbu A, Spagnolo V, Crezzini J, Bahain J, FalguèRes C, Benazzi S, Boscato P, Ronchitelli A, Moroni A, Martini I. Human occupation continuity in southern Italy towards the end of the Middle Palaeolithic: a palaeoenvironmental perspective from Apulia. JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE 2022; 37:204-216. [PMID: 35874299 PMCID: PMC9291488 DOI: 10.1002/jqs.3319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
After the last interglacial [Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e] Europe was affected by several harsh climatic oscillations. In this context southern Italy acted, like the rest of peninsular Mediterranean Europe, as a 'glacial refugium', allowing the survival of various species, and was involved in the spread of 'cold taxa' (e.g. woolly mammoth and woolly rhino) only during the coldest phases (MIS 4 and MIS 2). Both late Mousterian and early Upper Palaeolithic sites testify to a human occupation continuity in southern Italy and especially in Apulia in this time span. Here we present a focus on three key Apulian Palaeolithic sequences (Grotta di Santa Croce, Riparo L'Oscurusciuto and Grotta del Cavallo - layers F-E) jointly spanning from the late MIS 4 to the demise of Neanderthals around 43 ka. Novel chronological, sedimentological and zooarchaeological data are discussed for the first time in the light of the palaeoenvironmental information provided by recent analyses carried out on a speleothem from Pozzo Cucù cave (Bari) and the results of the magnetic susceptibility analysis from Riparo L'Oscurusciuto. This integrated reading allows a better understanding of the role played by the Apulian region as both a refugium for late Neaderthals and a suitable habitat for the early settling of modern humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Boschin
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra, e dell'AmbienteUniversità Degli Studi di SienaSienaItaly
- Centro Studi sul QuaternarioSansepolcroArezzoItaly
| | - Andrea Columbu
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e AmbientaliUniversità di BolognaBolognaItaly
| | - Vincenzo Spagnolo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra, e dell'AmbienteUniversità Degli Studi di SienaSienaItaly
- Centro Studi sul QuaternarioSansepolcroArezzoItaly
| | - Jacopo Crezzini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra, e dell'AmbienteUniversità Degli Studi di SienaSienaItaly
- Centro Studi sul QuaternarioSansepolcroArezzoItaly
| | - Jean‐Jacques Bahain
- HNHP, UMR7194 ‘Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique’MNHN‐CNRS‐UPVD, Département Homme et Environnement du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle 1ParisFrance
| | - Christophe FalguèRes
- HNHP, UMR7194 ‘Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique’MNHN‐CNRS‐UPVD, Département Homme et Environnement du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle 1ParisFrance
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Dipartimento di Beni CulturaliUniversità di BolognaRavennaItaly
| | - Paolo Boscato
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra, e dell'AmbienteUniversità Degli Studi di SienaSienaItaly
| | - Annamaria Ronchitelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra, e dell'AmbienteUniversità Degli Studi di SienaSienaItaly
| | - Adriana Moroni
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra, e dell'AmbienteUniversità Degli Studi di SienaSienaItaly
- Centro Studi sul QuaternarioSansepolcroArezzoItaly
| | - Ivan Martini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra, e dell'AmbienteUniversità Degli Studi di SienaSienaItaly
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Bahain JJ, Mercier N, Valladas H, Falguères C, Masaoudi H, Joron JL, Froget L, Moigne AM, Combier J, Moncel MH. Reappraisal of the chronology of Orgnac 3 Lower-to Lower to Middle Paleolithic site (Ardèche, France), a regional key sequence for the Middle Pleistocene of southern France. J Hum Evol 2021; 162:103092. [PMID: 34839228 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have suggested that the Lower-to-Middle Paleolithic transition was associated with the earliest Neanderthals, but recent research has established that the oldest Neanderthal fossils and the first signs of their technologies and behavior appear from MIS 11 or possibly earlier. To understand these changes, re-evaluation of the evidence is necessary to determine if this transition corresponds to a progressive evolution rather than abrupt change. Orgnac 3 is a key and appropriate site to study this research context. Located in southern France, it yields a long stratigraphic sequence testifying the evolution of technical and subsistence behaviors of pre-Neanderthal human groups during a Middle Pleistocene interglacial-glacial cycle. In this article, a new chronological framework is provided for the sequence based on results of dating methods applied to various types of geological materials. Speleothems and volcanic minerals, dated in previous studies by U-series and 40Ar/39Ar, respectively, show periods of calcitic crystallization and regional volcanic activity. Other materials, such as heated flints and herbivore teeth, are directly related to evidence of anthropogenic activities and are analyzed in the present work by trapped-charge dating methods such as thermoluminescence and electron spin resonance combined with uranium series (ESR/U-series). The new thermoluminescence and ESR/U-series dates confirm the attribution of the Orgnac 3 stratigraphic sequence to the MIS 10-MIS 8 period and are discussed in relation to paleoenvironmental data derived from bioarchaeological studies. The paleoanthropological levels, including the emergence of Levallois technology, are dated to ca. 275 ka (early MIS 8) and appear coeval to a wet and temperate period recorded locally, the Amargiers interstadial, defined in the regional palynological records. The implications of this reassessed chronology for the archaeological assemblages are discussed in the wider context of behavioral innovations from MIS 11 onward and their establishment in subsequent periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Jacques Bahain
- UMR 7194 HNHP MNHN-CNRS-UPVD, Département Homme et Environnement du Muséum national d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France.
| | - Norbert Mercier
- UMR 5060 IRAMAT CNRS-Université de Bordeaux, Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l'Archéologie, Maison de l'archéologie, 33607 Pessac cedex, France
| | - Hélène Valladas
- UMR 8212 LSCE/IPSL CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Bât. 12, Avenue de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
| | - Christophe Falguères
- UMR 7194 HNHP MNHN-CNRS-UPVD, Département Homme et Environnement du Muséum national d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Hassan Masaoudi
- UMR 7194 HNHP MNHN-CNRS-UPVD, Département Homme et Environnement du Muséum national d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Jean-Louis Joron
- Groupe des Sciences de la Terre, Laboratoire Pierre Süe, CEN, Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Laurence Froget
- UMR 8212 LSCE/IPSL CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Bât. 12, Avenue de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
| | - Anne-Marie Moigne
- UMR 7194 HNHP MNHN-CNRS-UPVD, Département Homme et Environnement du Muséum national d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France
| | | | - Marie-Hélène Moncel
- UMR 7194 HNHP MNHN-CNRS-UPVD, Département Homme et Environnement du Muséum national d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France
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3
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Zaidner Y, Centi L, Prévost M, Mercier N, Falguères C, Guérin G, Valladas H, Richard M, Galy A, Pécheyran C, Tombret O, Pons-Branchu E, Porat N, Shahack-Gross R, Friesem DE, Yeshurun R, Turgeman-Yaffe Z, Frumkin A, Herzlinger G, Ekshtain R, Shemer M, Varoner O, Sarig R, May H, Hershkovitz I. Middle Pleistocene
Homo
behavior and culture at 140,000 to 120,000 years ago and interactions with
Homo sapiens. Science 2021. [DOI: 10.1126/science.abh3020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yossi Zaidner
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Laura Centi
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Marion Prévost
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Norbert Mercier
- Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, UMR 5060 CNRS–Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (CRP2A), Maison de l’Archéologie, 33607 PESSAC Cedex, France
| | - Christophe Falguères
- UMR7194, Départment “Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, Sorbonne Université, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 75103 Paris, France
| | - Gilles Guérin
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Hélène Valladas
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Maïlys Richard
- Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, UMR 5060 CNRS–Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (CRP2A), Maison de l’Archéologie, 33607 PESSAC Cedex, France
- UMR7194, Départment “Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, Sorbonne Université, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 75103 Paris, France
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain
| | - Asmodée Galy
- Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, UMR 5060 CNRS–Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (CRP2A), Maison de l’Archéologie, 33607 PESSAC Cedex, France
- Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, E2S UPPA, CNRS, IPREM, BP 576 64012 PAU Cedex, France
| | - Christophe Pécheyran
- Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, E2S UPPA, CNRS, IPREM, BP 576 64012 PAU Cedex, France
| | - Olivier Tombret
- UMR7194, Départment “Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, Sorbonne Université, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 75103 Paris, France
- UMR7209, Départment Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Edwige Pons-Branchu
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Naomi Porat
- Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ruth Shahack-Gross
- Department of Maritime Civilizations, Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - David E. Friesem
- Department of Maritime Civilizations, Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Reuven Yeshurun
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Zohar Turgeman-Yaffe
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Amos Frumkin
- Cave Research Center, Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus–Givat Ram, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
| | - Gadi Herzlinger
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ravid Ekshtain
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Maayan Shemer
- Prehistoric Branch, Archaeological Research Department, Israel Antiquity Authority, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of Bible, Archaeology and the Ancient Near East, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Oz Varoner
- Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Rachel Sarig
- Department of Oral Biology, Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Hila May
- Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Israel Hershkovitz
- Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Daujeard C, Falguères C, Shao Q, Geraads D, Hublin JJ, Lefèvre D, Graoui ME, Rué M, Gallotti R, Delvigne V, Queffelec A, Arous EB, Tombret O, Mohib A, Raynal JP. Earliest African evidence of carcass processing and consumption in cave at 700 ka, Casablanca, Morocco. Sci Rep 2020; 10:4761. [PMID: 32179824 PMCID: PMC7075909 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61580-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
To date, in Africa, evidence for animal processing and consumption in caves routinely used as living spaces is only documented in the late Middle Pleistocene of the North and South of the continent and postdates the Middle Pleistocene in East Africa. Here we report the earliest evidence in a North-African cave (Grotte des Rhinocéros at Casablanca, Morocco) of cut, percussion and human gnawing marks on faunal remains directly associated with lithic knapping activities in the same space and in a well-documented stratified context. Ages for this Acheulean site are provided by the dating of herbivorous teeth to 690–720 ka and 520–550 ka (lower and upper sets) by combined Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) and U-series techniques. Traces of butchery on gazelle, alcelaphin, and zebra bones demonstrate that hominins had primary access to herbivore carcasses. Hominins brought and consumed meat in the cave, as documented by herbivore bones bearing human tooth marks concentrated in a circumscribed area of the excavation. In Africa, this site provides the earliest evidence for in situ carcass processing and meat-eating in cave, directly associated with lithic production and demonstrates the recurrent use by early Middle Pleistocene hominins of a North African cave site 400 000 years before that by Homo sapiens at Jebel Irhoud (Morocco).
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Daujeard
- HNHP-UMR 7194, CNRS, MNHN, UPVD, Sorbonne Universités, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France.
| | - Christophe Falguères
- HNHP-UMR 7194, CNRS, MNHN, UPVD, Sorbonne Universités, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Qingfeng Shao
- College of Geography Science, Nanjing Normal University, 1, Wenyuan Road, 210023, Nanjing, China
| | - Denis Geraads
- CR2P-UMR 7207, CNRS, MNHN, Sorbonne Universités, CP 38, 8 rue Buffon, 75231, Paris cedex 05, France.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Collège de France, 11 place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005, Paris, France
| | - David Lefèvre
- Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, CNRS, UMR 5140 Archéologie des sociétés méditerranéennes, Campus Saint Charles, 34199, Montpellier, France
| | - Mohssine El Graoui
- Institut National des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine (INSAP), Madinat al-Irfane, les Instituts - Hay Riyad, B.P. 6828, 10100, Rabat, Morocco
| | - Mathieu Rué
- Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, CNRS, UMR 5140 Archéologie des sociétés méditerranéennes, Campus Saint Charles, 34199, Montpellier, France.,Paléotime SARL, 6173 avenue JS Achard-Picard, 38250, Villard-de-Lans, France
| | - Rosalia Gallotti
- Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, CNRS, UMR 5140 Archéologie des sociétés méditerranéennes, Campus Saint Charles, 34199, Montpellier, France.,Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, UMR 5199 PACEA, Bâtiment B2, allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615, Pessac cedex, France
| | - Vincent Delvigne
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, UMR 5199 PACEA, Bâtiment B2, allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615, Pessac cedex, France.,Service de Préhistoire, Université de Liège, place du XX août, 4000, Liège, Belgium
| | - Alain Queffelec
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, UMR 5199 PACEA, Bâtiment B2, allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615, Pessac cedex, France
| | - Eslem Ben Arous
- HNHP-UMR 7194, CNRS, MNHN, UPVD, Sorbonne Universités, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Tombret
- HNHP-UMR 7194, CNRS, MNHN, UPVD, Sorbonne Universités, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Abderrahim Mohib
- Institut National des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine (INSAP), Madinat al-Irfane, les Instituts - Hay Riyad, B.P. 6828, 10100, Rabat, Morocco.,Direction provinciale de la Culture, Avenue Mohammed V, quartier administratif, Kénitra, Morocco
| | - Jean-Paul Raynal
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, UMR 5199 PACEA, Bâtiment B2, allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615, Pessac cedex, France
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Sedimentary Dosimetry for the Saradj-Chuko Grotto: A Cave in a Lava Tube in the North-Central Caucasus, Russia. Methods Protoc 2020; 3:mps3010020. [PMID: 32111014 PMCID: PMC7189660 DOI: 10.3390/mps3010020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Karst caves host most European Paleolithic sites. Near the Eurasian-Arabian Plate convergence in the Caucasus’ Lower Chegem Formation, Saradj-Chuko Grotto (SCG), a lava tube, contains 16 geoarchaeologically distinct horizons yielding modern to laminar obsidian-rich Middle Paleolithic (MP) assemblages. Since electron spin resonance (ESR) can date MP teeth with 2–5% uncertainty, 40 sediment samples were analyzed by neutron activation analysis to measure volumetrically averaged sedimentary dose rates. SCG’s rhyolitic ignimbrite walls produce very acidic clay-rich conglomeratic silts that retain 16–24 wt% water today. In Layers 6A-6B, the most prolific MP layers, strongly decalcified bones hinder species identification, but large ungulates inhabited deciduous interglacial forests. Unlike in karst caves, most SCG’s layers had sedimentary U concentrations >4 ppm and Th, >12 ppm, but Layer 6B2 exceeded 20.8 ppm U, and Layer 7, >5 ppm Th. Such high concentrations emit dose rates averaging ~1.9–3.7 mGy/y, but locally up to 4.1–5.0 mGy/y. Within Layer 6, dose rate variations reflect bone occurrence, necessitating that several samples must be geochemically analyzed around each tooth to ensure age accuracy. Coupled with dentinal dose rates up to 3.7–4.5 mGy/y, SCG’s maximum datable ages likely averages ~500–800 ka.
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7
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Richard M, Falguères C, Valladas H, Ghaleb B, Pons-Branchu E, Mercier N, Richter D, Conard NJ. New electron spin resonance (ESR) ages from Geißenklösterle Cave: A chronological study of the Middle and early Upper Paleolithic layers. J Hum Evol 2019; 133:133-145. [PMID: 31358177 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2018] [Revised: 05/27/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Geißenklösterle Cave (Germany) is one of the most important Paleolithic sites in Europe, as it is characterized by human occupation during the Middle and early Upper Paleolithic. Aurignacian layers prior to 37-38 ka cal BP feature both musical and figurative art objects that are linked to the early arrival in Europe of Homo sapiens. Middle Paleolithic layers yielded lithic artifacts attributed to Homo neanderthalensis. Since human occupation at the site is attributed to both Neanderthals and modern humans, chronology is essential to clarify the issues of Neanderthal disappearance, modern human expansion in Europe, and the origin of the Aurignacian in Western Europe. Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating was performed on fossil tooth enamel collected from the Middle Paleolithic layers, which are beyond the radiocarbon dating range, and from the nearly sterile 'transitional' geological horizon (GH) 17 and the lower Aurignacian deposits, to cross-check ESR ages with previous radiocarbon, thermoluminescence and ESR age results. The Middle Paleolithic layers were dated between 94 ± 10 ka (GH 21) and 55 ± 6 ka (GH 18) by ESR on tooth enamel. Mean ages for GH 17, at 46 ± 3 ka, and for the lower Aurignacian layers, at 37 ± 3 ka, are in agreement with previous dating results, thus supporting the reliability of ESR chronology for the base of the sequence where dating comparisons are not possible. These results suggest that Neanderthals occupied the site from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 to the second half of MIS 3 and confirm the antiquity of early Aurignacian deposits. The presence of an almost sterile layer that separates Middle and Upper Paleolithic occupations could be related to the abandonment of the site by Neanderthals, possibly during Heinrich Stadial 5 (ca. 49-47 ka), thus before the arrival of H. sapiens in the area around 42 ka cal BP. These dates for the Middle Paleolithic of the Swabian Jura represent an important contribution to the prehistory of the region, where nearly all of the excavations were conducted decades ago and prior to the development of reliable radiometric dating beyond the range of radiocarbon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maïlys Richard
- Institut de Recherche sur les ArchéoMATériaux-Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l'Archéologie, Université Bordeaux-Montaigne, UMR 5060, Maison de l'Archéologie, 33607, Pessac, France; Département « Homme et Environnement », Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, UMR 7194, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France.
| | - Christophe Falguères
- Département « Homme et Environnement », Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, UMR 7194, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Hélène Valladas
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, UMR 8212, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, Cedex, France
| | - Bassam Ghaleb
- GEOTOP, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP 8888, succ. Centre-Ville, Montreal, Canada
| | - Edwige Pons-Branchu
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, UMR 8212, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, Cedex, France
| | - Norbert Mercier
- Institut de Recherche sur les ArchéoMATériaux-Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l'Archéologie, Université Bordeaux-Montaigne, UMR 5060, Maison de l'Archéologie, 33607, Pessac, France
| | - Daniel Richter
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nicholas J Conard
- Tübingen/Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoecology, University of Tübingen, Sigwartstraβe 10, 72074, Tübingen, Germany; Abteilung Ältere Urgeschichte und Quartärökologie, Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, University of Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070, Tübingen, Germany
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8
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Earliest known hominin activity in the Philippines by 709 thousand years ago. Nature 2018; 557:233-237. [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0072-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2017] [Accepted: 03/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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9
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Blackwell BAB, Kim DMK, Curry BB, Grimley DA, Blickstein JIB, Skinner AR. Shell We Date? ESR Dating Sangamon Interglacial Episode Deposits at Hopwood Farm, IL. RADIATION PROTECTION DOSIMETRY 2016; 172:283-295. [PMID: 27683396 DOI: 10.1093/rpd/ncw213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
During the Sangamon Episode, North America occasionally experienced warm climates. At Hopwood Farm, IL, a small kettle lake filled with sediment after the Illinois Episode glaciers retreated from southern Illinois. To date those deposits, 14 mollusc samples newly collected with associated sediment from three depths at Hopwood Farm were dated by standard electron spin resonance (ESR) dating. ESR can date molluscs from ~0.5 ka to >2 Ma in age with 5-10% precision, by comparing the accumulated radiation dose with the total radiation dose rate from the mollusc and its environment. Because all molluscs contained ≤0.6 ppm U, their ages do not depend on the assumed U uptake model. Using five different species, ESR analyses for 14 mollusc subsamples from Hopwood Farm showed that Unit 3, a layer rich in lacustrine molluscs, dates at 102 ± 7 ka to 90 ± 6 ka, which correlates with Marine (Oxygen) Isotope Stage 5c-b. Thus, the period with the highest non-arboreal pollen at Hopwood also correlates with the European Brørup, Dansgaard-Oeschger Event DO 23, a time period when climates were cooling and drying somewhat over the same period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bonnie A B Blackwell
- Department of Chemistry, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267-2962, USA
- RFK Science Research Institute, Box 866, Glenwood Landing, NY 11547-0866, USA
| | - Danny M K Kim
- RFK Science Research Institute, Box 866, Glenwood Landing, NY 11547-0866, USA
- Present Address: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - B Brandon Curry
- Illinois State Geological Survey & Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
| | - David A Grimley
- Illinois State Geological Survey & Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
| | - Joel I B Blickstein
- Department of Chemistry, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267-2962, USA
- RFK Science Research Institute, Box 866, Glenwood Landing, NY 11547-0866, USA
| | - Anne R Skinner
- Department of Chemistry, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267-2962, USA
- RFK Science Research Institute, Box 866, Glenwood Landing, NY 11547-0866, USA
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Aydaş C, Engin B, Kapan S, Komut T, Aydın T, Paksu U. Dose estimation, kinetics and dating of fossil marine mollusc shells from northwestern part of Turkey. Appl Radiat Isot 2015; 105:72-79. [DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2015.07.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2015] [Revised: 07/28/2015] [Accepted: 07/29/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Shao Q, Bahain JJ, Falguères C, Peretto C, Arzarello M, Minelli A, Thun Hohenstein U, Dolo JM, Garcia T, Frank N, Douville E. New ESR/U-series data for the early Middle Pleistocene site of Isernia la Pineta, Italy. RADIAT MEAS 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2011.03.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Joannes-Boyau R, Grün R. Decomposition of beta-ray induced ESR spectra of fossil tooth enamel. Radiat Phys Chem Oxf Engl 1993 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radphyschem.2010.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Richter D, Dombrowski H, Neumaier S, Guibert P, Zink AC. Environmental gamma dosimetry with OSL of alpha-Al(2)O(3):C for in situ sediment measurements. RADIATION PROTECTION DOSIMETRY 2010; 141:27-35. [PMID: 20534630 DOI: 10.1093/rpd/ncq146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The physical properties of alpha-Al(2)O(3):C are very similar to that of quartz, which make it an attractive dosimetric material for geological and archaeological dating applications. Storage experiments in an ultra-low-radiation underground environment (UDO at PTB) and gamma-ray spectrometry show that the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signal of this material does neither suffer from a significant inherent background caused by traces of radionuclides (<6 microGy a(-1)) nor from fading. After having performed a simple calibration procedure, gamma dosimetry based on alpha-Al(2)O(3):C detectors, which were exposed in a brick block and a lead castle for different periods of time, provided concordant results with dose values derived from independent gamma-ray spectrometric measurements using high-purity germanium and NaI:Tl detectors. These investigations indirectly confirm both the absence of a significant inherent background and fading of the detector material. Small doses of a few micro gray accumulated in short exposure times to environmental radiation can be accurately measured, even when doses (i.e. transport dose) much larger than the actual environmental dose have to be subtracted. It is shown that the OSL signal caused by small transport doses can be easily and reproducibly reset even under difficult field conditions by illuminating the dosemeters with the blue light from Luxeon LEDs. Summarised, alpha-Al(2)O(3):C appears to be the material of choice for dosimetric dating applications of quartz or related materials, when analysed by using OSL.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Richter
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Leipzig, Germany.
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Blackwell BAB, Gong JJJ, Skinner AR, Blais-Stevens A, Nelson RE, Blickstein JIB. ESR dating pleistocene barnacles from BC and Maine: a new method for tracking sea level change. HEALTH PHYSICS 2010; 98:417-426. [PMID: 20065715 DOI: 10.1097/hp.0b013e3181aadce1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Barnacles have never been successfully dated by electron spin resonance (ESR). Living mainly in the intertidal zone, barnacles die when sea level changes cause their permanent exposure. Thus, dating the barnacles dates past sea level changes. From this, we can measure apparent sea level changes that occur due to ocean volume changes, crustal isostasy, and tectonics. ESR can date aragonitic mollusc shells ranging in age from 5 ka to at least 500 ka. By modifying the standard ESR method for molluscs to chemically dissolve 20 microm from off the shells, six barnacle samples from Norridgewock, Maine, and Khyex River, British Columbia, were tested for suitability for ESR dating. Due to Mn2+ interference peaks, the four Maine barnacle samples were not datable by ESR. Two barnacles from BC, which lacked Mn2+ interference, yielded a mean ESR age of 15.1 +/- 1.0 ka. These ages agree well with 14C dates on the barnacles themselves and wood in the overlying glaciomarine sediment. Although stability tests to calculate the mean dating signal lifetime and more ESR calibration tests against other barnacles of known age are needed to ensure the method's accuracy, ESR can indeed date Balanus, and thus, sea level changes.
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Initial excavation and dating of Ngalue Cave: A Middle Stone Age site along the Niassa Rift, Mozambique. J Hum Evol 2009; 57:63-74. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2008] [Revised: 03/19/2009] [Accepted: 03/22/2009] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Patnaik R, Chauhan PR, Rao M, Blackwell B, Skinner A, Sahni A, Chauhan M, Khan H. New geochronological, paleoclimatological, and archaeological data from the Narmada Valley hominin locality, central India. J Hum Evol 2009; 56:114-33. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.08.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2007] [Revised: 06/17/2008] [Accepted: 08/10/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Adler DS, Bar-Yosef O, Belfer-Cohen A, Tushabramishvili N, Boaretto E, Mercier N, Valladas H, Rink W. Dating the demise: Neandertal extinction and the establishment of modern humans in the southern Caucasus. J Hum Evol 2008; 55:817-33. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2007] [Revised: 06/19/2008] [Accepted: 11/25/2007] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Thompson J, Schwarcz H. Electron paramagnetic resonance dosimetry and dating potential of whewellite (calcium oxalate monohydrate). RADIAT MEAS 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2008.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Domínguez-Rodrigo M, Mabulla A, Luque L, Thompson JW, Rink J, Bushozi P, Díez-Martin F, Alcala L. A new archaic Homo sapiens fossil from Lake Eyasi, Tanzania. J Hum Evol 2008; 54:899-903. [PMID: 18394679 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2007] [Accepted: 02/01/2008] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M Domínguez-Rodrigo
- Department of Prehistory, Complutense University, Prof. Aranguren s/n, Madrid, Spain.
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Kinoshita A, Barreto A, Alves R, Maria Figueiredo A, Eduardo de Souza Sarkis J, Dias ML, Baffa O. ESR dating of teeth from northeastern Brazilian megafauna. RADIAT MEAS 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2007.11.075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Blackwell BA, Montoya A, Blickstein JI, Skinner AR, Pappu S, Gunnell Y, Taieb M, Kumar A, Lundberg JA. ESR analyses for teeth from the open-air site at Attirampakkam, India: Clues to complex U uptake and paleoenvironmental change. RADIAT MEAS 2007. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2007.05.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Blackwell BA, Teng SJ, Lundberg JA, Blickstein JI, Skinner AR. Coupled 230Th/234U–ESR analyses for corals: A new method to assess sealevel change. RADIAT MEAS 2007. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2007.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Skinner AR, Blackwell BA, Mian A, Baboumian SM, Blickstein JI, Wrinn PJ, Krivoshapkin A, Derevianko A, Lundburg JA. ESR analyses on tooth enamel from the Paleolithic layers at the Obi-Rakhmat hominid site, Uzbekistan: Tackling a dating controversy. RADIAT MEAS 2007. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radmeas.2007.05.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Abstract
The methods that can be used for the direct dating of human remains comprise of radiocarbon, U-series, electron spin resonance (ESR), and amino acid racemization (AAR). This review gives an introduction to these methods in the context of dating human bones and teeth. Recent advances in ultrafiltration techniques have expanded the dating range of radiocarbon. It now seems feasible to reliably date bones up to 55,000 years. New developments in laser ablation mass spectrometry permit the in situ analysis of U-series isotopes, thus providing a rapid and virtually non-destructive dating method back to about 300,000 years. This is of particular importance when used in conjunction with non-destructive ESR analysis. New approaches in AAR analysis may lead to a renaissance of this method. The potential and present limitations of these direct dating techniques are discussed for sites relevant to the reconstruction of modern human evolution, including Florisbad, Border Cave, Tabun, Skhul, Qafzeh, Vindija, Banyoles, and Lake Mungo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rainer Grün
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia.
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Skinner AR, Blackwell BAB, Martin S, Ortega A, Blickstein JIB, Golovanova LV, Doronichev VB. ESR dating at Mezmaiskaya Cave, Russia. Appl Radiat Isot 2005; 62:219-24. [PMID: 15607452 DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2004.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Mezmaiskaya Cave has yielded more than 10,000 artifacts, thousands of very well preserved faunal remains, and hominin remains, found in seven Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian) and three Upper Paleolithic levels. A complete Neanderthal infant skeleton was preserved in anatomical juxtaposition lying on a large limestone block, overlain by the earliest Mousterian layer, Layer 3. Twenty-four skull fragments from a 1-2 year-old Neanderthal infant, showing post-mortem deformation, occurred in a pit originating in the Mousterian Layer 2 and penetrating into underlying layers 2A and 2B(1). Bone from Layer 2A was dated by AMS 14C at 35.8-36.3+/-0.5 kyr BP. Direct dating of Neanderthal bone from Layer 3 gave an age of 29 kyr, but that is now considered to be due to contamination by modern carbon. Fourteen large mammal teeth from Layers 2 through 3 have been dated by standard electron spin resonance (ESR). Low U concentrations in both the enamel and dentine ensure that ESR ages do not depend significantly on the U uptake model, but do depend strongly on the sedimentary dose rates. Assuming a sedimentary water concentration equal to 20 wt%, ESR ages for the Mousterian layers range from 36.2 to 73.0+/-5.0 ka.
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Affiliation(s)
- A R Skinner
- Department of Chemistry, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267, USA.
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Kinoshita A, Magnólia Franca A, Augusto Costa de Almeida J, Figueiredo AM, Nicolucci P, Graeff CFO, Baffa O. ESR dating at K and X band of northeastern Brazilian megafauna. Appl Radiat Isot 2005; 62:225-9. [PMID: 15607453 DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2004.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The archaeological dose (AD) was measured in three tooth samples of giant mammals that belonged to Brazilian megafauna using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy at X-band (nu approximately 9.5 GHz) and K-band (nu approximately 24 GHz). Samples were collected in Lagoa de Dentro, Puxinanã city in Paraiba, a northeast state in Brazil and were identified as Haplomastodon waringi (Holland) (two teeth) and one tooth sample of Xenorhinotherium bahiense (Cartele and Lessa). The average AD led to an age for the Haplomastodon samples of 11.6 ky bp. For one sample (Haplomastodon) K-band was also employed to evaluate the AD. The K-band spectrum had three components, determined using spectral simulation as follows: a wide isotropic line with g factor 2.0048, an orthorhombic line with g(x)=2.0034, g(y)=2.0022 and g(z)=1.9974, and another isotropic line with g factor 2.0008. The amplitude of these three signals increase with the added dose and the average dose found was 26+/-5 Gy. This result is compatible with the AD determined with X-band 21+/-3 Gy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Kinoshita
- Departamento de Física e Matemática, FFCLRP-USP, Av Bandeirantes, 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Blackwell BAB, Liang S, Golovanova LV, Doronichev VB, Skinner AR, Blickstein JIB. ESR at Treugol’naya Cave, Northern Caucasus Mt., Russia: Dating Russia's oldest archaeological site and paleoclimatic change in Oxygen Isotope Stage 11. Appl Radiat Isot 2005; 62:237-45. [PMID: 15607455 DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2004.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
At 1510 m asl, Treugol'naya Cave, Russia, is the highest cave showing evidence for human occupation in eastern Europe. Layers 4-7 in the 4.5-m-thick sequence yielded many artifacts representing Lower Paleolithic pebble and flake tool industries. Abundant faunal remains include extinct Middle Pleistocene species. Palynological, paleomagnetic, and microsedimentological analyses indicate that several climatic changes of different magnitudes occurred in the sequence. To determine absolute ages for Treugol'naya, 32 independent subsamples from nine ungulate teeth collected from the Lower Paleolithic layers were dated by standard and isochron electron spin resonance (ESR) analyses. Isochron analyses indicate that the teeth experienced no significant U leaching or secondary uptake, and that linear uptake (LU) provides accurate ages. Layers 4b through 5b dated to 365+/-12-406+/-15 ka. Therefore, hominids visited the site periodically throughout Oxygen Isotope Stage (OIS) 11, indicating that they utilized resources at elevations >1000 m at least seasonally by 400 ka. ESR, paleomagnetic, palynological and paleontological analyses all indicate that the Lower Paleolithic Layers 4-5 correlate with OIS 11. The thickness of Layers 4-5 (more than 1.5 m) makes this one of the thickest OIS 11 terrestrial deposits known.
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Romanyukha AA, Seltzer SM, Desrosiers M, Ignatiev EA, Ivanov DV, Bayankin S, Degteva MO, Eichmiller FC, Wieser A, Jacob P. Correction factors in the EPR dose reconstruction for residents of the Middle and Lower Techa riverside. HEALTH PHYSICS 2001; 81:554-566. [PMID: 11669209 DOI: 10.1097/00004032-200111000-00010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
During 1949-1956, the first Soviet nuclear weapons plant, Mayak, released about 7.6 x 10(7) m(-3) of liquid radioactive waste with a total activity of 10(17) Bq into the Techa River (Southern Urals, Russia). 90Sr contributed 11.6% to the total waste radioactivity. As a result of these radioactive discharges, about 28,000 local residents were exposed to ionizing radiation, and some of them received relatively high doses. Internal exposure of the population residing at the Middle and Lower Techa riverside was mostly from 90Sr deposited in bone and tooth tissues. In order to reconstruct radiation doses to this population group, a study of 35 teeth extracted from local residents was carried out using electron paramagnetic resonance measurements. A total of 73 samples from these 35 teeth (tooth enamel, 33; crown dentin, 20; and root dentin, 20) were prepared and measured with electron paramagnetic resonance. The study revealed high doses (up to 15 Gy) absorbed in tooth enamel of the individuals born during 1945-1949, which was attributed to very high local 90Sr concentration in tooth enamel of this particular age group in the population. The analysis presented here takes into account (a) the time courses both of the release/intake of 90Sr and of the tooth formation, and (b) expected variations in measured absorbed doses due to differing geometric sizes of tooth structures. This methodology enables a more consistent picture to be developed of the 90Sr intake by the Middle and Lower Techa riverside population, based on electron paramagnetic resonance tooth dosimetry.
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Affiliation(s)
- A A Romanyukha
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8460, USA.
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Abstract
In view of a decade of progress in ESR dating we have revised the ESR chronology of Border Cave. A detailed gamma ray survey in 1994 and newly calculated beta attenuation data led to total dose rate estimations that are between 0 and 30% smaller than previously estimated. Accordingly, the resulting ESR age estimates are between 0 and 30% older. The ESR dates are now in good agreement with independent age estimates, particularly(14)C and amino acid racemization. New ESR dates for the lowermost dated sedimentary layer, 5 WA (white ash), indicate that the sedimentation of the sequence started around 200 ka ago.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Grün
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
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Curnoe D, Grün R, Taylor L, Thackeray F. Direct ESR dating of a Pliocene hominin from Swartkrans. J Hum Evol 2001; 40:379-91. [PMID: 11322800 DOI: 10.1006/jhev.2000.0459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Two fragments of a hominin tooth (Australopithecus robustus) and two bovid teeth from the Hanging Remnant of the Swartkrans Formation were analysed with ESR. Research was complicated by the fact that the samples came from a curated collection and their precise provenance is unknown. The environmental dose rate was reconstructed by a series of in situ gamma spectrometric measurements and elemental analyses of a range of sediment samples. U-series isotopic analyses indicated that each of the teeth had a significantly different uranium uptake history, rendering the assumptive early U-uptake and linear U-uptake models ineffective. ESR and U-series data were combined to calculate open system ages, resulting in a best estimate of 1630+/-160 ka for the Hanging Remnant. An open-system model which provides the maximum age for given U-series and ESR measurements yielded an estimate of about 2100 ka. Two bovid teeth from Member 2, previously estimated to be between 1.0 and 2.0 Ma, yielded age estimates of between about 100 and 200 ka. No known geochemical processes are likely to explain this severe age underestimation. We conclude that these samples are of Middle to Upper Pleistocene age and their presence in Member 2 was either due to reworking or inadequate stratigraphical discrimination of these deposits.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Curnoe
- Department of Archaeology and Natural History, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia.
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Brennan B, Prestwich W, Rink W, Marsh R, Schwarcz H. Alpha and beta dose gradients in tooth enamel. RADIAT MEAS 2000. [DOI: 10.1016/s1350-4487(00)00107-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Grün R, Stringer C. Tabun revisited: revised ESR chronology and new ESR and U-series analyses of dental material from Tabun C1. J Hum Evol 2000; 39:601-12. [PMID: 11102271 DOI: 10.1006/jhev.2000.0443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Abstract
ESR measurements were made on ten enamel subsamples from six teeth recovered in layers 4-5, 6, 10, and 12 in the site of Die Kelders Cave 1, South Africa. The teeth (enamel and dentine) contained significant concentrations of uranium and therefore the U uptake model has a large influence on the computed ages. Variations in moisture content in the sediment had a smaller effect on the dose rate and calculated ages. For any given model of U uptake and moisture content, all the teeth gave very similar ages, implying that the entire deposit was formed over a short interval (<10,000 y). Comparison with OSL ages for the sediments suggests that the teeth experienced early U uptake, in which case the average age of the deposit is 70+/-4 ka (assuming a moisture content of 10%). Agreement between replicate subsamples was excellent.
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Affiliation(s)
- H P Schwarcz
- School of Geography and Geology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4M1, Canada.
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Falguères C, Bahain JJ, Yokoyama Y, Arsuaga JL, Bermudez de Castro JM, Carbonell E, Bischoff JL, Dolo JM. Earliest humans in Europe: the age of TD6 Gran Dolina, Atapuerca, Spain. J Hum Evol 1999; 37:343-52. [PMID: 10496991 DOI: 10.1006/jhev.1999.0326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 288] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Hominid remains found in 1994 from the stratified Gran Dolina karst-filling at the Atapuerca site in NE Spain were dated to somewhat greater than 780 ka based on palaeomagnetic measurements, making these the oldest known hominids in Europe (sensu stricto). We report new ESR and U-series results on teeth from four levels of the Gran Dolina deposit which confirm the palaeomagnetic evidence, and indicate that TD6 (from which the human remains have been recovered) dates to the end of the Early Pleistocene. The results for the other levels are consistent with estimates based mainly on microfaunal evidence, and suggest that TD8, TD10 and TD11 date to the Middle Pleistocene.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Falguères
- Laboratoire de Préhistoire du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 6569 du CNRS, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1, Rue R. Panhard, Paris, 75013, France.
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Experimental determinations of beta attenuation in planar dose geometry and application to ESR dating of tooth enamel. RADIAT MEAS 1998. [DOI: 10.1016/s1350-4487(98)00074-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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