Using Soil Magnetic Properties to Determine the Onset of Pleistocene Human Settlement at Gledswood Shelter 1, Northern Australia

In regions that lack built structures or stratified open archaeological sites, such as precolonial Australia, rockshelters are a major source of detailed information for understanding the nature and timing of human occupation. A key concern is that the proposed ages for the earliest archaeological sites are based on luminescence dating of sediments, rather than directly of cultural materials, leaving the association between the sediments and evidence of human activity questionable. Here, we present evidence of magnetic enhancement associated with cultural horizons within the deposits of a Pleistocene rockshelter in interior northern Queensland. Soil magnetic studies combined with experimental burning show that magnetically enhanced sediments in Gledswood Shelter 1 are the result of anthropogenic burning of hearth fires, which burn hotter and for a longer time than natural wild fires. These techniques appear to work in this setting because of the nature of the local geology and the geological antiquity of the landscape. Susceptibility and frequency dependence of susceptibility signatures provide a critical tool to resolve that human occupation starts at 2.2 m depth within a stratigraphic section. In conjunction with luminescence dating, soil magnetic studies provide an opportunity for archaeologists to resolve the timing of human settlement in Australia and other intracratonic plate settings.     

东北亚巨石文化起源:朝鲜半岛南部支石墓释光年龄证据

采用热释光和红外光释光测年技术获取了采自朝鲜半岛西南部和顺支石墓遗址剖面中的陶片和沉积物的年龄.古陶片的热释光年龄分别是(3100±210)a和(3680±320)a,相应文化层中支石墓墓葬层位的红外光释光年龄分别是(2200±190)a和(2900±310)a.古陶片的热释光年龄老于地层的红外光释光年龄,代表着支石墓...     

Direct luminescence chronology of the Epipaleolithic Kebaran site of Nahal Hadera V,Israel

We report direct luminescence ages for the culture‐bearing sediments of the Kebaran site of Nahal Hadera V (NHV) in the coastal plain of Israel. Although the site contains, in addition to rich lithic deposits, plentiful mammalian bone, it has proved to be undatable using radiocarbon dating, in spite of the fact that the cultural context places the time of occupation well within the range of radiocarbon dating. In contrast, luminescence dating of the site sediments proved successful. Luminescence ages were determined using the single aliquot additive‐dose (SAA) method, applied to sand‐sized quartz extracts to determine past equivalent doses (D_e). Dose rates (R) were calculated using thick source alpha counting for the uranium (U) and thorium (Th) concentrations and x‐ray fluorescence analysis for the potassium (K₂0) concentration. Of the five samples collected at the site, four represent cultural and subcultural deposits and the fifth represents the geological substrate for the archaeological deposit, a quartz‐rich, carbonate‐cemented dune sand known as aeolianite or kurkar. The luminescence age of the kurkar is 42.7 ± 6.3 ka. Human occupation of the site occurred between 21.3 ka and 14.0 ka ago, during the Last Glacial Maximum. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Geological and geochemical examination of arsenic contamination in groundwater in the Holocene Terai Basin, Nepal

Geological and geochemical study has been carried out to investigate arsenic contamination in groundwater in Nawalparasi, the western Terai district of Nepal. The work carried out includes analyses of core sediments, provenance study by rare earth elements analyses, ¹⁴C dating, and water analyses. Results showed that distribution of the major and trace elements are not homogeneous in different grain size sediments. Geochemical characteristics and sediment assemblages of the arsenic contaminated (Nawalparasi) and uncontaminated (Bhairahawa) area have been compared. Geochemical compositions of sediments from both the areas are similar; however, water chemistry and sedimentary facies vary significantly. Extraction test of sediment samples showed significant leaching of arsenic and iron. Chemical reduction and contribution from organic matter could be a plausible explanation for the arsenic release in groundwater from the Terai sediments.     

蒙山峨峪口砾石堆积堤的年代学研究

准确界定蒙山峨峪口砾石堆积堤的形成时代，对于探明其成因、澄清山东中低山丘陵第四纪冰川有无之争，是一个需要解决的科学问题。峨峪口堆积垄岗砾石组构、沉积构造、地貌组合等标志，均指向其为山洪泥石流堆积物，且为暴发频率极低、发展周期较长的水石流或稀性泥石流堆积。其下伏第四纪沉积物OSL埋藏年龄和AMS14C年龄可作为砾石堆积堤形成时代的最老约束参考年龄，当地村民迁居此地的历史可作为最小约束参考年代。OSL测年结果为2. 1~2. 3 ka BP，AMS14C测年结果为951~1522 cal AD，证明砾石堆积堤为数百年前形成的历史泥石流痕迹。     

蒙山峨峪口砾石堆积堤的年代学研究

准确界定蒙山峨峪口砾石堆积堤的形成时代,对于探明其成因、澄清山东中低山丘陵第四纪冰川有无之争,是一个需要解决的科学问题。峨峪口堆积垄岗砾石组构、沉积构造、地貌组合等标志,均指向其为山洪泥石流堆积物,且为暴发频率极低、发展周期较长的水石流或稀性泥石流堆积。其下伏第四纪沉积物OSL埋藏年龄和AMS¹⁴C年龄可作为砾石堆积堤形成时代的最老约束参考年龄,当地村民迁居此地的历史可作为最小约束参考年代。OSL测年结果为2.1～2.3 ka BP,AMS¹⁴C测年结果为951～1522 cal AD,证明砾石堆积堤为数百年前形成的历史泥石流遗迹。     

The Bolton spring site,Connecticut; Early holocene human occupation and environmental changes in southern New England

The recent discovery and excavation of the Bolton Spring Site, located in the glaciated uplands of eastern Connecticut, presents an enigma to archaeologists and geologists interested in dating and interpreting prehistoric human habitation sites. A single discrete charcoal-bearing occupation level at the site was characterized by artifacts of the Middle Archaic Period (8000-6000 B.P.) and contained an abundance of small-mammal remains typical of the Holocene woodland fauna. Although the site seemed to present a clearcut opportunity for radiocarbon-dating, C13-corrected radiocarbon dates from the cultural horizon span nearly three thousand years. Our interpretation is that occupation occurred near the end of a depositional hiatus during which noncultural charcoal accumulated. Subsequent burial of the cultural layer by eolian sediments may have resulted from deflation of pre-existing eolian sediments in the Connecticut River Valley during drier, mid-Holocene conditions. Substantial rockfall activity and rubble movement on adjacent slopes may have been restricted to late Holocene time.     

A refined understanding of the paleoenvironmental history recorded at the Okanagan Centre section,an MIS 4 stratotype,south‐central British Columbia,Canada

The Okanagan Centre section is the stratotype for marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 4 sediments (Okanagan Centre Drift) in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. Previous work suggested that these sediments record two glacial and two interglacial cycles. This study reports on detailed sedimentological and geochronological investigations of lithostratigraphic units comprising the Okanagan Centre sequence, revealing successive deposition of subaqueous and subaerial outwash, a subglacial till and glaciolacustrine sediments during MIS 4. A limiting optical age of 113 ± 8 ka defines the base of this sequence. Sedimentological, paleopedological, optical dating and tephrochronological data from sediments near the middle of the sequence reveal soil development (MIS 3) in eolian sediments deposited on a river terrace overlying a deglaciated surface. Within these sediments, identification of Mt. St. Helens set C tephra suggest sedimentation between 50 and 35k ¹⁴C a BP. Optical dating corroborates the tephrochronology and suggests that this surface formed after ～52 ± 7 ka. The record of MIS 2 glaciation is restricted to deglaciation, and overlies MIS 3 sediments above an unconformity possibly related to regional subglacial meltwater erosion. Eolian sediments containing Mt Mazama set O tephra (～7.62k cal a BP) cap the sequence.     

137Cs及210Pbex方法湖泊沉积计年研究新进展

The ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb_ex techniques are widely employed for dating recent sediments of lakes. There is important provision to gain dating results correctly with the sampling device of no-disturbing sediments and the sample separation of high precision. The secondary peak of ¹³⁷Cs in sediment horizon of 1975 could be as an assistant dating time marker. Most part of ¹³⁷Cs in sediments is at stable position which provides reliability for ¹³⁷Cs dating time marker. The post-depositional remobilization of ²¹⁰Pb could lead to the lower rate of sediment accumulation in seasonal anoxic hypolimnia of lakes.The transformation of Pb species has provided the geochemical condition of its diffusion in the processes of early diagenesis. The diffusion mechanism of Pb-Po is controlled by cycling Fe-Mn, respectively.     

Uranium/thorium dating of ferricretes from mid- to late pleistocene glacial sediments,western Tasmania,Australia

The uranium/thorium (U/Th) dating method was applied to pedogenic/diagenic ferricretes developed within glacial drifts from the northern West Coast Ranges of Tasmania. The dates derived from the method are, by definition, minima for the sediments, with the ferricretes being secondary mineral deposits which appear in the form of bands, horizons or nodules comprised of indurated masses of iron oxy(hydr)oxides developed post-depositionally within the host sediment or soil. The absence of such deposits in well-identified drift sediments of the last glaciation suggests the development of ferricrete horizons in glacial drifts occurred during earlier interstadials and interglacials. This has been confirmed by the uranium/thorium dating of ferricrete bands within glacigenic sediments obtained from three drill cores from the Boco Valley. The ages derived were found to be consistent with estimates for the timing of glaciation derived from palaeomagnetic analyses, radiocarbon dating and relative dating techniques. The results show that the uranium/thorium method can be used to successfully date ferricretes obtained from within glacial sediments of ages <350000 yr and provides valuable information regarding the minimum age of the host sediment. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

长江三峡库区中坝遗址地层洪水沉积粒度特征及其沉积环境

通过对三峡库区中坝遗址1981年洪水沉积和疑似古洪水沉积的粒度对比分析，发现它们的平均粒径、分选系数、偏度、峰度和众值粒径都在同一值域范围内；频率分布曲线相似，呈单峰态；概率累积曲线都呈明显的三段式。从而推断出中坝遗址的文化间隙层为古洪水沉积。在考古断代和AMS14C测年基础上，对洪水沉积环境研究发现，中坝遗址洪水沉积大多发生在我国的暖期，但周朝和宋代的洪水沉积发生在我国冷期，这与我国气候小循环和当地独特的地貌特征有关。清代以后，沉积物平均粒径明显变大，表明当地植被已经退化；沉积物平均粒径和峰度变化幅度大，说明人类活动使当地生态系统变得脆弱，气候多变。     

Residual luminescence in modern debris flow deposits from western Taiwan: A single grain approach

In an active fold-and-thrust belt, sediment is commonly transported in the form of debris and colluviums, and the ages of such deposits can be important for seismic hazard assessment. These sediments are mainly transported by high concentration flows that travel very short distances before burial, and therefore have very few opportunities for daylight exposure and bleaching, which limits the application of luminescence dating in such environments. Luminescence studies on modern debris flow deposits and channel sediments in central Taiwan indicate a mixed population of bleached and unbleached grains. The well bleached grains constitute a small proportion of the sediments and could only be identified using the single grain dating technique; doing single aliquot analysis may result in overestimation of the age of such sediments by 3–25 ka. The data reveal that outwash sediments are better bleached than debris flow sediments. Our results show that quartz that has experienced partial resetting can be used for luminescence dating only through the use of the single grain technique.     

长江三峡库区玉溪遗址地层沉积特征研究

在考古断代和AMS14C测年基础上,通过对洪水沉积环境以及三峡库区中坝遗址1981年洪水沉积和玉溪疑似古洪水沉积的粒度对比分析,发现它们的平均粒径、分选系数、偏度和峰度都在同一值域范围内;概率累积曲线都呈明显的三段式,从而推断出玉溪遗址的文化间隙层为古洪水沉积。     

大理苍山世界地质公园第四纪冰碛物特征及年代测定

云南大理苍山世界地质公园具有较高的美学价值与地学科研价值,在地学研究领域中苍山又被称为点苍山。本次研究的主要区域是点苍山玉局峰北坡和点苍山西北部的罗坪山大小海子地区,本文对点苍山玉局峰北坡冰碛物和罗坪山第四纪沉积物进行了光释光年代测定,讨论了光释光测年方法在点苍山地区第四纪冰碛物测年中的适用性,测得玉局峰北坡搬运距离较远的三条冰碛垄的年龄为(31.68±3.22)~(28.01±1.95)ka BP,属于末次冰期。对罗坪山地区第四纪沉积物进行石英砂扫描电镜分析,观察到大小海子附近第四纪沉积物石英砂表面具有一定的冰川成因特征,推断罗坪山大小海子地区曾发育过第四纪冰川作用,通过光释光测年得到大小海子附近冰川沉积物年代为(136.36±10.16)ka BP,相当于倒数第二次冰期。结合前人研究,推断点苍山地区也具有发育倒数第二次冰期的可能性。     

Tectonic Uplift of the Yili Basin during the Last Stage of the Late Pleistocene: Evidence from ESR and OSL Dating of Sediments in the Huocheng Area, Xinjiang

The Quaternary sediments in the Yili Basin can serve as archives for studying the Cenozoic basin–mountain relationship. In this study, based on typical natural sections and boreholes, the surficial sediments of the Huocheng area were studied, and their sedimentary ages were obtained using the optically stimulated luminescence(OSL) and electron spin resonance(ESR) dating methods. These dates, combined with changes in the sedimentary facies, provided details of the neotectonic movement in the Yili Basin and adjacent areas. By dating sediments from five sections and three boreholes, we determined that the surficial sediments of the Huocheng area were mainly formed in the Late Pleistocene, with scattered instances of Holocene sediments. The surficial sediments mainly consisted of alluvial fan facies, fluvial facies, lacustrine facies, and desert facies. Based on the activity on the Hongshanzui fault and the northern margin fault of the Wusun Mountains, the Huocheng area was uplifted synchronously with the Tianshan Mountains during the last stage of the Late Pleistocene, causing the desert facies sediments to be superimposed on the former paleo–lake sediments.     

Anthropogenic hillslope terraces and swidden agriculture in Jiuzhaigou National Park, northern Sichuan, China

Small, irregular terraces on hillslopes, or terracettes, are common landscape features throughout west central China. Despite their prevalence, there is limited understanding of the nature of these topographic features, the processes that form them, and the role humans played in their formation. We used an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the geology, ecology, and cultural history of terracette development within Jiuzhaigou National Park, Sichuan Province, China. Terracettes occur on south facing, 20° slopes at 2500 m elevation, which appears to coincide with places people historically preferred to build villages. Ethnographic interviews suggest that traditional swidden agricultural cycles removed tree roots, causing the loess sediments to lose cohesion, slump, and the terrace risers to retreat uphill over time. This evidence is supported by landslide debris at terracette faces. Archaeological analysis of terracette sites reveal remains of rammed spread soil structures, bones, stone tools, and ceramics dating from at least 2200 years before present within a distinct paleosol layer. Radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating of terracette sediments ranged in age from between 1500 and 2000 ¹⁴C yr BP and between 16 and 0.30 ka, respectively. These multiple lines of evidence indicate a long history of human habitation within Jiuzhaigou National Park and, taken together, suggest strong links between terracette formation and human-landuse interactions.     

河西走廊花海剖面晚冰期以来年代学及沉积特征研究

选择位于河西走廊的花海古湖泊沉积剖面作为研究对象,根据13个普通14C和5个AMS14C年代结果,以沉积物岩性特征为主要指标,建立了晚冰期以来花海湖泊沉积的年代框架及环境变化过程.结果表明:花海地区新仙女木期和晚冰期花海湖泊主要以芒硝沉积为主,指示了较低的温度环境.芒硝沉积中的淤泥细线为短暂升温标志,芒硝-淤泥-芒硝的...     

Dating recent colluvial sequences with Pb and Cs along an active fault scarp, the Eliki Fault, Gulf of Corinth, Greece

Reliable dating is an essential element of palaeoseismological studies, yet whilst a suite of geochronological methods can now provide late Quaternary age control it remains very difficult to date modern events (i.e., those occurring within the last 150 years). This is significant because the starting point for many palaeoseismological investigations is a modern surface-rupturing event, whose geological effects need to be disentangled in trench stratigraphies from palaeoseismic ruptures. Two dating methods which, in combination, can provide robust dating control in recently deposited sediments are the ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs dating methods. Here, we test the applicability of using ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs to date colluvial sediments exposed in three trenches excavated across an earthquake fault—the Eliki fault, Gulf of Corinth, Greece—which ruptured in an earthquake in 1861. The ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs profiles observed in these colluvial sequences are relatively erratic due to the mixed nature of the sediments, i.e., their deposition in an environment where the supply of slope sediments is driven by seasonal rainfall, causing non-uniform sediment accretion and sediment reworking. In one trench, however, ²¹⁰Pb dating, corroborated by ¹³⁷Cs dating, indicates that a proposed post-1861 surface colluvial unit has been deposited over the period 1950 AD–present (at a rate of ca. 9 mm/year), and overlies a significantly older unit (>120 years old). The dating control provided here by ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs dating corroborates the published interpretation of the trench stratigraphy, and refines the ¹⁴C-based estimated dates for the upper unit. At two other trenches ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs dating only provided minimum ages (based on the presence or absence of ²¹⁰Pb_excess and ¹³⁷Cs). Such approximate ages, however, may still useful in corroborating interpretations made using the trench stratigraphy, or, at sites which have long earthquake recurrence intervals, determining which earthquake event was responsible for a particular bed offset.     

Indirect dating of an olive tree planting event using luminescence of the sediments lying beneath the roots of the tree: a pilot study in the south-western part of Anatolia,Turkey

The aim of the present study is to attempt assessing the age of a monumental olive tree located between the Antique Cities of Militus (Didim-Aydın region) and Iasos (Milas-Muğla region). Wood from the trunk of an olive tree is not appropriate for conventional dating approaches such as dendrochronology or ¹⁴C. The sediments closely located surrounding and beneath the roots of the olive tree are considered indicative of the age of the planting event; therefore these sediments were dated using both quartz and feldspar luminescence signal protocols. Methodological aspects including the preheating plateaus, equivalent dose statistical approaches and dose rate using gamma spectrometry are also discussed, as dating of the associated palaeochannel sediments of the area are presented for the first time in the dating literature. The optically stimulated luminescence and/or infrared stimulated luminescence ages are extrapolated to date the event of the tree planting; it is the first time in the literature that an age is reported for an olive tree in the eastern Mediterranean region. The present study stands as the first experimental evidence that olive trees have been cultivated in the area since the Iron Age.     

A high resolution relative paleointensity record from the Gerlache-Boyd paleo-ice stream region, northern Antarctic Peninsula

Herein we document and interpret an absolute chronological dating attempt using geomagnetic paleointensity data from a post-glacial sediment drape on the western Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf. Our results demonstrate that absolute dating can be established in Holocene Antarctic shelf sediments that lack suitable material for radiocarbon dating. Two jumbo piston cores of 10-m length were collected in the Western Bransfield Basin. The cores preserve a strong, stable remanent magnetization and meet the magnetic mineral assemblage criteria recommended for reliable paleointensity analyses. The relative paleomagnetic intensity records were tuned to published absolute and relative paleomagnetic stacks, which yielded a record of the last ∼8500 years for the post-glacial drape. Four tephra layers associated with documented eruptions of nearby Deception Island have been dated at 3.31, 3.73, 4.44, and 6.86 ± 0.07 ka using the geomagnetic paleointensity method. This study establishes the dual role of geomagnetic paleointensity and tephrochronology in marine sediments across both sides of the northern Antarctic Peninsula.