Luminescence dating of reticulated red clay buried in Lanshanmiao Paleolithic site in Zhejiang Province, southern China

doi:10.1007/s11442-020-1791-y

Abstract

Abstract:

The Lanshanmiao (LSM) Palaeolithic site, which was excavated in the summer of 2017 by the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, is the only excavated palaeolithic site in central Zhejiang Province to date. Luminescence dating methods, including optical stimulated luminescence (OSL) and thermal transfer OSL (TT-OSL) for quartz and post-infrared (IR) stimulated luminescence (pIRIR₂₉₀) for feldspar, were used to determine the age of the LSM site. The results showed that the LSM section developed before 145.5 ± 12.5 ka and ended after 17.1 ± 1.0 ka. The TT-OSL dating of samples NJU2576 and NJU2615 showed that palaeolithic artifact-bearing layer was between 150 and 100 ka in age. The age range of the palaeolithic layer mainly corresponded to the transition between Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 and MIS5. Our study showed that hominins prominently occupied the LSM site during the glacial and interglacial stages, when it exhibited a floodplain environment.

Key words: Lanshanmiao site, Palaeolithic, reticulated red clay, luminescence dating, glacial, interglacial

LU Ying, SUN Xuefeng, XU Xinmin, LIU Yalin, YI Shuangwen. Luminescence dating of reticulated red clay buried in Lanshanmiao Paleolithic site in Zhejiang Province, southern China[J].Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2020, 30(9): 1436-1450.

Figures/Tables 7

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Lab No.	Depth (m)	wc (%)	U (ppm)	Th (ppm)	K (%)	Dose rate (Gy/ka)		D_e (Gy)			Age (ka)
Lab No.	Depth (m)	wc (%)	U (ppm)	Th (ppm)	K (%)	OSL & TT	pIRIR₂₉₀	OSL	TT-OSL	pIRIR₂₉₀	OSL	TT-OSL	pIRIR₂₉₀
NJU2572	0.10	18.2	2.88±0.11	14.1±0.38	0.87±0.04	2.44±0.11	-	41.7±1.4	47.0±7.6	-	17.1±1.0	19.9±3.4	-
NJU2574	0.75	18.0	2.67±0.10	13.6±0.38	0.86±0.04	2.30±0.11	-	>217	222.5±4.8	-	>94	96.8±5.4	-
NJU2576	1.45	16.3	2.89±0.11	14.4±0.39	0.88±0.04	2.42±0.12	-	-	291.4±39.4	-	-	120.3±17.5	-
NJU2577	1.75	14.6	3.21±0.12	14.7±0.40	0.82±0.04	2.48±0.12	-	-	311.1±45.1	-	-	125.6±19.4	-
NJU2578	2.75	15.6	3.44±0.12	15.7±0.42	1.03±0.04	2.73±0.13	3.20±0.13	>331	346.7±17.3	376±14	>121	126.9±9.3	118±7
NJU2615	4.00	18.6	3.36±0.13	14.9±0.42	0.91±0.04	2.47±0.12	3.00±0.12	-	358.7±24.6	412±42	-	145.5±12.5	167±18