Cosmogenic nuclide burial dating of Liuwan Paleolithic site in the Luonan Basin, Central China

Abstract

The Luonan Basin is a key region of early human settlement in Central China with more than 300 discovered Paleolithic sites. Artifact layer 1 of the Liuwan site was dated to approximately 0.6 million years (Ma) based on correlation with the well-dated loess-paleosol sequence of the central Chinese Loess Plateau. This study reassessed the age of the Liuwan artifact layer via an absolute dating method, namely, 26 Al/ 10 Be burial dating. We determined the burial age of artifact layer 1, which was most likely at least 0.60 ± 0.12 Ma (1ơ), using three simple burial ages. The new burial age confirmed the previous estimated age and provided a considerably accurate age range. Therefore, we suggest the use of the 26 Al/ 10 Be burial dating method in thin loess-covered Paleolithic sites around the Qinling Mountain Range is helpful to understand the early human behavior.

In situ -produced 10 Be and 26 Al indirect dating of Elarmékora Earlier Stone Age artefacts: first attempt in a savannah forest mosaic in the middle Ogooué valley, Gabon

“…This approach is now widely used but has never been attempted in such hostile conditions: at low latitude, which reduces the production rate; on a stable craton environment with potentially high inheritance implying potential difficulties for dating multiple exposure histories; and lithic artefacts close to the surface with potential continuous exposure. Usually lithic artefacts dated by burial dating are completely or mostly shielded from cosmic rays since their deposition, allowing radioactive decay of 26 Al and 10 Be [ 33 – 35 ].…”

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

“…Loess deposits in China are divided into typical loess, which occurs on the Loess Plateau of Central China, and atypical loess, which occurs in other areas, such in the Qinling Mountain Range, in the Xiashu loess, and in Quaternary reticulated red clay in the lower drainage of the Yangtze River (Liu et al, 1985;Xiong et al, 2000;Sun et al, 2017a;. Accurate age estimates are available for most palaeolithic sites in the loess regions in North and Central China (e.g., Chen et al, 1984;An et al, 1990;Xiao et al, 2002;Yang et al, 2005;Nian et al, 2014b;Wang et al, 2005Wang et al, , 2014Wang et al, , 2016Nian et al, 2016;Lu et al, 2007Lu et al, , 2011aLu et al, , 2011bSun et al, 2012Sun et al, , 2013Sun et al, , 2014Sun et al, , 2016Sun et al, , 2017bSun et al, , 2018Lu et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2019). However, dating information is lacking for sites buried in reticulated red clay.…”