Exploring Paleogeographic Conditions at TwoPaleolithic Sites inNavarino, SouthwestGreece, Dated by Optically Stimulated Luminescence

Abstract

In this paper, we employed optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sediments from two archaeological sites located in Navarino, Messenia, southwestern Greece, to deduce a chronology for the archaeological sites. Archaeological surveys identified two Paleolithic sites on fossilized coastal dunes. Chipped stone tool assemblages were identified eroding out of paleosols developed in the dunes. The assemblage from one site lacked distinct typological features and hence it was difficult to assign to a chronological period. The lithic assemblage from the other site contained artifacts that typologically can be assigned to the Levallois‐Mousterian. Previous efforts to date the artifact‐bearing sediments at these sites were unsuccessful. Using newer OSL dating methods (i.e., the Single‐Aliquot‐Regenerated Dose protocol and thermally transferred‐OSL[TT‐OSL]), we attempted to construct a chronological framework for Late Pleistocene human activity in the southwest Peloponnese. The revised OSL chronology for the first site is 28 ± 5 ka, while a luminescence age of 8 ± 1 ka for the second site only represents a later deflation event. Within the framework of Quaternary environmental change, the location of Paleolithic sites relative to the coast would have changed during the course of the Pleistocene. As a result, Paleolithic exploitation strategies would have been strongly influenced by the changing coastal geomorphology, encouraging hominids to adapt to new distributions of resources. OSL dating of the archaeological sites allowed us to connect traces of hominid activity with climatic stadials/interstadials of the later Pleistocene derived from existing relative sea‐level curves. Ultimately, these data permitted the reconstruction of regional Late Pleistocene paleogeography. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Extended-range luminescence chronologies suggest potentially complex bone accumulation histories at the Early-to-Middle Pleistocene palaeontological site of Huéscar-1 (Guadix-Baza basin, Spain)

“…Laboratory measurements of electron-retention lifetimes for the TT-OSL source trap suggest that significant age underestimations might be expected for Early Pleistocene samples depending on long-term burial temperatures (e.g., 10% underestimation for a 1 Ma sample buried at 10 C and more than 50% underestimation for a 1 Ma sample buried at 20 C; Adamiec et al, 2010). Apparent TT-OSL age underestimations have been observed in certain empirical studies (e.g., Athanassas et al, 2012). However, other studies of independently (or semi-independently) dated samples have not definitely shown that such predicted TT-OSL age underestimations exist when taking into account dating uncertainties (e.g.…”

Analyses of Seismic Deformation at the Kibyra Roman Stadium, Southwest Turkey

“…OSL dating of the buried sediments can be used to determine the maximum age of the collapse and related earthquakes. Luminescence is a widely used technique for dating both archaeological and geological materials (Huntley, Godfrey‐Smith, & Thewalt, ; Spooner et al., ; Yanchou et al., ; Atlıhan & Meric, ; Athanassas et al., ).…”

Paleo‐Terrain Research: Finding the First Settlement Sites of Remote Oceania

“…This study in the Mariana Islands illustrates how to find ancient habitation layers in paleo-beaches that now are buried under some meters of sediments and stranded far inland from their original shoreline-oriented contexts. A similar approach can be applied in other regions, for example as others have done in reconstructing coastlines of California (Masters & Aiello, 2007), lost Pleistocene landscapes of the English Channel (Sturt, Garrow, & Bradley, 2013), and several studies of the paleo-geography surrounding the Mediterranean Sea (Athanassas et al, 2012;Kızıldag,Özdas, & Ulug, A 2012;Stanley & Bernasconi, 2012). Numerous other examples exist, but a full review is outside the scope of this brief illustrative example.…”

“…A similar approach can be applied in other regions, for example as others have done in reconstructing coastlines of California (Masters & Aiello, 2007), lost Pleistocene landscapes of the English Channel (Sturt, Garrow, & Bradley, 2013), and several studies of the paleo-geography surrounding the Mediterranean Sea (Athanassas et al, 2012;Kızıldag,Özdas, & Ulug, A 2012;Stanley & Bernasconi, 2012). A similar approach can be applied in other regions, for example as others have done in reconstructing coastlines of California (Masters & Aiello, 2007), lost Pleistocene landscapes of the English Channel (Sturt, Garrow, & Bradley, 2013), and several studies of the paleo-geography surrounding the Mediterranean Sea (Athanassas et al, 2012;Kızıldag,Özdas, & Ulug, A 2012;Stanley & Bernasconi, 2012).…”