The Sima de los Huesos hominids date to beyond U/Th equilibrium (>350 kyr) and perhaps to 400-500 kyr: New radiometric dates
Journal of Archaeological Science
By: J. L. Bischoff, D.D. Shamp, Arantza Aramburu, J.L. Arsuaga, E. Carbonell, and Jose Maria Bermudez de Castro
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Abstract
The Sima de los Huesos site of the Atapuerca complex near Burgos, Spain contains the skeletal remains of at least 28 individuals in a mud breccia underlying an accumulation of the Middle Pleistocene cave bear (U. deningeri). Earlier dating estimates of 200 to 320 kyr were based on U-series and ESR methods applied to bones, made inaccurate by unquantifiable uranium cycling. We report here on a new discovery within the Sima de los Huesos of human bones stratigraphically underlying an in situ speleothem. U-series analyses of the speleothem shows the lower part to be at isotopic U/Th equilibrium, translating to a firm lower limit of 350 kyr for the SH hominids. Finite dates on the upper part suggest a speleothem growth rate of c. 1 cm/32 kyr. This rate, along with paleontological constraints, place the likely age of the hominids in the interval of 400 to 600 kyr. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Suggested Citation
Bischoff, J.L., Shamp, D., Aramburu, A., Arsuaga, J., Carbonell, E., and Bermudez de Castro, J.M., 2003, The Sima de los Huesos hominids date to beyond U/Th equilibrium (>350 kyr) and perhaps to 400-500 kyr: New radiometric dates: Journal of Archaeological Science, v. 30, no. 3, p. 275-280, https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.2002.0834.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | The Sima de los Huesos hominids date to beyond U/Th equilibrium (>350 kyr) and perhaps to 400-500 kyr: New radiometric dates |
| Series title | Journal of Archaeological Science |
| DOI | 10.1006/jasc.2002.0834 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Year Published | 2003 |
| Language | English |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Journal of Archaeological Science |
| First page | 275 |
| Last page | 280 |