山顶洞遗址的第二批加速器质谱^14C年龄数据与讨论

THE SECOND BATCH OF ACCELERATOR RADIOCARBON DATES FOR UPPER CAVE SITE OF ZHOUKOUDIAN

Altogether 12 fossil bone samples in two batches were dated with accelerator mass spectro-metry radiocarbon (AMS-C14) technique. In comparison with the first batch of AMS-C14 dates, new combined dating results push the age for the cultural phase further back to 29-24 ka before present, while the time of filling of the Lower Recess remains unchanged, which had started at about 34-33 ka ago (see table 1). This new age assignment is much older than commonly accepted conventional radiocarbon ages of 10470 a for the cultural phase and 18340 a for the deposits in the Lower Recess. We think the AMS-C14 dates are more compatible with geological and archaeological evidences. (1) Human skulls found in this site were unanimously classified as late Homo sapiens. Morphologically these skulls show more primitive features than other members of Later Homo sapiens like Ziyang Man and Chuandong Man of Puding, and are different in species level from that of Chinese early neolithics. It must have taken quite a long time for the evolution process when Upper Cave Men gradually transformed into Homo sapiens, Which would contradict the conception that the Upper Cave Men lived at the very end of Late Pleistocene. (2) 19-11 ka was an extremely cold period, while 34-24 ka was a relatively warm in-terstadial during the Wurm Glacial. Upper Cave fauna contained tropic animals like Puguma larvata and Acinonyx of jubatus, but no Coelodonta antiquitatis nor mammuthus which were very popular during cold glacial time in North China. AMS-C14 age determination of 34-24 ka would better fit the composition of the fauna. No difference in culture nor fauna between upper and lower parts of the cultural deposits has been reported, still as no samples from the uppermost layers of this site has been dated yet, the possibility that the Upper Cave Culture had lasted somewhat later than 24 ka can not be completely excluded.