Astronomical dating of the Xiantai, Donggutuo and Maliang Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin (North China) and implications for early human evolution in East Asia |
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Authors: | Hong Ao Chenglong Deng Qingsong Liu Guoqiao Xiao |
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Affiliation: | a Paleomagnetism and Geochronology Laboratory (SKL-LE), Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, Chinab State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xian 710075, Chinac Paleomagnetic Laboratory ‘Fort Hoofddijk’, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Budapestlaan 17, 3584 CD Utrecht, The Netherlandsd Chongqing Three Gorges Institute of Paleoanthropology, China Three Gorges Museum, Chongqing 400015, Chinae State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology of Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China |
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Abstract: | Magnetostratigraphic studies have established a first-order chronological framework for the Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin (North China), which enabled tracking early human evolution in East Asia. However, to fully understand how well early humans were adapted to climate change, a truly precise dating of the Paleolithic sites is required. Here, we established a high-resolution astronomical timescale for the Xiantai and Donggutuo fluvio-lacustrine successions at the eastern margin of the Nihewan Basin employing low-field magnetic susceptibility (χ) as a climatic indicator, aiming to further refine the ages of the Xiantai, Donggutuo and Maliang Paleolithic sites. Starting from an initial age model constrained by geomagnetic reversals, larger-scale χ cycles were firstly tuned to orbital obliquity using an automatic orbital tuning method. This first-order tuning was followed by simultaneously tuning χ to both obliquity and precession. The finally tuned χ records can be correlated almost cycle-by-cycle with the quartz grain-size record of the Chinese loess sequence and the marine δ18O record. The astronomically estimated age of the Xiantai Paleolithic site is ca. 1.48 Ma, corresponding to paleosol layer S20 of the Chinese loess sequences or marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 49, an interglacial period. The astronomical estimate for the Donggutuo Paleolithic site ranges from ~ 1.06 Ma to 1.12 Ma, corresponding to paleosol/loess layers S11-S12 or MIS 31-33, spanning both interglacial and glacial periods. The astronomically estimated age of the Maliang Paleolithic site is ~ 0.79 Ma, corresponding to loess layer L8 or MIS 20, a glacial period. This astronomical finding further implies that early humans may have permanently occupied China as far north as 40oN since at least 1.1 Ma, and before this time the occupation may be intermittent. |
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Keywords: | Astronomical chronology Paleolithic site Nihewan Basin Pleistocene Human evolution |
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