Direct ESR dating of a Pliocene hominin from Swartkrans
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Curnoe, Darren; Grun, Rainer; Taylor, Lois; Thackeray, F
Description
Two fragments of a hominin tooth (Australopithecus robustus) and two bovid teeth from the Hanging Remnant of the Swartkrans Formation were analysed with ESR. Research was complicated by the fact that the samples came from a curated collection and their precise provenance is unknown. The environmental dose rate was reconstructed by a series of in situ gamma spectrometric measurements and elemental analyses of a range of sediment samples. U-series isotopic analyses indicated that each of the...[Show more]
dc.contributor.author | Curnoe, Darren | |
---|---|---|
dc.contributor.author | Grun, Rainer | |
dc.contributor.author | Taylor, Lois | |
dc.contributor.author | Thackeray, F | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2015-12-10T23:08:50Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 0047-2484 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1885/63275 | |
dc.description.abstract | Two fragments of a hominin tooth (Australopithecus robustus) and two bovid teeth from the Hanging Remnant of the Swartkrans Formation were analysed with ESR. Research was complicated by the fact that the samples came from a curated collection and their precise provenance is unknown. The environmental dose rate was reconstructed by a series of in situ gamma spectrometric measurements and elemental analyses of a range of sediment samples. U-series isotopic analyses indicated that each of the teeth had a significantly different uranium uptake history, rendering the assumptive early U-uptake and linear U-uptake models ineffective. ESR and U-series data were combined to calculate open system ages, resulting in a best estimate of 1630 ± 160 ka for the Hanging Remnant. An open-system model which provides the maximum age for given U-series and ESR measurements yielded an estimate of about 2100 ka. Two bovid teeth from Member 2, previously estimated to be between 1·0 and 2·0 Ma, yielded age estimates of between about 100 and 200 ka. No known geochemical processes are likely to explain this severe age underestimation. We conclude that these samples are of Middle to Upper Pleistocene age and their presence in Member 2 was either due to reworking or inadequate stratigraphical discrimination of these deposits. | |
dc.publisher | Academic Press | |
dc.source | Journal of Human Evolution | |
dc.subject | Keywords: uranium; dating method; electron spin resonance dating; Pliocene; tooth; animal; article; chemistry; electron spin resonance; fossil; hominid; human; methodology; physical anthropology; physiology; sediment; South Africa; tooth; Animals; Anthropology, Phy ESR dating; Hanging Remnant; Hominin tooth enamel; Swartkrans cave | |
dc.title | Direct ESR dating of a Pliocene hominin from Swartkrans | |
dc.type | Journal article | |
local.description.notes | Imported from ARIES | |
local.description.refereed | Yes | |
local.identifier.citationvolume | 40 | |
dc.date.issued | 2001 | |
local.identifier.absfor | 210103 - Archaeology of Asia, Africa and the Americas | |
local.identifier.ariespublication | MigratedxPub788 | |
local.type.status | Published Version | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Curnoe, Darren, College of Asia and the Pacific, ANU | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Grun, Rainer, College of Asia and the Pacific, ANU | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Taylor, Lois, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, ANU | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Thackeray, F, University of Bristol | |
local.description.embargo | 2037-12-31 | |
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage | 379 | |
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage | 391 | |
local.identifier.doi | 10.1006/jhev.2000.0459 | |
dc.date.updated | 2015-12-10T09:09:12Z | |
local.identifier.scopusID | 2-s2.0-0034988679 | |
Collections | ANU Research Publications |
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