<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The Huxushan archaeological site in northern Hunan Province, China, was recently excavated, from which stone tools including handaxes were unearthed. The deposits of the site are chemically weathered, which makes it difficult to date the site using numerical dating techniques except for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) method. Here, we used various luminescence procedures including single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR), sensitivity-corrected multiple-aliquot regenerative-dose (SMAR) and thermally transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL) SAR procedures on fine-grained quartz, and two-step post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) and multi-elevated-temperature pIRIR (MET-pIRIR) procedures on fine polymineral fractions. The results show that the fine quartz grains have excellent luminescence properties and the quartz SAR-, SMAR- and TT-OSL ages for the samples agree with each other and in stratigraphical order except for one sample. The fine polymineral fractions exhibited relatively weak pIRIR and MET-pIRIR signals, resulting in difficulty in constructing the dose-response curve for MET-pIRIR signals and the stratigraphically inconsistent pIRIR(100, 275) ages. The seven samples yielded their quartz OSL ages ranging from about 62 ka to 133 ka. The two samples from the cultural layer was dated to 78 to 92 ka using different procedures on fine quartz. However, given the systematically older pIRIR ages obtained with the fine polymineral grains for the two samples, their quartz OSL ages are considered to represent the minimal ages of this layer, and their pIRIR(100, 275) ages of 118 and 110 ka represent the upper age limit, indicating that the site was occupied by hominins during Marine Isotope Stage 5.
</abstract>

The Huxushan archaeological site in northern Hunan Province, China, was recently excavated, from which stone tools including handaxes were unearthed. The deposits of the site are chemically weathered, which makes it difficult to date the site using numerical dating techniques except for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) method. Here, we used various luminescence procedures including single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR), sensitivity-corrected multiple-aliquot regenerative-dose (SMAR) and thermally transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL) SAR procedures on fine-grained quartz, and two-step post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) and multi-elevated-temperature pIRIR (MET-pIRIR) procedures on fine polymineral fractions. The results show that the fine quartz grains have excellent luminescence properties and the quartz SAR-, SMAR- and TT-OSL ages for the samples agree with each other and in stratigraphical order except for one sample. The fine polymineral fractions exhibited relatively weak pIRIR and MET-pIRIR signals, resulting in difficulty in constructing the dose-response curve for MET-pIRIR signals and the stratigraphically inconsistent pIRIR(100, 275) ages. The seven samples yielded their quartz OSL ages ranging from about 62 ka to 133 ka. The two samples from the cultural layer was dated to 78 to 92 ka using different procedures on fine quartz. However, given the systematically older pIRIR ages obtained with the fine polymineral grains for the two samples, their quartz OSL ages are considered to represent the minimal ages of this layer, and their pIRIR(100, 275) ages of 118 and 110 ka represent the upper age limit, indicating that the site was occupied by hominins during Marine Isotope Stage 5.

Chronology of the Huxushan Paleolithic Site in South China: Inferred from Multiple Luminescence Dating Techniques

Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes

Department of Geography, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences

Geochronometria

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Huxushan archaeological site in northern Hunan Province, China, was recently excavated, from which stone tools including handaxes were unearthed. The...

Chronology of the Huxushan Paleolithic Site in South China: Inferred from Multiple Luminescence Dating Techniques

Published Online: Dec 31, 2021

Page range: 379 - 390

Received: Feb 16, 2019

Accepted: Feb 09, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/geochr-2020-0039

Keywords
fine quartz, fine polymineral fractions, various luminescence protocols, weak pIRIR signals, stratigraphically consistent quartz OSL ages, Paleolithic site

© 2019 Hai-Cheng Lai et a., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Chronology of the Huxushan Paleolithic Site in South China: Inferred from Multiple Luminescence Dating Techniques

Published Online: Dec 31, 2021

Page range: 379 - 390

Received: Feb 16, 2019

Accepted: Feb 09, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/geochr-2020-0039

Keywordsfine quartz, fine polymineral fractions, various luminescence protocols, weak pIRIR signals, stratigraphically consistent quartz OSL ages, Paleolithic site

© 2019 Hai-Cheng Lai et a., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
fine quartz, fine polymineral fractions, various luminescence protocols, weak pIRIR signals, stratigraphically consistent quartz OSL ages, Paleolithic site