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– Tourville-la-Rivière (Normandy, France) is one of the rare Middle Pleistocene palaeoanthropological localities of Northern France. Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) and combined ESR/U-series dating methods were independently applied by different teams on sediments and teeth from this site. The present work provides an overview of this multi-laboratory dating work by integrating a description and discussion of the methodologies employed and results obtained. Results confirm that the ESR/U-series analyses of the teeth are greatly dependent on the U-uptake histories of the dental tissues. Although all teeth come from the same archeological level, the samples analysed by each team display two different patterns for the U-series data. This is most likely related to the different sampling areas selected by each team and may be interpreted as the result of local variations in the geochemical conditions of the surrounding environment. Concerning the ESR dating of optically bleached quartz grains, the use of the multiple centre approach seems crucial when dating such fluvial and fluvio-lacustrine sediments. Our results also confirm the great potential of the Ti-H centre to date late Middle Pleistocene deposits. Despite some (expected) discrepancies related to the independent use of parameters and approaches by the different teams involved in this multi-laboratory study, the whole ESR and ESR/U-series data set collected from Tourville-la-Rivière locality consistently correlates stratigraphic levels D1 to I and associated human occupation to MIS7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a geomorphological, stratigraphical and geochronological study reconstructing a suite of paleo-surfaces in a 200 km-long coastal sector of the central Tyrrhenian Sea between Argentario and Circeo promontories. Identification of the near-shore deposits associated with these paleo-surfaces allow us to define corresponding marine terraces and paleo sea-levels. 40Ar/39Ar and ESR/U-Th geochronologic constraints on key deposits provide correlation with the terraces previously recognized in the coast of central Latium, refining their correlation with the Marine Isotopic Stages. Results of this study enable us to: Propose a re-assessment of the ages for the sea-level markers of MIS 5.5, 5.3, 5.1 in the central Tyrrhenian Sea; Suggest that a continuous tectonic uplift with an average rate of 0.224 mm/yr affects the Latium coast since 200 ka; Provide new evidence for a MIS 5.5 paleo-sea level marker occurring at ~35 m a.s.l. on the coastal sector extending from Montalto di Castro to Latina, while it possibly drops down and connects to a paleo sea-level ranging 10 - 5 m between Monte Circeo and Gaeta, previously attributed to this interglacial; Discussing possible evidence of similar elevation of the sea level during MIS 5.5, 5.3 and 5.1 interglacials in the Tyrrhenian Sea; Compare this datum with those from the western Pacific and several coral reefs, where the differences with respect to tectonically stable regions were attributed either to tectonics or to the Glacial Isostatic Adjustment, showing that the presented record of sea-level markers may have a strong impact on modeling the post-glacial effects in the Mediterranean Sea and on the paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic studies in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé Depuis le début des années 2000, des travaux portant sur la chronologie des premiers peuplements humains de Chine par les méthodes de la résonance de spin électronique (ESR) sur quartz sédimentaires et de la résonance de spin électronique couplée à l’uranium-thorium (ESR/U-Th) sur dents ont été menés en collaboration par des équipes françaises et chinoises sur quelques sites archéologiques ou géologiques chinois : Yunxian, Dali, Tangshan, Zongwei, Nihewan, Longgupo et plusieurs sites à giganthopithèques du Guangxi. Après une présentation rapide des méthodes de datation utilisées, quelques-uns des résultats majeurs obtenus dans le cadre de cette collaboration sont succinctement présentés et discutés. Since the beginning of the 2000s, studies concerning the chronology of the first human settlements in China were conducted by electron spin resonance (ESR) on sedimentary quartz and electron spin resonance coupled with U-series (ESR/U-series) on teeth in collaboration by French and Chinese teams on some Chinese archaeological or geological sites: Yunxian, Dali, Tangshan, Zongwei, Nihewan, Longgupo and several Giganthopithecus sites in Guangxi. After a quick overview of the used dating methods, some of the major results obtained during this collaboration will be briefly presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Longgupo cave, located in Chongqing Municipality, China, was discovered in 1984. Sixteen Gigantopithecus teeth and two hominid fossils accompanied with abundant mammalian fossils and stone artifacts were unearthed from the site. Previous dating result is questioned because of the complexity of deposition history. In this study, seventeen mammalian fossil teeth collected from different layers of unit C II and C III (C III′) during the 2003–2006 Sino-Franco joint excavation were analyzed by combined ESR and U-series methods, and calculated with a US-ESR model. In situ dose rates were remeasured in detail in 2012, in order to refine the external dose rate determination. Uranium-series analyses indicate that no obvious uranium leaching has occurred, and all the teeth underwent a very recent uranium uptake history, except one from layer C III 3 of the south wall. The US-ESR results show that the ages of ten teeth from unit C III′ of the north wall are consistent in general, about 2.35 Ma. The ages of seven samples from south wall are not in accordance with the stratigraphic order: three teeth are much younger than the other four, probably attributed to the relative higher uranium concentration and U/Th ratio in the dental tissues and significant higher in situ gamma dose rate. Nevertheless, the three teeth from C III of the south wall give an average age of ∼ 2.48 Ma. The fossil ages obtained in this work combined with paleontological evidence and new paleomagnetic results place Longgupo at the very beginning of the Early Pleistocene. Compared with other early hominid settlements, Longgupo is one of the earliest evidences of hominid settlement in China and East Asia to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé La collection de Moulin Quignon est une collection cohérente, malgré la diversité de ses pièces, dans la certitude de sa provenance et dans son rattachement aux recherches menées sur le site en 1863–1864. Considérée comme historique et patrimoniale, son étude a permis néanmoins de livrer des informations scientifiques importantes et valables pour le présent, et, au-delà, de réintroduire le site de Moulin Quignon dans le panel des gisements paléolithiques les plus anciens de la vallée de la Somme. The collection from Moulin Quignon is a coherent one, despite the diversity of its pieces, in the certainty of its origin, in its attachment to the researches led on the site in 1863–1864. Considered as a historic heritage, its study has nevertheless delivered significant scientific information, valid for the present, and, beyond that, to reintroduce the site of Moulin Quignon in the oldest Palaeolithic panel sites of the Somme valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé En mars 1863, Jacques Boucher de Perthes découvre dans les alluvions de Moulin Quignon (Abbeville, France) une mandibule humaine associée à des artéfacts lithiques et à des ossements de grands mammifères fossiles. Rapidement contestée, cette découverte va apparaître comme une supercherie dont le préhistorien aurait été la victime. Depuis cette époque, la collection et le gisement de Moulin Quignon sont synonymes de fraude archéologique dans l’imaginaire collectif. Oubliées pendant près de 150 ans, ces collections sont redevenues en 2012 un objet de recherche dans le cadre d’un programme consacré aux plus anciens peuplements et à l’Acheuléen. L’objectif de ce réexamen fut d’identifier, puis d’étudier l’ensemble de la documentation recueillie durant les années 1863–1864 (restes humains, artéfacts, sédiments, ossements de faune, restes malacologiques, archives, publications, gisement) afin de permettre une nouvelle analyse de l’ensemble du dossier. In March 1863, Jacques Boucher de Perthes found in the alluvia of Moulin Quignon (Abbeville, France) a human jaw in association with lithic artifacts and fossil bones of mammals. Quickly challenged, this discovery will appear as a fraud whose prehistorian was the victim. Since that time, the collection and the Moulin Quignon site are synonymous with an archaeological forgery. Forgotten for almost 150 years, these collections became in 2012 a research topic in the context of a program devoted to oldest settlements and Acheulean. The objective was to identify and study the whole 1863–1864 documentation set (human remains, artifacts, sediments, fauna bones, malacological remains, archives, papers, site) to allow further analysis of the whole subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé Le contexte géologique des découvertes effectuées par Boucher de Perthes à Moulin Quignon en 1863–1864 a été examiné à travers les témoignages laissés par ce dernier, par ses détracteurs, puis par les géologues et archéologues ayant par la suite travaillé sur les alluvions fossiles de la Somme à Abbeville. Cette approche critique a pu être complétée par de nouvelles études, grâce en particulier à une fouille restreinte menée dans la carrière Carpentier, considérée depuis la fin du XIX e siècle comme une localité analogue à celle de Moulin Quignon, et à une série de nouvelles analyses (microvertébrés, malacofaune, datations ESR et ESR/U-Th). Les principaux résultats de ces études confirment la nature fluviatile des couches « archéologiques » de Moulin Quignon qui correspondent à une haute terrasse de la Somme, à environ 40 m au-dessus de l’incision actuelle de la vallée à Abbeville. Les datations réalisées permettent d’attribuer un âge de 584 ± 48 ka aux niveaux fluviatiles de la carrière Carpentier, en bon accord avec les données biostratigraphiques disponibles, notamment celles issues de l’étude de la malacofaune recueillie à Moulin Quignon (collection Boucher de Perthes) et à la Carrière Carpentier ainsi que de la faune de mammifères récoltée depuis la fin du XIX e siècle dans la marne blanche de la carrière Carpentier, qui permettent d’attribuer la mise en place de ces alluvions à un stade interglaciaire de la seconde moitié du Cromérien, le stade isotopique marin (MIS) 15. À partir de ces données et compte tenu de l’attribution des restes humains de Moulin Quignon à un homme anatomiquement moderne, la contemporanéité de ces derniers avec les dépôts alluviaux d’une haute terrasse de la Somme est impossible et appuie l’hypothèse d’une supercherie. En revanche, il est possible qu’au moins une partie du matériel lithique récolté à l’époque de la découverte par Boucher de Perthes provienne bien des niveaux fluviatiles datés d’environ 600 000 ans sur le site voisin et analogue de la Carrière Carpentier. Ces pièces constitueraient ainsi les plus anciens témoignages d’une présence humaine dans la vallée. The geological context of the discoveries made by Boucher de Perthes at Moulin Quignon in 1863–1864 was examined through the testimonies left by himself, by his detractors, then by geologists and archaeologists who later worked on the alluvial deposits of the Somme at Abbeville. This critical approach has been completed by specific studies, through a restricted excavation performed at Carpentier Quarrya locality known since the end of the 19th century as a sequence analogous to Moulin Quignon, and by a series of new analyses (microvertebrate, malacofauna, dating). The main results of these studies confirm the fluvial nature of the ‘archaeological’ layers at Moulin Quignon that correspond to a high terrace of the Somme River, about 40 m above the current valley incision at Abbeville. Dating results provide an age of 584 ± 48 ka for the fluvial levels at Carpentier Quarry, in good agreement with the available biostratigraphic data, inferred from malacofaunas collected at both Moulin Quignon (Boucher de Perthes collection) and Carpentier Quarry, and from mammals fauna recovered since the end of the 19th century from the white marl at Carpentier Quarry which allow the allocation of these alluvial deposits to an interglacial stage of the second half of the Cromerian, the marine isotopic stage (MIS) 15. From these data and taking into account the identification of the human remains of Moulin Quignon as an anatomically modern man, the contemporaneity of these remains with the alluvial deposits of a high terrace of the Somme River is virtually impossible and supports the hypothesis of a hoax. Besides, it is possible that at least some of the lithic material collected at the time of the discovery by Boucher de Perthes could derive from fluvial levels dated of approximately 600,000 years. They would be then the oldest evidence of a human presence in the Somme Valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ESR dating was applied to fossil teeth and optically bleached quartz grain samples from two units of the sequence at Vallparadís (Barcelona, Spain): weighted mean ESR age estimates of 858 ± 87 ka and 849 ± 48 ka were obtained for EVT-7, which includes the archaeological level 10, and EVT-8, respectively. These results are in good agreement with the existing magneto-biostratigraphic framework that constrain these deposits between 780 and 990 ka, and indicate that Vallparadís EVT-7 has a chronology very close to that of Atapuerca Gran Dolina TD-6 (Spain). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Located in Southern Italy, the Early Palaeolithic site of Isernia la Pineta has provided numerous palaeontological remains and artefacts in well-defined fluvio-lacustrine sequence. The normal magnetization of the main archaeological layer t3a and 39Ar/40Ar date of 610 ± 10 (2σ) ka, obtained from the immediately overlaying geological level, put the Isernia assemblage in the first part of the Middle Pleistocene. Previous ESR/U-series analyses of Isernia fossil teeth have displayed both recent U-uptake and severe underestimation of the ESR/U-series dates in comparison with the 39Ar/40Ar age. In order to identify the cause of this age underestimation, new analyses were realized in the present study on four bovid teeth directly recovered from the archaeological surface t3a. The ESR/U-series dates obtained were once again strongly underestimated, with an error weighted mean age of 435 ± 24 (1σ) ka. These too young dates could be associated to a change of the environmental γ-dose rate during the geological history of the Isernia site, related to the revealed recent U-uptake into the palaeontological remains of the archaeological level. If we consider that this dose rate change was coeval with a wet interglacial period and taking the 39Ar/40Ar age as geochronological reference, simulations with two dose rate steps indicate that this change could be correlated with marine isotopic stage 7 (MIS 7). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: For a long time, the establishment of the chronology of Acheulian settlements in Western Europe was restrained by the lack of reliable dating methods. During the Middle Pleistocene, the archaeological sites in this area are generally associated with fluvio-lacustrine and karstic contexts. The main geochronological methods (e.g. K/Ar, Ar/Ar, U-series, OSL and TL) could not be applied because of a lack of suitable material for dating, or the expected ages were beyond the upper limit of the dating technique. For several years, the combination of ESR and U-series data has allowed the direct dating of palaeontological remains from the entire Middle Pleistocene period. Combined ESR/U-series dating was applied to several major Acheulian sites in Spain, Italy and France. This paper presents the dating results, their implications for the chronology of the Acheulian in Western Europe as well as the methodological limits of the ESR/U-series dating method caused by the effect of weathering on the uranium uptake into the teeth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Les gisements paléolithiques associés aux formations fluviatiles fossiles de la Somme à Abbeville ont joué un rôle considérable dans la reconnaissance de l'ancienneté de l'Homme. Dès la fin du XVIIIe siècle, les travaux menés notamment par la Société d'émulation d'Abbeville furent à l'origine de l'émergence d'études dans la vallée de la Somme portant à la fois sur la Géologie du Quaternaire et la Préhistoire. C'est au sein de cette société savante que Jacques Boucher de Perthes initia dès 1837 ces recherches sur les célèbres localités de Menchecourt, de l'Hôpital et de Moulin Quignon. Ces observations furent rapidement confirmées par des géologues, tels qu'Albert Gaudry, Charles-Joseph Buteux ou Joseph Prestwich. C'est ce dernier qui fit connaître les gisements abbevillois au Royaume-Uni et ses observations furent utilisées dès 1859 par Charles Lyell pour démontrer l'antiquité des vestiges archéologiques qui avaient été récoltés sur ces localités. Les recherches menées dans la vallée de la Somme et en particulier à Abbeville, un temps freinées par la controverse liée à la découverte de la mandibule humaine de Moulin Quignon (1863–1864), qui décrédibilisa cette dernière localité pour longtemps, ne tardèrent pas à reprendre. Toutefois, si les travaux menés par Geoffroy d'Ault du Mesnil de 1875 à 1898 eurent le mérite de remettre au premier plan l'importance archéologique des gisements abbevillois et de laisser entrevoir la complexité de leurs enregistrements quaternaires, l'imprécision géographique et stratigraphique découlant de ces rares écrits couplée à l'abandon progressif des différentes gravières dont il suivit l'exploitation jetèrent un discrédit important sur ces découvertes et les observations stratigraphiques qu'il y avait faites. Les recherches menées par Victor Commont à la Carrière Carpentier entre 1904 et 1918, caractérisées au contraire par l'excellence des données stratigraphiques et iconographiques qu'il produisit pour chacun des sites étudiés et en raison de l'absence de découvertes archéologiques dans les niveaux fluviatiles qu'il étudia, allaient encore plus faire douter les préhistoriens suivants de la véracité des témoignages de d'Ault du Mesnil, malgré les efforts déployés par l'abbé Henri Breuil pour concilier celles-ci avec les observations de Victor Commont. Entre les deux guerres mondiales, Henri Breuil et Léon Aufrère reprirent l'étude des gisements abbevillois alors encore accessibles, tentèrent d'en assurer la préservation, via le rachat et le classement des carrières Carpentier et Léon, intervention décisive dans la réhabilitation archéologique de ces gisements. Ces recherches furent à l'origine des travaux chronostratigraphiques menés sur ces sites majeurs de la Préhistoire ancienne européenne jusqu'à aujourd'hui. Depuis une dizaine d'années, certaines de ces localités ont pu de nouveau être étudiées, permettant ainsi de confirmer en grande partie les observations faites par les anciens (Boucher de Perthes, d'Ault du Mesnil, Commont) et de valider la place majeure des localités abbevilloises dans la compréhension de la Préhistoire ancienne de l'Europe du nord-ouest. Paleolithic localities associated with fossil fluvial formations of the Somme River at Abbeville have played a significant role in the recognition of human antiquity. From the end of the 18th century, the work carried out in particular by the "Société d'émulation d'Abbeville" led to the emergence of studies in the Somme valley on both Quaternary Geology and Prehistory. It was within this scholarly society that Jacques Boucher de Perthes initiated his research on the famous localities of Menchecourt, Hospital and Moulin Quignon in 1837. These observations were quickly confirmed by geologists such as Albert Gaudry, Charles-Joseph Buteux or Joseph Prestwich. It was the latter who introduced the Abbeville deposits into the United-Kingdom scientist community and his observations were used as early as 1859 by Charles Lyell to demonstrate the antiquity of the archaeological remains collected from these localities. However, the controversy surrounding by the discovery of the human jaw of Moulin Quignon (1863–1864), which undermined the credibility of this locality for a long time, led to the decrease of the archaeological researches in the Somme valley, and in particular in Abbeville, but it then resumed quite quickly. However, if the work carried out by Geoffroy d'Ault du Mesnil from 1875 to 1898 had the merit to reaffirm the archaeological importance of the Abbeville deposits and to reveal the complexity of their Quaternary records, the geographical and stratigraphic imprecision resulting from these rare publications, coupled with the gradual abandonment of the various gravel pits whose exploitation he followed, cast a significant discredit on these discoveries and on the stratigraphical observations he made there. The researches carried out then by Victor Commont at Carpentier Quarry between 1904 and 1918 were characterized by the excellence of the stratigraphic and iconographic data he produced for each of the studied sites. However the absence of archaeological discoveries in the fluvial deposits he studied lead the prehistorians who succeeded him increasingly doubted of the veracity of Ault's observations, despite the efforts made by Abbé Henri Breuil to reconcile these with Commont's observations. Between the two world wars, Breuil and Léon Aufrère resumed the study of the Abbeville deposits then still accessible, tried to ensure their preservation, through the purchase and protection of the Carpentier and Léon quarries, a decisive intervention in the archaeological rehabilitation of these deposits. These works were at the origin of the chronostratigraphic studies carried out on these major localities of the ancient European prehistory until today. Over the past ten years, some of these localities have been studied again, thus largely confirming the observations made by the elders (Boucher de Perthes, d'Ault du Mesnil, Commont) and validating the major place of Abbeville in the understanding of ancient prehistory settlement of northwestern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lower Palaeolithic site of Cimitero di Atella is located in the Basilicata region (Southern Italy), about 10 km south of the extinct Monte Vulture volcano. The site was discovered in the early 1990s and was continuously excavated for nearly twenty years under the supervision of Professor E. Borzatti von Löwenstern (University of Florence). This open-air site contained a 5-m-thick fluvio-lacustrine sequence characterized by the occurrence of two main archaeological units with lithic industries and faunal remains. Based on the composition of the lithic assemblages, and in particular the presence of handaxes in the Lower unit, Borzatti von Löwenstern (et al., 1997) attributed the site to the Early Acheulean. Cimitero di Atella was interpreted as the result of various lake shore occupations linked to the exploitation of large mammals (Palaeoloxodon antiquus and Bison sp.) and the opportunistic use of raw materials to produce simple small and large lithic tools (Borzatti von Löwenstern et al., 1997). The purpose of this paper is to present the last five years of research at the site. Geochronological, palaeontological and palynological investigations have been conducted to shed light on the environmental and chronological context of the site and the associated human occupations levels. This essential step enables us to evaluate the nature and potential of archaeological data in order to place the results in a broader framework. The accurate study of the context and of the archaeological material of Cimitero di Atella enable us to rethink the crucial question of the emergence of the bifacial phenomenon in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents new archaeological material and first dates on Upper Pleistocene layers at the site of La Crouzade cave (Gruissan, Aude, France). The site was first excavated by T. and P. Héléna at the beginning of the twentieth century, and the excavations were recently completed during three years (2016–2018) of systematic campaigns. We obtained dates from Middle Palaeolithic layers using two methods: AMS 14C dates were obtained from bone and charcoal, and combined ESR-U series dating was undertaken on horse teeth. Together, these methods allowed us to date this Mousterian sequence to 49,776–44805 cal BP for the deepest level (layer C8) and from 42,000 ± 3000 years BP for the top (layer C6). The Upper Palaeolithic layers are preserved only as patches in the actual excavation area, but a date was obtained from a piece of charcoal collected from a small hearth preserved in the first layer (C5) above Middle Palaeolithic deposits, which indicates an age similar to that of a modern human maxillary previously analysed and re-dated here from 36,014 to 34402 cal BP, confirming its stratigraphic attribution. The Middle Palaeolithic lithics at the site were first described as para-Charentian cultural facies following typological analyses. The revision of the earlier collection supplemented with the new material, using a technological approach, allow to identify two layers dominated by Levallois production followed by discoid production (Layers C8 and C6) surrounding an original assemblage (layer C7), characterised by a dominant Levallois production completed by three secondary production systems of equal importance, including discoid, SSDA and a Quina-like production. The faunal spectrum predominantly comprises an assemblage of Pleistocene large mammals, and biochronological studies corroborate the dates obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The archaeological site of Guado San Nicola (Monteroduni, Central Italy), under excavation since 2008, is located in the Upper Volturno Valley, near the top of a fluvial terrace attributed to the Middle Pleistocene. Several anthropic levels have been recognized within a stratigraphic sequence of more than two meters in thickness, characterized by alternating gravelly and sandy fluvial layers rich in pyroclastic materials, attributable to the end of MIS 11–beginning of MIS 10, according to the obtained radiometric dates ( 40 Ar/ 39 Ar and ESR/U-series). In this paper we discuss the chrono-stratigraphic record, the paleontological and zooarchaeological data and we provide a detailed techno-economic analysis of the lithic industry, characterized by the coexistence of handaxes and Levallois debitage. The site of Guado San Nicola represents the oldest evidence of the emergence of prepared-core technologies in the Italian Peninsula, adding new data to the debate on the Lower/Middle Palaeolithic transition in Western Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coupled ESR and U-series analyses of mammalian fossil teeth were carried out on two localities of Yiyuan hominin site (Locality 1 and 3) in northern China. The U-migration history of the fossil samples could be reconstructed by the combination of the two techniques, and overcome the limitation of stand-alone ESR and U-series age estimation. We obtained a combined ESR/U-series age (AU model) range from ∼420 to 320 ka from nine teeth recovered from the two localities, which pinpoints the deposition of hominin layer of Yiyuan site to MIS 11 to 9. The age results in this study places Yiyuan site at the same time range of Zhoukoudian Locality 1 and Hexian Homo erectus sites. Comparing with other hominin sites, this study of Yiyuan Homo erectus site highlights the possibility of coexistence between Homo erectus and archaic H. sapiens in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detailed stratigraphic analysis and numerical dating (OSL, IRSL, ESR, 14C) of Pleistocene coversands in southwest France enable the construction of a renewed chronostratigraphic framework for sand deposition. The chronological data obtained from sandsheet units testify to the development of transgressive dunefields since at least the Middle Pleistocene (MIS 10). Three main phases of accumulation occurred during the Last Glacial. The oldest one (64–42 ka) is associated with wet sandsheet facies, histic horizons and zibar-type dune fields, which reflect deposition in a context strongly influenced by the groundwater table. The Late Pleniglacial (24–14 ka) corresponds to the main phase of coversand extension in a drier context. Silty gley horizons suggest, however, local interruptions of sand drifting during GS 2.1. Lateglacial stabilization of the coversands may not have occurred before GI-1c (Allerød), which was typified by the development of cumulic arenosols. These were covered by parabolic dunes during the Younger Dryas. The variations in extent of the emerged continental shelf during the glacial–interglacial cycles may explain the uneven geographical distribution of sand deposition through time. Because of coastline retreat up to 100 km north of 45°N during the LGM lowstand, the coversands were unable to reach the northern part of the basin. Comparison with other European regions highlights stronger affinities of the French record with Portugal than with the Netherlands and Great Britain, probably because of reduced influence of permafrost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]