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As the northernmost locality yielding one of the most representative Early Pleistocene Gigantopithecus–Sinomastodon faunas in southern China, the Longgupo site has preserved valuable geological archives that have significantly improved our understanding of Pleistocene biostratigraphy and biogeography. A convincing chronological framework of this locality is therefore important to elaborate on the evolution of Quaternary faunas as well as paleoenvironment. To reconcile the existing geochronological results with new advances in geochronology and biochronology, we present here a revised magnetostratigraphic age model based on detailed rock magnetic and paleomagnetic data and strengthened by biochronology as well as recently published electron spin resonance and uranium series (ESR/U‐series) age data. Two geomagnetic polarities were identified from the Longgupo sequence: the upper one is thin and normal, corresponding to the Olduvai normal subchron; and the lower one is distinctly thick and reversed, corresponding to the pre‐Olduvai Matuyama Chron. The age of the Longgupo fauna constrained by this refined magnetochronological framework is therefore estimated to be about 2.5–2.0 Ma, consistent with the newly published ESR/U‐series age of 2.5–2.2 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, stepped-terrace systems within the Loire River basin's tributaries have undergone comprehensive multidisciplinary studies, encompassing Quaternary geology, prehistory and geochronology. Surprisingly, the geochronological exploration of the Loire River itself, the longest river in France, and its fossil stepped terraces system has been relatively limited, especially in the middle section near Orléans. However, for about fifty years, this region has been pivotal in providing evidence of the historical confluence of two ancient rivers, shaping the current Loire Valley. Researchers have suggested the existence of a Plio-Pleistocene Loire paleo-river, flowing northward from the Massif Central to the Seine valley and eventually reaching the English Channel. Subsequently, this Loire River would have underwent a reorientation of its flow westward, from the Blois area to the Atlantic Ocean, after being disconnected from its previous course. The absence of alluvial deposits in the area between the current Loire valley and the Seine valley, attributed to substantial erosion, prevents direct exploration of evidence related to the south-north paleo-river. To address this challenge, the hypothesis suggests that the preserved alluvial terraces in the intermediate sector were established post-capture, offering an opportunity to determine when this significant geological event occurred. Through the application of Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) quartz dating, a chronological model for the Middle Loire has been then constructed. This model identifies five distinct phases in the evolution of the Middle Loire system, spanning from 800 ka to the present day. These phases indicate a gradual capture process, initiating between 900 and 800 ka, resulting in alterations to fluvial dynamics and ultimately leading to the establishment of the current course approximately 250 ka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of the first dating study of site P13 at Pirro Nord, Italy, which documents some of the earliest evidence for hominin presence in western Europe. Our multi-technique dating approach is based on a combination of palaeomagnetism, electron spin resonance (ESR), thermally-transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL) and combined U-series/ESR applied to both fossil material and host sediment. It provides ages ranging from 627 ± 59 to 1006 ± 126 ka and clustering around 0.8 Ma. One additional fossil tooth collected from the nearby P10 site also returns an age within this range. Ordinarily, this outcome would naturally lend itself to the straightforward conclusion that Pirro Nord has a late Early Pleistocene age of ∼0.8 Ma. However, this interpretation is complicated by the fact that these numerical dating results are in contradiction with the biochronological evidence, which suggests a much older age on the order of 1.3–1.7 Ma. Consequently, we explore the various potential sources of bias that could have influenced the numerical dating methods and the biochronological inferences. In particular, the critical evaluation of the palaeomagnetic data available for various sites belonging to the younger Colle Curti Faunal Unit (FU) indicates that there is non-negligible age uncertainty on the allegedly minimum age of ∼1.1 Ma traditionally assigned to the Pirro FU. Moreover, while the combined U-series/ESR dataset could accommodate an older age for the fossil remains if uranium uptake in the dental tissues occurred relatively rapidly before the closure of the system (CSUS model), the ages obtained from the two semi-independent quartz dating methods (ESR and TT-OSL) both appear to indicate that the sediment was last exposed to sunlight about 0.8 Ma. This disparity opens up the possibility that the sediment and fossil assemblage may not be coeval. In other words, it is possible that the fossil remains may have been reworked into younger deposits that entered the karst about 0.8 Ma. Though feasible from a karst sedimentary dynamics perspective, this hypothesis is not consistent with previous taphonomic studies that indicate an absence of evidence for fossil reworking after entering the karst. At the very least, our dating results indicate that site formation processes at Pirro Nord site P13 are more complex than previously considered. • This is the first dating study of archaeological site P13 at Pirro Nord, Italy. • Numerical age results cluster around ∼0.8 Ma, contradicting the biochronological evidence. • We investigate the possibility that fossils and host sediment may not be coeval. • Site formation processes at P13 are probably more complex than previously considered. • We re-examine the chronologies available for various Early Pleistocene sites in Italy and Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

– 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]

Gigantopithecus was a giant ape once lived in Southeast Asia and China during the Pleistocene period. Longgupo and Jianshi Longgudong sites in West-Hubei and Three Gorges region in South China are the northernmost evidences of Gigantopithecus presence in the world up to date. To obtain the detailed chronology of these two sites, paleomagnetic and radiometric dating methods were attempted, including cosmogenic burial dating of the sediment. However, the efforts failed because of the scarce of quartz minerals in the sediment. Combined electron spin resonance and uranium series (ESR/U-series) method which could date the fossil teeth directly with the age range from Early to Late Pleistocene was also applied and the results obtained at Longgupo site already published. Here, we report the first radiometric dating results for teeth carried out from Jianshi Longgudong Western Branch cave which is renowned for the discovery of both Gigantopithecus fossils and undoubted stone artifacts. The main challenge of dating Jianshi Longgudong site is the reconstruction of external dose rate of the fossil samples where their provenance sections were not preserved. The mean radioelement concentrations in the sediments measured in the laboratory with different water content estimation were initially used to calculate the ESR/U-series ages. Our ESR/U-series dating of two mammalian fossil teeth from the lower layer 8 gives a weight mean age of 1512 ± 94 ka, while a mean age of 1044 ± 53 ka was obtained for two teeth from the upper layer 4. These ages support one of the previous paleomagnetic dating interpretation which propose that the hominin fossil layer in Jianshi site was not older than 1.78 Ma, i.e. that the upper boundary of the Olduvai subchron, and are in agreement with the faunal evidence which suggest that Jianshi site is younger than the adjacent Longgupo site dated also by combined ESR/U-series and paleomagnetic methods to 2.0-2.5 Ma. Further study of the site including the radiometric dating study of the fossil layers preserved in the Eastern Branch cave may help to achieve a definitive conclusion of the chronology of Gigantopithecus settlement in Jianshi Longgudong site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our understanding of early human dispersals in Europe is based on a handful of archaeological sites spread across the southern margin of the continent. Among them, Pirro Nord-13 (Italy) is usually considered to document the oldest evidence of human presence in Western Europe, although the site itself has never been numerically dated. Instead, the age of the Mode 1 (=Oldowan) lithic assemblage and associated fossils found in this karst fissure has been inferred from biochronology and estimated to be 1.3-1.6 Ma [1]; making it older than the Spanish Mode 1 pre-Jaramillo localities of Atapuerca Sima del Elefante, Barranco León and Fuente Nueva-3, which have been dated by a combination of numerical methods and palaeomagnetism. We provide here the results from the first dating study of the site involving a wide range of methods: Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) and single grain thermally-transferred optically stimulated luminescence (SG TT-OSL) dating of quartz grains, combined U-series/ESR dating of fossil teeth and palaeomagnetic analyses of sediment. Such a multi-technique dating approach offers the possibility to obtain chronological constraints for both the fossil assemblage and the host sediment. The (semi-)independent methods consistently yield an Early Pleistocene age for the site, although the resulting estimates are much younger than initially inferred from biochronology. We discuss potential reliability considerations with the new numerical ages and existing biochronological inference. Nevertheless, these results suggest either a complex taphonomic history in which fossil remains, lithic artifact and host sediment might not be coeval, or at least the sediment was most recently exposed to sunlight during the latest part of the Early Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ages based on independent methods, such as combined ESR-U series, luminescence, and magnetostratigraphic analyses have been obtained for the upper stratigraphical section of Gran Dolina site (TD6 to TD11 levels). However, the chronostratigraphical framework of this European Paleolithic key site remains incomplete because of its great antiquity and the lack of reliable methods. This paper provides new radiometric dates by electron spin resonance applied to optically bleached quartz grains for the whole stratigraphic sequence. The results agree with the previous chronostratigraphical framework for the upper part of the stratigraphical sequence. The ages for the Homo antecessor remains from TD6 layer range between 800 and 900 ka. The lowest layers attributed to endogenous sediments (TD1) could be contemporaneous with the Sima del Elefante TE9 human bearing layer dated to 1.2 Ma. The results suggest a human occupation of possibly more than 1 Ma at the Gran Dolina site. This study confirms moreover the potential of ESR dating method applied on quartz in karstic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, the combined electron spin resonance (ESR) and U-series dating method has been widely applied to date fossil teeth for archaeological studies through the use of the US-ESR model. The obtained age, compatible with both the ESR and U-series data determined in all dental tissues and the burial environment, is more flexible and reliable than the parametric uptake ages (by early, linear or recent uptake models), for which selection was often based on the expected age of the site. In this paper, the mathematical basis of the US-ESR model is described in detail, from the U-uptake description to the calculation of accumulation dose in the sample and the US-ESR age determination. An example is used to illustrate the calculation of the US-ESR age, associated dose rates and U-uptake parameters. While the description in this paper is specific to US-ESR model and more largely combined ESR/U-series dating of fossil teeth, we expect that some of the principles can be used in other applications of U-series dating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human settlement of Europe during Pleistocene times was sporadic and several stages have been recognized, both from paleaoanthropological and archaeological records. If the first phase of hominin occupation (as early as 1.4 Ma) seems mainly restricted to the southern part of the continent, the second phase, characterized by specific lithic tools (handaxes), is linked to Acheulean settlements and to the emergence of Homo heidelbergensis, the ancestor of Neanderthals. This phase reached northwestern Europe and is documented in numerous sites in Germany, Great Britain and northern France, generally after 600 ka. At la Noira (Brinay, Central France), the Middle Pleistocene alluvial formation of the Cher River covers an archaeological level associated with a slope deposit (diamicton). The lithic assemblage from this level includes Large Cutting Tools (LCTs), flakes and cores, associated with numerous millstone slabs. The lithic series is classified as Acheulean on the basis of both technological and typological analyses. Cryoturbation features indicate that the slope deposits and associated archaeological level were strongly frozen and disturbed after hominin occupation and before fluvial deposition. Eight sediment samples were dated by the electron spin resonance (ESR) method and the weighted average age obtained for the fluvial sands overlying the slope deposits is 665±55 ka. This age is older than previous chronological data placing the first European Acheulean assemblages north of 45th parallel north at around 500 ka and modifies our current vision of the initial peopling of northern Europe. Acheulean settlements are older than previously assumed and the oldest evidences are not only located in southern Europe. La Noira is the oldest evidence of Acheulean presence in north-western Europe and attests to the possibility of pioneering phases of Acheulean settlement which would have taken place on a Mode 1-type substratum as early as 700 ka. The lithic assemblage from la Noira thus provides behavioral and technological data on early Acheulean occupation in Europe and contributes to our understanding of the diffusion of this tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of Levallois technology in Europe marked the transition from the Lower to the early Middle Paleolithic. This new method of flake production was accompanied by significant behavioral changes in hominin populations. The emergence of this technological advance is considered homogeneous in the European archaeological record at the Marine isotopic stage (MIS) 9/MIS 8 boundary. In this paper we report a series of combined electron spin resonance/U-series dates on mammal bones and teeth recovered from the lower units of San Bernardino Cave (Italy) and the technological analyses of the lithic assemblages. The San Bernardino Cave has yielded the earliest evidence of Levallois production on the Italian Peninsula recovered to date. In addition to our results and the review of the archaeological record, we describe the chronological and geographical differences between European territories and diversities in terms of technological developments. The belated emergence of Levallois technology in Italy compared to western Europe corresponds to the late Italian Neanderthal speciation event. The new radiometric dates and the technological analyses of San Bernardino Cave raise the issue of the different roles of glacial refugia in the peopling and the spread of innovative flaking strategies in Europe during the late Middle Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have suggested that the Lower-to-Middle Paleolithic transition was associated with the earliest Neanderthals, but recent research has established that the oldest Neanderthal fossils and the first signs of their technologies and behavior appear from MIS 11 or possibly earlier. To understand these changes, re-evaluation of the evidence is necessary to determine if this transition corresponds to a progressive evolution rather than abrupt change. Orgnac 3 is a key and appropriate site to study this research context. Located in southern France, it yields a long stratigraphic sequence testifying the evolution of technical and subsistence behaviors of pre-Neanderthal human groups during a Middle Pleistocene interglacial-glacial cycle. In this article, a new chronological framework is provided for the sequence based on results of dating methods applied to various types of geological materials. Speleothems and volcanic minerals, dated in previous studies by U-series and 40Ar/39Ar, respectively, show periods of calcitic crystallization and regional volcanic activity. Other materials, such as heated flints and herbivore teeth, are directly related to evidence of anthropogenic activities and are analyzed in the present work by trapped-charge dating methods such as thermoluminescence and electron spin resonance combined with uranium series (ESR/U-series). The new thermoluminescence and ESR/U-series dates confirm the attribution of the Orgnac 3 stratigraphic sequence to the MIS 10–MIS 8 period and are discussed in relation to paleoenvironmental data derived from bioarchaeological studies. The paleoanthropological levels, including the emergence of Levallois technology, are dated to ca. 275 ka (early MIS 8) and appear coeval to a wet and temperate period recorded locally, the Amargiers interstadial, defined in the regional palynological records. The implications of this reassessed chronology for the archaeological assemblages are discussed in the wider context of behavioral innovations from MIS 11 onward and their establishment in subsequent periods. [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]

We present the results of a new dating study carried out at Lunery-la Terre-des-Sablons (LTS) and Brinay-la Noira (BN), two key Lower Palaeolithic sites located in deposits associated to the Cher River (Middle Loire Catchment, France). These sites preserve abundant Mode 1 and Mode 2 lithic industries, and are considered as among the oldest evidence of hominin presence in Western Europe north of the 45°N latitude. Following a multi-technique approach combining electron spin resonance (ESR), single-grain thermally-transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL) dating of quartz grains and palaeomagnetism, we obtained new chronological constraints for the sedimentary sequence, and the associated lithic assemblages, at the two sites. The new independent dating results derived from each method are consistent and in overall agreement with existing ESR and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) burial age estimates, except for the Lowermost Unit 3 at LTS. By integrating all of the previous and new dating results, we derive combined age estimates of 772-735 ka and 665 ± 29 ka for the fluvial sands at LTS (Unit 1) and BN, respectively. These two distinct aggradation phases may tentatively be correlated to interglacial/glacial transitions associated with Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 19-18 for the former and MIS 17-16 for the latter. At BN, an age range of 638–676 ka may be proposed for the hominin occupation after combining numerical age results and geological evidence. This result is consistent with the initial chronology proposed by Moncel et al. (2013) [Moncel, M.H., Despriée, J., Voinchet, P., Tissoux, H., Moreno, D., Bahain, J. J., Courcimault, G., Falgueres, C. (2013). Early evidence of Acheulean settlement in north-western Europe – la Noira site, a 700 000 year-old occupation in the Centre of France. Plos One, 8(11): 1–22] and confirms that BN is among the oldest Acheulean occurrences in Western Europe. At LTS, the mean age of 710 ± 50 ka obtained for the sandy layer in Unit 3 provides a minimum age constraint for the archaeological level located below. The major sedimentary disconformity observed between the fluvial deposits and the underlying pebble layers hosting the lithic artefacts suggests that the true age of the artefacts might be significantly older, probably Early Pleistocene given their similarities with other Mode 1 assemblages identified in Western Europe. However, further refinement of the Mode 1 chronological inference at LTS remains difficult at this stage. Finally, these new dating results show the importance of using the Multiple Centre approach for ESR dating of quartz grains, and confirm the value of combining different dating methods in order to build more robust chronologies for Lower Palaeolithic sites in Europe. From a methodological point of view, the dating results presented here are especially encouraging for the reliability of the ESR method applied to optically bleached quartz grains. This is one of the very first studies demonstrating that quartz samples independently dated by two different laboratories may produce generally reproducible ESR age results. • New dating results for the Lower Palaeolithic sites of Lunery-la Terre-des-Sablons (LTS) and Brinay-la Noira (BN), France. • A multi-technique approach was employed, combining multiple centre ESR dating, single-grain TT-OSL dating and palaeomagnetism. • At BN, an age range of 638–676 ka may be proposed for the hominin occupation. • At LTS, the mean age result of 710 ± 50 ka oprovides a minimum age constraint for the archaeological level in Unit 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 120 km -longTêt River flows out of the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean. By displaying a mappable sequence of Quaternary alluvial units between the Pleistocene frontal moraines of the high range and the offshore sedimentary depocentres, its 1400 km 2 watershed is well suited to quantifying gradients of topographic uplift. Five main generations of terrace treads had previously been inferred from constrasts in regolith weathering features, but here we present the first radiometric age constraints based on 15 ESR sediment burial ages covering the full sequence, and 3 vertical TCN age profiles restricted to three mid-sequence terraces. Analytically robust results were obtained for the oldest and uppermost terrace T5 (ESR age: 1099 ± 179 ka), for T3b (ESR age: 374 ± 47 ka, ∼MIS 10), and for T2 (ESR age: 174 ± 44 ka, ∼MIS 6). These results are consistent with the contrasts in weathering grade of the deposits. The TCN profiles only yielded minimum exposure ages but provided precise post-depositional denudation rates for the fluvial terrace treads. The land-to-sea geometry of the chronosequence also provided clues about valley incision rates in response to topographic uplift during the last ∼1 Ma. Based on a critical review of similar data obtained for other Mediterranean and Atlantic watersheds in the Pyrenees, the full regional correlation reveals that post-orogenic topographic uplift was substantial and relatively uniform throughout the entire mountain range. Patterns and magnitudes suggest a shared, probably subcrustal driving mechanism of Neogene and Quaternary mountain growth, with only subsidiary influence from isostasy, and climatic forcing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most archaeological and palaeo-environmental archives are preserved in specific environments (buried sediments, rock shelters, cave environments). Hence, the information we can obtain is usually incomplete, and lacking spatial and morphological significance. Studying landscape evolution can help us to understand the location and distribution of past societies and their relation to Quaternary environments. In the Ardèche Valley, most Middle and Late Palaeolithic sites are preserved in caves and rock-shelters and in rare cases in fluvial sediments. Here we apply an integrated geomorphological approach to the study of the evolution of the Ardèche Valley combining multi-method dating, geomorphological mapping and surveys of cave and fluvial formations. We review chronological results obtained through multi-method dating (electron spin resonance (ESR), infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL), uranium-series (U-series), combined electron spin resonance/uranium-series (ESR/U-series)) on cave and riverine objects and combine them with topographic and stratigraphic observations in an integrated Bayesian hierarchical model. The results are in agreement with those obtained from other rivers in mountainous environment around the Mediterranean Sea and show sedimentation/incision phases that match the 100 ka glacial/interglacial cycles. The mean rate of river incision deduced from the established chronology for the Middle and Late Pleistocene period, 76 ± 7 m.Ma−1, shows adjustments to a moderate uplifting dynamic that shaped the main topographical features seen today in the landscape of the Ardèche Gorge. The spatially reconstructed alluvial features provide a palaeogeographic framework that can be used directly as a chronological and topographical constraint for archaeological research in the Ardèche catchment. • We review Middle and Late Pleistocene landscape evolution in the Ardèche valley. • 80 ages are discussed together with 13 new U-series ages. • Ardèche fluvial evolution follows a climate-induced 100 ka cyclicity. • Relevant landscape transformations appeared during the Middle and Late Palaeolithic occupation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The middle Rhône valley, located at the southeastern margins of the Massif Central in France, produced a large number of Middle Palaeolithic sites, most of which dated to the Middle and Late Pleistocene. Due to its position, connecting northern Europe and the Mediterranean basin, this corridor and the surrounding plateaus are of particular interest in the study of human cultural evolution, including the emergence of Middle Palaeolithic technology around 300,000 years ago and its variability over time, as well as the subsistence and mobility strategies of Neanderthals. In the last 20 years, several research projects undertaken in this region allowed to revise key Middle Palaeolithic sequences. This work aims at synthesising previous and new chronological data obtained by using uranium-series of speleothems and bones, infrared stimulated luminescence of feldspar and electron spin resonance of tooth enamel and quartz. We review previous ages obtained in the area and present 43 new ages that are discussed together to propose a reliable spatiotemporal framework for Neanderthal occupations. We focus on major sites in the region: Payre, Ranc-Pointu 2, Baume Flandin, Abri du Maras, Grotte des Barasses II, Abri des Pêcheurs, Grotte du Figuier and Grotte de Saint-Marcel. They all provided significant information related to the biological and behavioural evolution of Neanderthal populations on the right bank of the Rhône valley. We present here the updated chronology for the Middle Palaeolithic of this area, ranging from ca. 300,000 to 40,000 years ago. • We review the Middle Palaeolithic chronology of the Middle Rhône valley in France. • We provide 43 new ages using U-series, ESR and IRSL dating methods. • The Levallois technology is documented as early as 300 ka. • We show that Neanderthals continuously occupied the area from ca. 300 ka to 40 ka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Evidence of earliest human settlements observed in the alluvial formations of the Middle Loire Basin during systematic surveys organised since 1981. Many stepped fluvial terraces deposited during the successive interglacial–glacial Quaternary cycles have been identified in three tributary valleys of the Loire River: the Creuse, Cher and Loir Valleys. These alluvial remnants were systematically dated by the Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) method applied on optically bleached quartz, in order to construct a chronostratigraphical framework for the fluvial systems and the associated archaeological localities. Four localities containing Early Palaeolithic industries with Mode 1 technology, occupied during the Lower Pleistocene, and ten sites characterized by assemblages with handaxes, discovered in the Middle Pleistocene alluvial formations, are described in this paper. These two sets of localities are characterized by lithic industries with many differences in supply of raw materials and in technical behaviours. The results indicate that this area was reached by two separate phases of human settlement (one in relation to Mode 1, the other to Mode 2) with an interval around 400ka, at the end of the Lower Pleistocene, during a period characterized by major climatic degradations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article presents and discusses the chronological layout of the final Mousterian and Uluzzian levels of Fumane Cave in northern Italy using 14C, ESR and TL methods. Given its complex sedimentary and cultural succession, Fumane is a key site to assess the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition in Southern Europe and to explore Neanderthal behaviour and to compare it with the first Aurignacians. Large ranges defined by the ESR and TL dates cover the radiocarbon ages for units from A11 to A4, respectively, from 42.8 to 32.5kaBP become progressively younger in agreement with the stratigraphy, despite high dispersions within the same unit. Our estimates using chronometric data seem to support the hypothesis that the sequence may cover almost 10,000 radiocarbonyr and that from comparison with the sedimentological and palaeoecological data, the late Middle Palaeolithic and the early Upper Palaeolithic at Fumane occur in sediments formed under moderately cool to mild climatic conditions correlated to the Hengelo-Interstadial, shifting towards cooler and drier conditions. Finally, comparisons between the Fumane data set and other sites in the North-Adriatic region are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Bytham River was one of the major pre-Anglian (MIS 12) rivers of eastern England. Flowing from the Midlands to the East Anglian coast, it has been recognised at numerous sites by its distinctive lithological suite, containing significant quantities of quartzite, quartz and Carboniferous chert that originate from central England. In the Breckland of Suffolk and Norfolk, deposits of the Bytham River can be identified at 26 sites by this distinctive clast lithological composition. These sediments, referred to as the Ingham Formation, consist of a series of sand and gravel aggradations, which due to their differences in elevation can be interpreted as at least four early Middle Pleistocene terrace remnants of the former river, and a final phase of deposition along the river valley prior to its destruction. This paper reports on recent fieldwork at six of these sites, which through stratigraphic and lithological analyses, together with new Electron Spin Resonance age estimates, contribute to a revised geological framework for the Bytham River as represented in the Breckland. These sites can be attributed to the four lowest fluvial aggradations, with the lowest and youngest of these aggradations shown to be early Anglian in age. The river was subsequently overrun by Anglian ice during Marine Isotope Stage 12. This revised geological and chronological interpretation provides an important framework for understanding the Lower Palaeolithic artefacts that have been found within these gravel aggradations, and contributes to the understanding of the human occupation of north-west Europe during the early Middle Pleistocene. • Report on field investigations at six sites attributed to the Bytham River, UK. • Six aggradations with height differences representing terrace remnants, identified. • Lithostratigraphy and ESR ages place the deposits in the early Middle Pleistocene. • Terraces provide framework for dating the contained Lower Palaeolithic archaeology. • Bytham archaeology furthers understanding of the early human occupation of Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cenozoic basins of western Iberia have a culminant allostratigraphic unit (designated UBS13), which records the beginning of Atlantic drainage and predates the fluvial incision that led to the development of the present drainage networks. However, the available numerical dating is quite limited and mainly restricted to the lower-level terrace deposits. Therefore, this study uses for the first time the electron spin resonance (ESR) method to date this culminant unit in the Mondego and Lower Tejo Cenozoic basins of Portugal. The depositional age of this unit is supposed to lie between ~3.7 Ma (basal deposits) and ~1.8 Ma (uppermost deposits). The Al-centre provided reliable ESR data, but the dates obtained by using the Ti Li centre clearly underestimate the burial ages. With reference to the existing independent dating of the Vale Farpado site (3.7–3.6 Ma) at the lowermost basal level of the UBS13 deposits, the ESR (Al-centre) ages of 3.0 to 2.3 Ma obtained for the UBS13 basal and middle deposits give reliable estimates of the burial age. The ESR ages (Al-centre) obtained for the UBS13 uppermost deposits indicate a probable age of ~1.8 Ma. Thus, these results are of international significance, in that they constitutes the first numerical ages obtained for the uppermost levels of the Cenozoic basin-fills of western Iberia, which predate the fluvial incision that took place in response to lower Quaternary base levels. • This study used ESR dating method on quartz grains. • Is focused on the sedimentary unit that competes the infill in the Cenozoic basins. • Using ESR to date sediments with probable age of 3.7 Ma to 1.8 Ma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]