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ESR Dating at Hominid and Archaeological Sites During the Pleistocene

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Abstract

In any fossil site, dating the site is essential to understanding the site’s significance, because chronological data permits comparisons with materials from other sites, and ultimately enables regional settlement patterns, migration, or evolutionary rates to be determined. A dating method’s ability to date significant fossil materials directly rather than just dating associated sedimentary or rock units adds to its archaeological and paleontological utility. Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating can provide chronometric ages for vertebrate teeth throughout the Pleistocene and late Pliocene. For mollusc shells and coral, ESR’s effective dating range spans much of the Pleistocene.

As such, ESR has been used to assess the evolutionary ranges for both hominids and their associated cultural materials and to solve specific geochronological problems. We discuss several examples where ESR has been used to date Neanderthal burials and skeletal materials, including Mezmaiskaya, Obi-Rakhmat, and Pradayrol, as well as dating for cultural materials from pebble tool cultures, Mousterian, and Middle Paleolithic sites. In each case, ESR has provided vital geochronological data, in some cases, where no other methods were applicable.

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Acknowledgments

Sites discussed here were dated with financial assistance from the US National Science Foundation (ILI 9151111 to ARS; DBS 9210469 to H.P. Schwarcz; SBR 9709912, SBR 9896289, SBR 9904376 to BABB and ARS); Leakey Foundation to L. Golovanova, V. Doronichev, and P.J. Wrinn; City University of New York Research Foundation to BABB; and a Toyota Tapestry grant to JIBB. M.R. Séronie-Vivien, I. Turk, L. Golovanova, V. Doronichev, and P.J. Wrinn provided samples for analysis. McMaster University, Queens College, Williams College, and RFK Science Research Institute provided logistical support, while the Slovenian Academy of Sciences supported the fieldwork. We thank Lisa Provencher, Frances Mach, Mimi Divjak, Edwin Yu, Helen Leung, Steve Berman, Sisi Liang, and Andrés Montoya for their assistance in the lab. Several RFK Research Institute and Williams College students also provided assistance. Karen Goodger and Jean Johnson, McMaster University, performed the NAA analyses. Mike Butler, McMaster University Nuclear Reactor, facilitated the 60Co irradiations. The reviewers provided excellent suggestions to improve the work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, USA

    Bonnie A.B. Blackwell, Anne R. Skinner & Joel I.B. Blickstein

  2. Laboratory of Prehistory, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

    L.V. Golovanova & V.B. Doronichev

  3. Le Bouscat, France

    M.R. Séronie-Vivien

Authors
  1. Bonnie A.B. Blackwell
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  2. Anne R. Skinner
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  3. Joel I.B. Blickstein
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  4. L.V. Golovanova
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  5. V.B. Doronichev
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  6. M.R. Séronie-Vivien
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Anthropology, George Washington University, G Street NW., 2110, Washington, 20052, U.S.A.

    Marta Camps

  2. CRAFT Stone Age Institute, Indiana University, W. Dittemore Road 1392, Gosport, 47433-9531, U.S.A.

    Parth Chauhan

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Blackwell, B.A., Skinner, A.R., Blickstein, J.I., Golovanova, L., Doronichev, V., Séronie-Vivien, M. (2009). ESR Dating at Hominid and Archaeological Sites During the Pleistocene. In: Camps, M., Chauhan, P. (eds) Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-76487-0_6

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