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New chronological data on European Plio-Pleistocene faunas and hominid occupation sites

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Abstract

The relative chronology of the continental European Plio-Pleistocene deposits has generally been deduced from the biostratigraphic data with support from radiometric ages derived by K/Ar or fission track methods. In many cases it is impossible to obtain reliable radiometric dates, and in such cases palaeomagnetic studies can be a useful tool for the correlation of the local faunas into the magnetic polarity time scale. We present here a study of the remanent magnetization of lacustrine sediments and basaltic lavas of the Velay region (Massif Central, France) associated with early and late Villafranchian faunas and prehistoric remains.

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Thouveny, N., Bonifay, E. New chronological data on European Plio-Pleistocene faunas and hominid occupation sites. Nature 308, 355–358 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/308355a0

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