Abstract
We present here the results of a U-Th dating project at Qesem Cave, a Middle Pleistocene, late Lower Paleolithic site in Israel. It provides 54 new MC-ICP-MS U-Th ages for speleothems from the cave. The results indicate that human occupation started sometime between ∼420 and 320 ka and ended between 220 and 194 ka. A survey of dates from culturally similar sites in the Levant indicates that the general range of ca. 400-ca. 200 ka is an appropriate estimate for the life span of the Acheulo-Yabrudian Cultural Complex (AYCC).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 644-656 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Quaternary Geochronology |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2010 |
Keywords
- Acheulo-Yabrudian complex
- Israel
- Lower Paleolithic
- Qesem Cave
- U-series dating