Improving the age constraints on the archeological record in Scladina Cave (Belgium): new speleothem U–Th ages
<p>The sedimentary sequence in Scladina Cave (Belgium) is well-known for its rich Middle Paleolithic assemblages and its numerous faunal remains. Of particular interest is the presence of a nearly complete mandible of a Neanderthal child. To place all of these finds into the correct chronostra...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | Climate of the Past |
| Online Access: | https://cp.copernicus.org/articles/20/2741/2024/cp-20-2741-2024.pdf |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846116291587342336 |
|---|---|
| author | H. B. Vonhof S. Verheyden D. Bonjean S. Pirson S. Pirson M. Weber D. Scholz J. Hellstrom H. Cheng H. Cheng X. Jia K. Di Modica G. Abrams G. Abrams M. A. P. van Nunen J. Ruiter M. van der Does D. Böhl J. H. J. L. van der Lubbe |
| author_facet | H. B. Vonhof S. Verheyden D. Bonjean S. Pirson S. Pirson M. Weber D. Scholz J. Hellstrom H. Cheng H. Cheng X. Jia K. Di Modica G. Abrams G. Abrams M. A. P. van Nunen J. Ruiter M. van der Does D. Böhl J. H. J. L. van der Lubbe |
| author_sort | H. B. Vonhof |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>The sedimentary sequence in Scladina Cave (Belgium) is well-known for its rich Middle Paleolithic assemblages and its numerous faunal remains. Of particular interest is the presence of a nearly complete mandible of a Neanderthal child. To place all of these finds into the correct chronostratigraphic context, various dating techniques have been applied over the past decades. This resulted in a reasonably well-constrained age model, roughly spanning the last glacial cycle. Age constraints of the lower part of the Scladina sequence as well as from the underlying Sous-Saint-Paul Cave were, however, absent until now. Previous attempts to date several speleothem layers in Scladina Cave using U–Th dating were only partly successful, presumably because diagenetic alteration of speleothem material compromised the ages. In the present study we reassessed U–Th dating of various speleothem levels in Scladina Cave, applying state-of-the-art U–Th dating and carefully selecting material that experienced little to no diagenetic alteration. The new results constitute a robust age framework for the Scladina sequence, which provides precisely dated stratigraphic anchor points that improve the previous age model. Furthermore, new U–Th analyses for speleothems from the lower part of the Scladina sequence and from the Sous-Saint-Paul sequence document Middle Pleistocene ages, making this one of the longer fossil-rich cave sedimentary sequences in NW Europe. The new data confirm that speleothem growth predominantly took place in periods of warmer climate, while siliciclastic sediments characterize the colder intervals. New speleothem ages further suggest that the Neanderthal mandible found in the sequence and previously placed in Marine Isotope Stage 5a or 5b could potentially be as old as Marine Isotope Stage 5d.</p> |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-079f3367100947ba852e3515601b9ef8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1814-9324 1814-9332 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Climate of the Past |
| spelling | doaj-art-079f3367100947ba852e3515601b9ef82024-12-19T05:34:11ZengCopernicus PublicationsClimate of the Past1814-93241814-93322024-12-01202741275810.5194/cp-20-2741-2024Improving the age constraints on the archeological record in Scladina Cave (Belgium): new speleothem U–Th agesH. B. Vonhof0S. Verheyden1D. Bonjean2S. Pirson3S. Pirson4M. Weber5D. Scholz6J. Hellstrom7H. Cheng8H. Cheng9X. Jia10K. Di Modica11G. Abrams12G. Abrams13M. A. P. van Nunen14J. Ruiter15M. van der Does16D. Böhl17J. H. J. L. van der Lubbe18Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, GermanyRoyal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, BelgiumScladina Cave Archeological Centre, Espace muséal d'Andenne, Andenne, BelgiumWallonia Heritage Agency, Scientific and Technical Direction, Namur, BelgiumDepartment of Geology and European Archaeometry Centre, University of Liège, Liège, BelgiumInstitute for Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, GermanyInstitute for Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, GermanySchool of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, AustraliaInstitute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710054, ChinaInstitute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, ChinaInstitute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710054, ChinaScladina Cave Archeological Centre, Espace muséal d'Andenne, Andenne, BelgiumScladina Cave Archeological Centre, Espace muséal d'Andenne, Andenne, BelgiumDepartment of Archaeology, ArcheOS – Research Laboratory for Biological Anthropology, Ghent University, Ghent, BelgiumInstitute of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsInstitute of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsAlfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, GermanyInstitute for Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, GermanyInstitute of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands<p>The sedimentary sequence in Scladina Cave (Belgium) is well-known for its rich Middle Paleolithic assemblages and its numerous faunal remains. Of particular interest is the presence of a nearly complete mandible of a Neanderthal child. To place all of these finds into the correct chronostratigraphic context, various dating techniques have been applied over the past decades. This resulted in a reasonably well-constrained age model, roughly spanning the last glacial cycle. Age constraints of the lower part of the Scladina sequence as well as from the underlying Sous-Saint-Paul Cave were, however, absent until now. Previous attempts to date several speleothem layers in Scladina Cave using U–Th dating were only partly successful, presumably because diagenetic alteration of speleothem material compromised the ages. In the present study we reassessed U–Th dating of various speleothem levels in Scladina Cave, applying state-of-the-art U–Th dating and carefully selecting material that experienced little to no diagenetic alteration. The new results constitute a robust age framework for the Scladina sequence, which provides precisely dated stratigraphic anchor points that improve the previous age model. Furthermore, new U–Th analyses for speleothems from the lower part of the Scladina sequence and from the Sous-Saint-Paul sequence document Middle Pleistocene ages, making this one of the longer fossil-rich cave sedimentary sequences in NW Europe. The new data confirm that speleothem growth predominantly took place in periods of warmer climate, while siliciclastic sediments characterize the colder intervals. New speleothem ages further suggest that the Neanderthal mandible found in the sequence and previously placed in Marine Isotope Stage 5a or 5b could potentially be as old as Marine Isotope Stage 5d.</p>https://cp.copernicus.org/articles/20/2741/2024/cp-20-2741-2024.pdf |
| spellingShingle | H. B. Vonhof S. Verheyden D. Bonjean S. Pirson S. Pirson M. Weber D. Scholz J. Hellstrom H. Cheng H. Cheng X. Jia K. Di Modica G. Abrams G. Abrams M. A. P. van Nunen J. Ruiter M. van der Does D. Böhl J. H. J. L. van der Lubbe Improving the age constraints on the archeological record in Scladina Cave (Belgium): new speleothem U–Th ages Climate of the Past |
| title | Improving the age constraints on the archeological record in Scladina Cave (Belgium): new speleothem U–Th ages |
| title_full | Improving the age constraints on the archeological record in Scladina Cave (Belgium): new speleothem U–Th ages |
| title_fullStr | Improving the age constraints on the archeological record in Scladina Cave (Belgium): new speleothem U–Th ages |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improving the age constraints on the archeological record in Scladina Cave (Belgium): new speleothem U–Th ages |
| title_short | Improving the age constraints on the archeological record in Scladina Cave (Belgium): new speleothem U–Th ages |
| title_sort | improving the age constraints on the archeological record in scladina cave belgium new speleothem u th ages |
| url | https://cp.copernicus.org/articles/20/2741/2024/cp-20-2741-2024.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hbvonhof improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT sverheyden improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT dbonjean improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT spirson improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT spirson improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT mweber improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT dscholz improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT jhellstrom improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT hcheng improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT hcheng improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT xjia improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT kdimodica improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT gabrams improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT gabrams improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT mapvannunen improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT jruiter improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT mvanderdoes improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT dbohl improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages AT jhjlvanderlubbe improvingtheageconstraintsonthearcheologicalrecordinscladinacavebelgiumnewspeleothemuthages |