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U-Series dating of locality 15 at Zhoukoudian, China, and implications for hominid evolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Guanjun J. Shen ,
Xing Gao ,
Jian-xin Zhao  and
Kenneth D. Collerson
Guanjun J. Shen*
Affiliation:
Institute for Coastal and Quaternary Studies, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210097, PR China
Xing Gao
Affiliation:
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Academia Sinica, Beijing 100044, PR China
Jian-xin Zhao
Affiliation:
Advanced Centre for Queensland University Isotopic Research Excellence (ACQUIRE), University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
Kenneth D. Collerson
Affiliation:
Advanced Centre for Queensland University Isotopic Research Excellence (ACQUIRE), University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: +86 25 83726732. E-mail address:[email protected](G. Shen).
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Abstract

This paper reports U-series dates on speleothem samples from Locality 15 at Zhoukoudian, one of the richest Paleolithic sites in northern China. The age of the lower part of Layer 2 is securely bracketed between 155,000 and 284,000 yr. The underlying Layer 3 dates back at least 284,000 yr. Layer 4, further below, should be older still, possibly by a cycle on the SPECMAP time scale before 284,000 yr ago. These ages, much greater than the previous estimates of 110,000"140,000 yr from U-series and electron spin resonance dating of fossil teeth, suggest that Locality 15 was broadly contemporaneous with Locality 4 (New Cave) and with the uppermost strata of Locality 1 (Peking Man site). The physical evolution and cultural development evidenced by the timing of the Zhoukoudian localities are in line with the opinion of Chinese anthropologists for a regional transition from Homo erectus to archaic Homo sapiens.

Keywords

Locality 15ZhoukoudianU-series datingSpeleothemPaleolithicHuman evolution
Type
Short Paper
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 62 , Issue 2 , September 2004 , pp. 208 - 213
Copyright
University of Washington

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