Extended-range luminescence and ESR dating of Iberian fluvial terraces (Duero and Guadiana basins) associated with the Lower Palaeolithic sites of La Maya I, II, Burganes and Albalá (west-cen-
tral Spain)
Martina Demuro1*, Lee J. Arnold1, Mathieu Duval2, Manuel Santonja2 and Alfredo Pérez-González3
1 School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
2 Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
3 Instituto de Evolución en África (IDEA), Madrid, Spain
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
A large proportion of the Lower Palaeolithic (Acheulean) records from the Iberian Peninsula are as- sociated with fluvial archives located in the major river basins of the Duero, Tajo and Guadiana drainage systems. Unfortunately, these open-air archaeological records are often difficult to constrain chronologi- cally due to a lack of suitable material for dating (e.g., faunal remains) or because their Middle Pleistocene antiquity precludes the use of otherwise applicable geochronometric techniques, such as optically stimu- lated luminescence (OSL) dating of sedimentary silicates. As a result, many important Acheulean sites lack precise and accurate chronologies, and their existing temporal frameworks are based solely on mor- phostratigraphic correlations with regional fluvial terrace systems.
The Lower Palaeolithic (Acheulean) sites of La Maya I, II and Burganes are located in the western sector of the northern Meseta (Spain), within the Duero drainage system. The La Maya I (+6-8 and +14 m above river level) and II (+34 m) sites and the Burganes sites (+16-20 m and +34 m) are situated on the middle terraces of the Tormes and Tera rivers, respectively. Further to the south, the Acheulean site of Albalá is associated with a terrace (+8 m) of the Guadiana River.
This study reports on the first application of extended-range luminescence dating, namely multi-grain infrared stimulated luminescence (post IR-IRSL) dating of K-feldspars and single-grain thermally trans- ferred-OSL (TT-OSL) dating of quartz, to these Lower Palaeolithic sites and/or associated fluvial terraces from central-west Spain. An additional quartz ESR age was obtained for a sample from one of the Tormes River terraces to carry out a multi-method age assessment.
We report on the suitability of these luminescence signals for dating the Middle Pleistocene deposits, which have been tested via a series of quality assurance criteria (signal composition, dose recovery tests, bleaching tests, sensitivity correction assessments). The resultant chronologies are presented and used to assess (i) the accuracy of existing chronostratigraphic frameworks developed for these sites, and (ii) the wider implications for understanding Acheulean occupation patterns in the Iberian Peninsula more broadly.
Keywords (max. 5): single-grain TT-OSL, post IR-IRSL, Acheulean, Fluvial terraces, Iberian Peninsula
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