TL dating of burnt lithics from Blombos cave (South Africa): further evidence for the antiquity of modern human behaviour
Chantal Tribolo
(1, 2)
,
N. Mercier
(1, 2)
,
M. Selo
(3)
,
H. Valladas
(1, 2)
,
J.-L. Joron
(4)
,
J.-L. Reyss
(1)
,
C. Henshilwood
(5)
,
J. Sealy
(6)
,
R. Yates
(7)
1
LSCE -
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement [Gif-sur-Yvette]
2 GEOTRAC - Géochrononologie Traceurs Archéométrie
3 LEME / UNA - Laboratoire d'Etude de la Matière Extraterrestre / UMS Nano-analyses
4 LPS - Laboratoire Pierre Süe
5 CDS, Centre for Development Studies
6 Iziko Museum of Cape Town
7 Quaternary Research Centre and Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town
2 GEOTRAC - Géochrononologie Traceurs Archéométrie
3 LEME / UNA - Laboratoire d'Etude de la Matière Extraterrestre / UMS Nano-analyses
4 LPS - Laboratoire Pierre Süe
5 CDS, Centre for Development Studies
6 Iziko Museum of Cape Town
7 Quaternary Research Centre and Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town
Chantal Tribolo
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 20687
- IdHAL : chantal-tribolo
- ORCID : 0000-0003-0506-2430
- IdRef : 075764628
M. Selo
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 864833
Résumé
This paper presents the first TL dates for burnt quartzites and silcretes from the Still Bay layers of Blombos Cave (South Africa). These layers contained engraved ochres and marine shell beads that could be an early manifestation of symbolic and thus ‘modern’ behaviour by the Middle Stone Age humans. The procedure devised to calculate the ages is presented in detail, particularly with regard to internal microdosimetry, because the problems faced in estimating the dose rates require an approach different from the one usually used on flints and sediments. A mean age of 74 ± 5 ka was obtained for five burnt lithics unearthed in the BBC M1 member of the Still Bay layers. This result is in good agreement with both ESR dates on teeth and OSL dates on sediment, and demonstrates the great antiquity of the archaeological remains discovered at Blombos Cave.
Format du dépôt | Notice |
---|---|
Type de dépôt | Article dans une revue |
Titre |
en
TL dating of burnt lithics from Blombos cave (South Africa): further evidence for the antiquity of modern human behaviour
|
Résumé |
en
This paper presents the first TL dates for burnt quartzites and silcretes from the Still Bay layers of Blombos Cave (South Africa). These layers contained engraved ochres and marine shell beads that could be an early manifestation of symbolic and thus ‘modern’ behaviour by the Middle Stone Age humans. The procedure devised to calculate the ages is presented in detail, particularly with regard to internal microdosimetry, because the problems faced in estimating the dose rates require an approach different from the one usually used on flints and sediments. A mean age of 74 ± 5 ka was obtained for five burnt lithics unearthed in the BBC M1 member of the Still Bay layers. This result is in good agreement with both ESR dates on teeth and OSL dates on sediment, and demonstrates the great antiquity of the archaeological remains discovered at Blombos Cave.
|
Auteur(s) |
Chantal Tribolo
1, 2
, N. Mercier
1, 2
, M. Selo
3
, H. Valladas
1, 2
, J.-L. Joron
4
, J.-L. Reyss
1
, C. Henshilwood
5
, J. Sealy
6
, R. Yates
7
1
LSCE -
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement [Gif-sur-Yvette]
( 518 )
- Bât. 12,
avenue de la Terrasse,
F-91198 GIF-SUR-YVETTE CEDEX
- France
2
GEOTRAC -
Géochrononologie Traceurs Archéométrie
( 578523 )
- LSCE. CEA Paris-Saclay. Orme des merisiers. 91190 Saint-Aubin.
- France
3
LEME / UNA -
Laboratoire d'Etude de la Matière Extraterrestre / UMS Nano-analyses
( 416695 )
- Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle - Département de l’Histoire de la Terre - 61, rue Buffon - 75005 Paris
- France
4
LPS -
Laboratoire Pierre Süe
( 1375 )
- bât. 637 et bât. 639 CE Saclay 91191 GIF SUR YVETTE CEDEX
- France
5
CDS, Centre for Development Studies
( 107292 )
- Norvège
6
Iziko Museum of Cape Town
( 106095 )
- Post Office Box 61, Cape Town, 8000
- Afrique du Sud
7
Quaternary Research Centre and Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town
( 27417 )
- Afrique du Sud
|
Langue du document |
Anglais
|
Nom de la revue |
|
Vulgarisation |
Non
|
Comité de lecture |
Oui
|
Audience |
Internationale
|
Date de publication |
2006-05
|
Volume |
48
|
Numéro |
2
|
Page/Identifiant |
341-357
|
Domaine(s) |
|
DOI | 10.1111/j.1475-4754.2006.00260.x |
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