The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Methods for U-series dating of CaCO3 crusts associated with Palaeolithic cave art and application to Iberian sites

Methods for U-series dating of CaCO3 crusts associated with Palaeolithic cave art and application to Iberian sites
Methods for U-series dating of CaCO3 crusts associated with Palaeolithic cave art and application to Iberian sites
U-series dating is a precise and accurate geochronological tool which is widely applied to date secondary CaCO3 formation, for example in speleothem based palaeoclimate research. It can also be employed to provide chronological constraints for archaeological sites which have a stratigraphic relationship with speleothem formations. We present in detail our methods to conduct precise and accurate U-Th dating of calcite crusts that formed on top of cave paintings. Our protocols allow the application of U-series measurements on small, thin calcite crusts covering cave art, which can be found in many sites, while taking care not to harm the art underneath. The method provides minimum ages for the covered art and, where possible, also maximum ages by dating the flowstone layer the art is painted on. We present dating results for crusts from two locality types in Spain, a typical cave environment (La Pasiega) and a more open, rock shelter type cave (Fuente del Trucho).
1871-1014
104-119
Hoffmann, Dirk L.
c0692e66-6bca-4e4d-adf3-19dc980fa524
Pike, Alistair W.G.
e8603e20-0a89-4d57-a294-247b983fc857
Garcia-Diez, Marcos
73d72ea6-c9b0-467a-9408-593f9de7b6a1
Pettitt, Paul B.
eab64cc1-df91-461e-9589-7a0b8ebb4e13
Zilhao, Joao
9e6f9997-f259-4235-ae58-bf462fcefa3e
Hoffmann, Dirk L.
c0692e66-6bca-4e4d-adf3-19dc980fa524
Pike, Alistair W.G.
e8603e20-0a89-4d57-a294-247b983fc857
Garcia-Diez, Marcos
73d72ea6-c9b0-467a-9408-593f9de7b6a1
Pettitt, Paul B.
eab64cc1-df91-461e-9589-7a0b8ebb4e13
Zilhao, Joao
9e6f9997-f259-4235-ae58-bf462fcefa3e

Hoffmann, Dirk L., Pike, Alistair W.G., Garcia-Diez, Marcos, Pettitt, Paul B. and Zilhao, Joao (2016) Methods for U-series dating of CaCO3 crusts associated with Palaeolithic cave art and application to Iberian sites. Quaternary Geochronology, 36, 104-119. (doi:10.1016/j.quageo.2016.07.004).

Record type: Article

Abstract

U-series dating is a precise and accurate geochronological tool which is widely applied to date secondary CaCO3 formation, for example in speleothem based palaeoclimate research. It can also be employed to provide chronological constraints for archaeological sites which have a stratigraphic relationship with speleothem formations. We present in detail our methods to conduct precise and accurate U-Th dating of calcite crusts that formed on top of cave paintings. Our protocols allow the application of U-series measurements on small, thin calcite crusts covering cave art, which can be found in many sites, while taking care not to harm the art underneath. The method provides minimum ages for the covered art and, where possible, also maximum ages by dating the flowstone layer the art is painted on. We present dating results for crusts from two locality types in Spain, a typical cave environment (La Pasiega) and a more open, rock shelter type cave (Fuente del Trucho).

Text
Hoffmann et al_accepted.docx - Accepted Manuscript
Download (18MB)
Text
Methods for U-series dating of CaCO3 crusts associated with Palaeolithic cave art and application to Iberian sites.pdf - Version of Record
Restricted to Repository staff only
Request a copy

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 27 July 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 29 July 2016
Published date: September 2016
Organisations: Archaeology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 402243
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/402243
ISSN: 1871-1014
PURE UUID: 0062d6e9-bc35-4a35-8131-28dff28f711f
ORCID for Alistair W.G. Pike: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5610-8948

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 03 Nov 2016 16:37
Last modified: 12 Jul 2024 04:05

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Dirk L. Hoffmann
Author: Marcos Garcia-Diez
Author: Paul B. Pettitt
Author: Joao Zilhao

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×