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1.
The grand abri at La Ferrassie (France) has been a key site for Palaeolithic research since the early part of the 20th century. It became the eponymous site for one variant of Middle Palaeolithic stone tools, and its sequence was used to define stages of the Aurignacian, an early phase of the Upper Palaeolithic. Several Neanderthal remains, including two relatively intact skeletons, make it one of the most important sites for the study of Neanderthal morphology and one of the more important data sets when discussing the Neanderthal treatment of the dead. However, the site has remained essentially undated. Our goal here is to provide a robust chronological framework of the La Ferrassie sequence to be used for broad regional models about human behaviour during the late Middle to Upper Palaeolithic periods. To achieve this goal, we used a combination of modern excavation methods, extensive geoarchaeological analyses, and radiocarbon dating. If we accept that Neanderthals were responsible for the Châtelperronian, then our results suggest an overlap of ca. 1600 years with the newly arrived Homo sapiens found elsewhere in France.  相似文献   

2.
The Hussainiyat ironstone deposit (Jurassic) is mainly pisolitic, intraclastic and concretionary in texture, associated with kaolinite mudstones and/or with quartzose sandstone. The ironstone consists mainly of goethite, hematite, kaolinite and quartz. The deposits were derived from a variety of parent rocks that included low- and medium-rank metamorphics, intermediate igneous rocks and pre-existing sediments of the Nubio-Arabian Shield. The source rocks suffered deep chemical weathering in the hinterland, and the products (Fe-oxyhydroxides, kaolinite and quartz) were later transported by rivers to the depositional site. Iron was mostly carried in association with the clay fraction and organic matter. Several genetic processes were involved in the ironstone formation. Iron concretions were mostly formed by bacterial build-up in swamps and marshes, and were subsequently embedded in kaolinitic mud. Large-scale development of groundwater laterite blanket (ferricrete) occurred later in the overbanks and floors of wadis, under oxidizing pedogenic conditions. During this stage iron was mobilized from the kaolinitic deposits and migrated upward in dry seasons and, to a lesser extent, downward in wet seasons. Pisolites and oolites grew in situ in the kaolinitic soil at the upper limit of the fluctuating water table. This ferricrete blanket had a wide and continuous extension within an elongated paleodepression. Seasonal heavy rain periods resulted in the flow of ephemeral streams and rivers, where major parts of this ferricrete was reworked and deposited with quartz sand and mud clasts as channel deposits. The original pisolitic-colloform ironstone was reworked continuously to form a semi-continuous sheet. In such wet seasons, additional Fe-enrichment took place as cementing materials or overgrowths. Received: 28 April 1995 / Accepted: 10 July 1997  相似文献   

3.
Understanding site formation processes is crucial for interpreting archaeological context patterns and hominin behaviour as these affect the preserved condition of a site and the integrity of archaeological remains. The fluvio‐lacustrine sequences in the Nihewan Basin of North China are rich sources of early Pleistocene archaeological sites, which offer an important opportunity to investigate human evolution and adapted behaviours in East Asia. Although many Palaeolithic sites have been reported from the Nihewan Basin, North China, few of them focus on site formation processes before interpreting the hominin behaviour patterns. Here, we present a site formation study of four archaeological layers (Layers 6D, 6C, 6B and 6A) in Trench 1 from the Donggutuo (namely DGT‐T1) site in the Nihewan Basin with an age of 1.1 Ma. Through the study of sedimentary contexts, spatial distributions of artefacts and fossils, intra‐assemblage category ratios, debitage size distributions, lithic abrasion, artifact orientation and planar dip, our results show that all the layers had been disturbed by low‐energy sheet wash across the lake shore setting, but to differing extents. The post‐depositional disturbance caused by water decreased from the lower to the upper layers, from Layer 6D to Layer 6A. This indicates that the archaeological remains in DGT‐T1 have not been subject to significant natural modifications and are thus suitable for studying early hominin behaviour in North China. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

4.
Earlier studies on the ferricrete of Sriperumbudur Formation were focused on their types of occurrences and mode of formation. However, in the present study, an attempt is made to understand the physico-chemical changes across seven saprolite-ferricrete profiles developed over sedimentary protolith after upliftment to decipher the paleoenvironmental conditions to which the Sriperumbudur Formation was exposed and to understand the processes of ferricretisation. For this purpose, the ferricrete exposures around Sriperumbudur were surveyed and mapped for their occurrences and types of ferricretes, collected samples were examined for various physio-chemical aspects. Geochemical and petrographic studies exhibit a relatively high percentage of iron content. The Fe2O3 content varies from 7.71% to 14.9% followed by the higher concentration of Al2O3 and SiO2 as a result of deep weathering of the Sriperumbudur beds. Other major oxides such as CaO, MgO, Na2O, K2O, MnO and TiO2 show lower concentrations. The bulk X-ray diffraction of the ferricrete samples shows the occurrence of tourmaline, muscovite and magnetite. SEM analysis of the ferricrete samples exhibits solution channels and pits in the matrix, on the limonite, quartz and magnetite revealing intense chemical weathering. Petrographic studies show the occurrence of quartz in a variety of shapes, sizes and sediment sorting, cemented by iron oxides in varying stages. It also reveals iron oxide mobilization due to the alteration of ferruginous sandstone forming a hard ferricrete crust. Iron oxide cementation is due to leaching and re-cementing from the parent sedimentary rock with subsequent re-deposition of the earlier material taking place in a near shore environment and in wetter conditions after the Sriperumbudur beds were exposed since the lower Cretaceous period.  相似文献   

5.
 Ancient deposits of ferricrete (stratified iron oxyhydroxide or clastic sediment cemented by stratified iron oxyhydroxide) are present in headwater streams draining an historic mining district in the Rocky Mountains, USA. These deposits, which form under conditions of low pH and high metal concentrations, are present in streams draining many other mineralized areas. Radiocarbon dating of wood fragments entombed within the ferricrete indicates dates of deposition as old as 8840±50 years before present (b.p.). The ferricrete deposits provide evidence that natural, metal-rich acid rock drainage has been occurring in this mineralized region for thousands of years, due to the weathering and oxidation of exposed or near-surface massive sulfide ore deposits. The dating and chemical composition of the ferricrete deposits have applications to the environmental remediation of historic mining sites and to environmental issues related to natural background chemistry. In addition, the radiocarbon dates of the ferricrete deposits correlate closely with warm–wet periods in the Holocene record, showing that ferricrete deposits may represent a previously untapped source of paleoclimatic information. Received: 6 October 1997 · Accepted: 23 March 1998  相似文献   

6.
Tephra, emplaced as a result of Pleistocene eruption of the Indonesian ‘supervolcano’ Toba, occurs at many localities in India. However, the ages of these deposits have hitherto been contentious; some workers have argued that these deposits mark the most recent eruption (eruption A, ca 75 ka), although at some sites they are stratigraphically associated with Acheulian (Lower Palaeolithic) artefacts. Careful examination of the geochemical composition of the tephras, which are composed predominantly of shards of rhyolitic glass, indicates that discrimination between the products of eruption A and eruption D (ca 790 ka) of Toba is difficult. Nonetheless, this comparison favours eruption D as the source of the tephra deposits at some sites in India, supporting the long-held view that the Lower Palaeolithic of India spans the late Early Pleistocene. In principle, these tephra deposits should be dateable using the K–Ar system; however, previous experience indicates contamination by a small proportion of ancient material, resulting in apparent ages that exceed the true ages of the tephras. We have established the optimum size-fraction in which the material from Toba is concentrated, 53–61 μm, and have considered possible origins for the observed contamination. We also demonstrate that Ar–Ar analysis of four out of five of our samples has yielded material with an apparent age similar to that expected for eruption D. These numerical ages, of 809 ± 51, 714 ± 62, 797 ± 45 and 827 ± 39 ka for the tephras at Morgaon, Bori, Gandhigram and Simbhora, provide a weighted mean age for this eruption of 799 ± 24 ka (plus-or-minus two standard deviations). However, these numerical ages are each derived from no more than 10–20% of the argon release in each sample, which is not ideal. Nonetheless, our results demonstrate that it is feasible, in principle, to date this difficult material using the Ar–Ar technique; future follow-up studies will therefore be able to refine our preparation and analysis procedures to better optimize the dating.  相似文献   

7.
Geoarchaeological analysis of the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic record preserved in cave, rock-shelter and open-air sites in the northern sector of the Meso-Cenozoic of the Western Iberian Peninsula margin (Portugal) reveals several disconformities (erosive unconformities), hiatuses and surface stabilization phases. A recurrent disconformity, dated to ca. 29,500-32,000 cal yr BP, in the time range of Heinrich event 3, must correspond to a main erosive event related to the impacts of climate change on the landscape, including a reduction in vegetation cover and altered precipitation patterns, with the consequent accelerated down-cutting by stream systems, slope reactivation and endokarstic reorganisation, causing the erosion of sediments and soils accumulated in cave, rock-shelter and open-air sites. These processes create a preservation bias that may explain why Early Upper Palaeolithic finds in primary deposition context remains exceptional in the carbonate areas of central-western Portugal, and possibly elsewhere in the other places of Iberia. The impact of such site formation processes must therefore be duly considered in interpretations of the current patchy and scarce archaeological record of the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in south-western Iberia.  相似文献   

8.
In this study we present optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating results obtained at one of the most important open‐air Middle Palaeolithic sites in the Sierra de Atapuerca foothills – Hotel California. We also assess the possibility of obtaining extended‐range OSL chronologies for a nearby Middle Pleistocene fluvial deposit using several novel methods, namely OSL dating of individual quartz ‘supergrains’, multi‐grain aliquot thermally transferred OSL (TT‐OSL) dating and the first application of a single‐grain TT‐OSL dating procedure. Four single‐grain OSL ages constrain the Middle Palaeolithic occupation of Hotel California to between 71±6 and 48±3 ka. The Hotel California single‐grain equivalent dose (De) distributions are highly overdispersed and contain several dose populations, which are probably attributable to post‐depositional sediment mixing, partial bleaching and intrinsic scatter. The reliability of multi‐grain aliquot OSL dating is compromised by the complex underlying De dispersion affecting these samples, as well as by biasing multi‐grain averaging effects. Extended‐range OSL and TT‐OSL chronologies for the nearby Pico River terrace are consistent with each other and with broad independent age control. These experimental approaches yield a weighted average age of 348±16 ka for terrace TA9 of the Arlanzón River sequence. Our results highlight the benefits of comparing ages obtained using several OSL methodologies to improve the robustness of luminescence chronologies. They also demonstrate the potential that single‐grain OSL techniques offer for establishing improved age constraints on the many other Middle Palaeolithic sites found at Atapuerca and elsewhere across north‐central Spain.  相似文献   

9.
Recent archaeological discoveries from exposures of the Cromer Forest-bed Formation at Happisburgh, UK, have radically changed interpretations of the nature and timing of early hominin occupation of northern latitudes, but this in situ archaeology is only one part of the picture. Surface finds of Pleistocene mammalian remains have been found along this coastline for centuries, with stone tools adding to this record over the past 7 years. The ex situ nature of these finds, however, means they are often seen as limited in the information they can provide. This work contributes to a growing body of research from a range of landscape and environmental contexts that seeks to demonstrate the value and importance of these ex situ assemblages. Here the focus is on Palaeolithic flint artefacts and Pleistocene mammalian remains recovered by a group of local collectors through systematic, GPS-recorded beach collection from 2013 to 2017, and their use in developing a methodology for working with ex situ Palaeolithic finds in coastal locations. The results demonstrate significant patterning that identifies unexplored exposures both onshore and offshore, considerably expanding the known extent of deposits and facilitating new insights into the wider archaeological landscape associated with the earliest occupation of northern Europe.  相似文献   

10.
In Poland, loess mainly occurs in the southern part of the country, in the Polish Uplands, and on the northern foreland of the Sudetes and the Carpathians. Most of these sediments come from the time of the last glaciation–the Vistulian (Weichselian) glaciation. Thin covers of loess from the penultimate glaciation have been preserved in Upper Silesia. Only a few sites from the Middle Palaeolithic remain in the loess. In the eastern part of Poland loess creates profiles several metres high. Discoveries in this zone represent the cultural sequence from the transition from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic. We know more traces of various cultures from the Upper Palaeolithic exist. The study attempts to synchronise profiles from selected archaeological open-air sites, outlines of the history of research on loess sites, and attempts to explain terminological and conceptual issues. The issue of loess in the cave site profiles will not be discussed in the article.  相似文献   

11.
In this paper we present Quaternary stratigraphy of the area around Chennai based on archaeological findings on the ferricrete surface, geomorphological observations supplemented by radiocarbon dating. The coastal landscape around Chennai, Tamil Nadu, has preserved ferruginised boulder gravel deposits, ferricretes and fluvial deposits of varying thickness. The area studied is approximately 150 km east to west and 180 km north to south with a broad continental shelf towards the seaward. Several rivers enter the Bay of Bengal along its shores like the Koratallaiyar, Cooum and the Adyar. Precambrian charnockite and Upper Gondwana sandstone and shale bedrock rim the shelf margin. For the most part, the Upper Pleistocene-Holocene fluvial sediments overlie an erosion surface that has cut into older Pleistocene sediments and ferricrete surface. Incised valleys that cut into this erosion surface are up to 5–6 km wide and have a relief of at least 30 m. The largest valley is that cut by the Koratallaiyar River. Holocene sediments deposited in the incised valleys include fluvial gravels, early transgressive channel sands and floodplain silts. Older Pleistocene sediments are deposited before and during the 120-ka high stand (Marine isotope stage 5). They consist of ferricretes and ferricrete gravel formed in nearshore humid environments. Muddy and sandy clastic sediments dated to the ca. 5 ka highstand suggest that the climate was semi arid at this time with less fluvial transport. The coarsening up sequence indicates deposition by high intensity channel processes. Pedogenic mottled, clayey silt unit represents an important tectonic event when the channel was temporarily drained and sediment were sub aerially exposed. Uplift of the region has caused the local rivers to incise into the landscape, forming degradation terraces.  相似文献   

12.
Thermoluminescence (TL) dating, has been applied to 10 samples from the æolian Kalahari Sands of western Zimbabwe using the total bleach (additive dose) and regeneration techniques on coarse-grain quartz separates. The results suggest that the main phases of sand accumulation occurred between 10 and 96 ka. This Upper Pleistocene age is consistent with current opinions and argues against an important period of Holocene æolian activity. The oldest sands were found in the Victoria Falls area where they overlie a ferricrete horizon. Based on our age determinations, we were able to constrain the age of this horizon to between 96±8 and 160±23 ka, which approximately coincides with the Last Integlaciation in the high latitudes. The youngest ages were obtained for sands from the southeastern part of the Hwange dune field but our limited sampling permits assigning only a minimum age of ca 20 ka to the ferricrete horizon observed in this area. Thus, we cannot ascertain if this ferricrete horizon is isochronous with the one at Victoria Falls or if it developed during a younger humid phase.Dune building activity most probably occurred in recurrent cycles of aridity interspersed with periods during which æolian activity was limited or non-existent. Unfortunately, besides the ferricrete horizons, no other stratigraphical evidence of climatic fluctuation has been observed in the study area. However, it is possible that palæosols have been entirely eroded before the subsequent deposition of new sediment, resulting in an incomplete stratigraphical record. The possibilities and limitations of luminescence dating for elucidating phases of climatic fluctuation in such situations are discussed briefly. In addition, we noticed serious discrepancies between the results yielded by the different techniques that were used for determining the dose rate. Hence, further work is needed to validate the accuracy of our dose rate measurements that may cause our TL ages to be about 30% too young.  相似文献   

13.
《Geochimica et cosmochimica acta》1999,63(23-24):3939-3957
A simple geochemical balance of lateritization processes governing the development of several tens of meters of weathering profiles overlain by ferricretes is estimated on the basis of detailed mineralogical and geochemical data. The lateritic weathering mantle of the “Haut–Mbomou” area in Central Africa is composed of different weathering layers described from the base to the top of vertical profiles as a saprolite, a mottled clay layer, a soft nodular layer, a soft ferricrete, and a ferricrete in which kaolinite, gibbsite, goethite, and hematite occur in various quantities. Incongruent dissolution of kaolinite leads to the formation of gibbsite in the upper saprolite, whereas the hematite does not clearly replace the kaolinite according to an epigene process in the upper ferruginous layers of the profiles. Instead, that kaolinite is also transformed into gibbsite according to an incongruent dissolution under hydrated and reducing conditions induced by a relatively humid climatic pattern. The respective relations of the silica, iron, and aluminum balances and the Al substitution rate of the hematite on the one hand, and of RHG [RHG = 100 (hematite/hematite + goethite)] and the kaolinite on the other hand, to the consumption or the release of protons H+ permit differentiation of aggrading ferruginization and degradation processes operating in the different lateritic weathering profiles. The Al substitution rate of the Fe–oxyhydroxides varies according to the nature of lateritization processes, e.g., saprolitic weathering and aggrading ferruginization vs. degradation. The observations and results indicate that the ferruginization process of the weathering materials of parent rocks is not a simple ongoing process as often thought. This suggests that the actual lateritic weathering mantle of the Haut–Mbomou area may result from different stages of weathering and erosion during climatic changes.  相似文献   

14.
A brief history is presented here of the activities of the three most notable collectors of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic artefacts from Quaternary river terrace deposits in the Trent Valley, derived from archival material that has been largely ignored by previous research. Two, Mr. Fred W.G. Davey and Mr. George F. Turton, were local amateur collectors who did not publish the results of their work themselves and were reliant on collaboration with established archaeologists. The third, Mr. A. Leslie Armstrong, was an archaeologist best known for his work at Creswell Crags and Grimes Graves. Armstrong also made many Palaeolithic discoveries in the Trent Valley but published few details of his own material. Although such details of early Palaeolithic research in the Midlands and North of Britain are predominantly of historical interest only, they nonetheless provide a number of insights into the apparent lack of interest shown in areas north of the ‘Severn-Wash Line’ by collectors of Palaeolithic artefacts. Importantly, the dataset assembled by the Trent Valley Palaeolithic Project (TVPP) and summarized here is the only complete record of the known artefacts and archival material from the Trent, a proportion of which is now unavailable to the research community, having entered unknown private ownership since being studied. The second part of the paper relates this early research to current knowledge of the British Palaeolithic at its most northern fringes and to recent developments in reconstructing the Quaternary evolution of the River Trent.  相似文献   

15.
An anomalous Pb pattern occurs in drainage channel soils adjacent to the Elura Zn-Pb-Ag deposit and forms a fan shaped train extending at least 5 km on a mature weathering surface in semi-arid central-west New South Wales. This Pb pattern without a Zn component can be related to ferricrete fragments in the coarser fraction of the soil samples and has apparently formed as a result of mechanical dispersion of ferricrete from an earlier lateritic weathering profile. By considering residual Pb contents, after regressing for Fe content, the anomalous pattern can be extended and the contrast improved.  相似文献   

16.
This paper reports important findings relating to the chronology of Palaeolithic occupation, artefact typology and Quaternary fluvial deposits from a geoarchaeological watching brief undertaken over 17 years at Kimbridge Farm Quarry, Dunbridge, Hampshire. Sections were recorded and sampled and 198 artefacts, principally hand axes, were collected, with the primary aim of enhancing understanding of the geological context of the richest Lower Palaeolithic assemblage from Hampshire. Digital terrain modelling was used to characterize the three-dimensional form of the fluvial geology. Two gravel terraces have been confirmed: an upper Belbin Formation, which contained most of the archaeological artefacts, and a lower Mottisfont Formation. Results of specific note included recovery of artefacts demonstrating elements of ‘proto-Levallois’ technology from within the Belbin Gravel deposition. Fully developed Levallois technology was present across both the Belbin Gravel and the Mottisfont Formation at Dunbridge, the latter having an otherwise relatively sparse Palaeolithic content. Previously published OSL dating, supplemented by new data, has been combined with uplift modelling to suggest dates of MIS 9b and MIS 8, respectively, for these two gravels. This fits well with evidence from other sites in England and the near Continent for the timing of the earliest Levallois at around MIS 9. The results from the Dunbridge watching brief have demonstrated that this response provides a relatively cost effective method by which important scientific data can be salvaged from commercial quarrying.  相似文献   

17.
Methods for assessing natural background water quality of streams affected by historical mining are vigorously debated. An empirical method is proposed in which stream-specific estimation equations are generated from relationships between either pH or dissolved Cu concentration in stream water and the Fe/Cu concentration ratio in Fe-precipitates presently forming in the stream. The equations and Fe/Cu ratios for pre-mining deposits of alluvial ferricrete then were used to reconstruct estimated pre-mining longitudinal profiles for pH and dissolved Cu in three acidic streams in Montana, USA. Primary assumptions underlying the proposed method are that alluvial ferricretes and modern Fe-precipitates share a common origin, that the Cu content of Fe-precipitates remains constant during and after conversion to ferricrete, and that geochemical factors other than pH and dissolved Cu concentration play a lesser role in determining Fe/Cu ratios in Fe-precipitates. The method was evaluated by applying it in a fourth, naturally acidic stream unaffected by mining, where estimated pre-mining pH and Cu concentrations were similar to present-day values, and by demonstrating that inflows, particularly from unmined areas, had consistent effects on both the pre-mining and measured profiles of pH and Cu concentration. Using this method, it was estimated that mining has affected about 480 m of Daisy Creek, 1.8 km of Fisher Creek, and at least 1 km of Swift Gulch. Mean values of pH decreased by about 0.6 pH units to about 3.2 in Daisy Creek and by 1–1.5 pH units to about 3.5 in Fisher Creek. In Swift Gulch, mining appears to have decreased pH from about 5.5 to as low as 3.6. Dissolved Cu concentrations increased due to mining almost 40% in Daisy Creek to a mean of 11.7 mg/L and as much as 230% in Fisher Creek to 0.690 mg/L. Uncertainty in the fate of Cu during the conversion of Fe-precipitates to ferricrete translates to potential errors in pre-mining estimates of as much as 0.25 units for pH and 22% for dissolved Cu concentration. The method warrants further testing in other mined and unmined watersheds. Comparison of pre-mining water-quality estimates derived from the ferricrete and other methods in single watersheds would be particularly valuable. The method has potential for use in monitoring remedial efforts at mine sites with ferricrete deposits. A reasonable remediation objective might be realized when the downstream pattern of Fe/Cu ratios in modern streambed Fe-precipitates corresponds to the pattern in pre-mining alluvial ferricrete deposits along a stream valley.  相似文献   

18.
Although hardly applied to human palaeoecology, bird fossils offer a unique opportunity for quantitative studies of the hominin habitat. Here we reconstruct the Homo habitat niche across a large area of the Palaearctic, based on a database of avian fauna for Pleistocene sites. Our results reveal a striking association between Homo and habitat mosaics. A mix of open savannah-type woodland, wetlands and rocky habitats emerges as the predominant combination occupied by Homo across a wide geographical area, from the earliest populations of the Lower Palaeolithic to the latest hunter-gatherer communities of the Upper Palaeolithic. This observation is in keeping with the view that such landscapes have had long standing selective value for hominins.  相似文献   

19.
Precisely how Upper Palaeolithic human ecology was shaped by changing climate during the Pleniglacial remains a matter of debate, for while this generally cold period is now understood to include complex and often rapid flux in climate, there are still considerable difficulties in resolving climatic variations at particular times and places — derived from various lines of proxy evidence — with the high-resolution proxy record of temperature changes from oxygen isotope analysis of the Greenland ice-cores.In this paper we apply the methodology of large-scale flotation to newly excavated contexts from the Upper Palaeolithic (Gravettian) site of Dolní V?stonice II, Czech Republic, to explore the potential of charcoal — as a natural archive of environmental information — to offer information on environmental change towards the end of the middle pleniglacial during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3, between c. 32,500 and 31,200 Cal yr BP. The results of an analysis of ring widths and other anatomical features — interpreted alongside micromorphological data — indicate that this charcoal may capture a higher-resolution record of the changing climatic conditions during which humans were first expanding into these hitherto marginal ecologies and, consequently, shed new light upon the complexity of the lifeways that enabled them to do so.  相似文献   

20.
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