Dating the Neanderthal environment: Detailed luminescence chronology of a palaeochannel sediment core at the Palaeolithic site of Lichtenberg in the Lower Saxony, northern Germany

Rahimzadeh N, Hein M, Urban B, Weiss M, Tanner DC, Khosravichenar A, Tsukamoto S, Lauer T (2024)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2024

Journal

Quaternary Geochronology Elsevier

Book Volume: 83

Article Number: 101564

DOI: 10.1016/j.quageo.2024.101564

Abstract

Northern Germany is famous for its numerous Neanderthal (Middle Palaeolithic) archaeological sites and well-preserved palaeoclimate records. Nevertheless, our understanding of how hominins responded to climate fluctuations and adapted to changing environments in this region remains limited because there are only a few reliable, highly-resolved chronological frameworks of long stratigraphic successions. Most of the Middle Palaeolithic sites in this region lack a reliable chronostratigraphy beyond the radiocarbon dating range. In this study, we present a high-resolution optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronology derived from a ∼21 m long sediment core (Li-BPa) that was drilled in close proximity to the known Neanderthal site of Lichtenberg. Quartz OSL dating was applied to the upper 6.5 m of the core. Subsequently, the obtained quartz OSL ages were compared with feldspar post-infrared (IR) IRSL (pIRIR) measured at 290 °C (pIRIR290), pulsed IR50 (pre-pIRIR225), and pulsed pIRIR225 ages to select a suitable feldspar signal to date older samples. A comparison of the quartz and feldspar ages indicates that only fading-corrected pulsed IR50 (pre-pIRIR225) and pIRIR225 ages agree well with quartz OSL ages. Finally, the age framework of the sediment sequence was established based on the 11 quartz OSL ages and 23 fading-corrected pulsed IR50 (pre-pIRIR225) and pulsed pIRIR225 ages. The resulting Bacon age-depth model agrees with litho- and biostratigraphic designations, indicating that the whole sequence was deposited between ca. 275 ka and ca. 24 ka, corresponding to the Saalian to Weichselian periods.

Involved external institutions

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology / Max-Planck-Institut für evolutionäre Anthropologie DE Germany (DE) Leibniz-Institut für Angewandte Geophysik (LIAG) DE Germany (DE) Leuphana Universität Lüneburg DE Germany (DE) Universität Leipzig DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Rahimzadeh, N., Hein, M., Urban, B., Weiss, M., Tanner, D.C., Khosravichenar, A.,... Lauer, T. (2024). Dating the Neanderthal environment: Detailed luminescence chronology of a palaeochannel sediment core at the Palaeolithic site of Lichtenberg in the Lower Saxony, northern Germany. Quaternary Geochronology, 83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2024.101564

MLA:

Rahimzadeh, Neda, et al. "Dating the Neanderthal environment: Detailed luminescence chronology of a palaeochannel sediment core at the Palaeolithic site of Lichtenberg in the Lower Saxony, northern Germany." Quaternary Geochronology 83 (2024).

BibTeX: Download