OSL chronology of a Palaeolithic site in a humid subtropical mountainous area of southeast China

The timing of Palaeolithic human activities in South China is still controversial because of the lack of a reliable chronology of archaeological sites.The Longdengshan Palaeolithic site(LPS),located close to the Wuyi Mountain of South China,represents the first discovered and scientifically excavated Middle Palaeolithic site in the Fujian Province.This site is of considerable significance for studying the diffusion and cultural connotation of early Homo sapiens in southern China.In this study,we present optically stimulated luminescence(OSL)ages obtained from medium-grained quartz collected at the LPS.The single-aliquot regenerative-dose measurements of red soil deposits collected at the same site yielded internally and stratigraphically consistent ages and similar errors,indicating a potential ability of the technique,and also reflecting the influence of various sedimentary facies on the test results.Our results indicate that the 38–63µm quartz grains were generally partially-bleached and had large values of over-dispersion in the palaeo-reticulated laterites of west Fujian.Some samples yielded unsatisfactory results,suggesting that the degree of bleaching of diluvial and alluvial deposits should be properly assessed before dating.We did not detect any enrichment/depletion of U,Th and radioactive disequilibrium.The effect of chemical weathering on the dose rate estimation was negligible.Therefore,we used a central age model and the maximum age model to calculate the age of two samples,respectively,and the minimum age model to calculate the ages of the rest of the samples.The OSL ages of the samples ranged from 27.09±2.30 ka to 54.65±7.39 ka for the 38–63µm quartz size fraction,and roughly corresponded to the Marine Isotope Stage 3.In addition,three ages out of five are based on the calculation of minimum ages in this research,which needs to be further verified by other dating methods.

Origin of soft-sediment deformation structures in Nihewan Basin

The Nihewan Basin is a rift basin at the junction of northern Shanxi Province and northwestern Hebei Province in north China.The basin is known for its rich paleontological fossils and ancient human remains.There are also abundant soft-sediment deformation structures(SSDS)in the thick lacustrine sediments.Previously,most SSDS have been interpreted as ice-edge features or ignored entirely.Recently,the authors have carried out several field surveys in the Nihewan Basin and found that many SSDS are sandwiched between normal lacustrine strata at multiple sections.In the excavation pit at the 10th Locality of Maliang Site(ML10),10 horizontal SSDS layers and two vertically developed geological features have been identified.Based on genesis analysis and related criteria,these features are divided into two categories:cryoturbation-triggered SSDS and earthquake-triggered SSDS.Among them,a special type of ancient ice-wedge pseudomorph(SSDS-8)of ML10 is recognized in the basin for the first time.The other 9 horizontal SSDS are mainly caused by earthquake-triggered liquefaction and slumping.They can be further divided into 14 seismic event layers.These findings indicate that the tectonic activity in the Nihewan Basin is very strong and frequent,and there were cold periods in the geological history of the basin.At the same time,the SSDS with distinct morphological characteristics and stable horizontal distribution in the basin can be used as an important indicator of stratigraphic correlation.