Stratigraphy and TL Dating of Paleolithic Sites in the Luonan Basin,China

Between 1995 and 1999 the Longyadong cave site and 50 open air Paleolithic sites were investigated and excavated in the Luonan Basin of China. A total of 1?751 stone artifacts were collected from open air sites, and fossils from about 20 animal species as well as 65?000 lithic artifacts were excavated from the cave site. This paper provides a preliminary study of site lithic stratigraphics in their geological context as well as the results of thermoluminescence (TL) dating. The TL dates of five soil samples place the sites into the middle to late period of the Middle Pleistocene (Q 2 2—3 ). Upon further taking into account strata relationships, three cultural periods were identified in Longyadong cave. When compared with the TL dates and stratigraphy from Zhoukoudian Locality 1, loess deposits in Shaanxi Luochuan, red earth in Anhui and deep sea records, Longyadong is in the range of 500—250 kyr, approximately the same timeframe as Zhoukoudian Locality 1.

THICKNESS RESPONSE OF β DOSE-RATE IN TL DATING OF POTTERY FRAGMENTS

Generally, the walls of ceramic ware are thin and the sample to be used for TL dating has to be collected from 1￣2mm under the surface.This call introduce significant error into the dating method.Therefore,the results of a series of simulated experiments are reported on the build-up effect of the internal β dose response in different thicknesses of pottery fragments (involving tile and brick).Correction factors,corresponding to different thicknesses,and correction 'depths' are proposed in terms of the experimental findings which may be incorporatd into the dating methods.

Late Pleistocene glaciation of the Hulifang Massif of Gongwang mountains in Yunnan Province

Late Pleistocene glaciation was restricted to only a few high mountains in eastern China. The Gongwang mountains constitute one of the typical places once glaciated. Geomorphic mapping of the area and the TL dating provides evidence for at least four distinct glaciations. YJT-Ⅰ glacial advance occurred about 100 ka BP and two TL absolute ages （101,100 ± 7780 a BP; 104,000± 8300 a BP） indicate this advance happened during the Penultimale Glaciation. The early stage glacial advance （YJT-Ⅱ advance） during the last glaciation occurred about 40,920 ± 3400 a BP. The last glacial maximum advance （YJT-Ⅲ advance） about 18-25 ka BP, which sustained by two TL ages （18,230 ±1420 a BP; 25,420 ± 2110 a BP）. The Penultimale and the early stage glaciations were more extensive and the last glacial maximum （LGM） and the late-glacial period （YJT-Ⅳ advance, 10 ka BP） were progressively less extensive. Correlated with the other mountains in eastern China, these glacial advances in the Gongwang mountains just like the advances in the western part such as Diancang mountains, Yulong mountains of Yunnan Province and the glacier series are more complete than the adjacent mid-latitude regions such as Taibai mountain and Taiwan mountains and are roughly representative of climate changes during the last glacial cycle in Yunnan Province.

Environmental change since mid-Pleistocene recorded in Shangshan achaeological site of Zhejiang

At about 173 ka BP of the late period of mid-Pleistocene, the second terrace of the river had been formed as a result of uplift happening in Shangshan area because of the climate, sea level change and tectonic action. Between 173-75 ka BP, aeolian deposited on the terrace, a layer of reticulate red clayey soil about 80-100 cm thick deposited and developed under the warmer and higher temperature. In the last glacial period, the drop of the temperature and the decrease of the precipitation induced the dust-storms increased, A layer of Xiashu loess about 1.0-1.5 m thick accumulated on Shangshan terrace in the last glacial, which has the reticulate red clayey soil buried. At the beginning of the Holocene （11500 a BP-）, temperature went higher gradually and precipitation got more, the pre-persons moved on the Shangshan terrace （11,400-8600 a BP）, which is one of the most important archaeological sites, and can connect the paleolithic culture with Neolithic culture. It could be assumed from the results that the lower reaches of the Yangtze River are the home of rice cultivation, too. The lower place to the west of the Shangshan site experienced the two cycles process of the fluvial facies and the lacustrine facies, indicating that the water source of the pre-historical Shangshan is the river water or lake water. Two AMS 14C age proved the water source disappeared more than 1000 years ago.

Effects of light exposure on the TL dating of pottery

Bleaching experiments on Chinese pottery fine grains were conducted under sunlight and laboratory light conditions. It is found that the thermoluminescence (TL) at high temperatures can be bleached significantly, but no effects were observed on TL signals used for the pre-dose dating technique. It is concluded that the pre-dose dating technique can be applied to samples even after light exposures. Pottery samples of Tang Dynasty and New Stone Age were studied. Modifications to routine pre-dose dating technique are proposed with adding preheat procedures and using saturation exponential fitting for the sensitivity change data. The modified technique can extend the dating range to New Stone Age.

THERMOLUMINESCENT AUTHENTICATION OF ANCIENT CHINESE POTTERY

A rapid and effective TL technique to authenticate ancient Chinese pottery is proposed in the paper. Twenty three samples, ranging in age from 200 to 9000 a,including multiple styles and shapes and drawn from diverse and remote areas in China have been used to establish the typical annual dose as 5.5mGy/a and its associated deviation. Ten unauthenticated samples are then appraised using the technique which,in nearly all cases, leads to satisfactory results.

Tectonic activity and earthquake risk in the Chengnanhe fault zone in Weihai city,Shandong province,China,obtained by using an integrated prospecting technique in geophysics and geology

For city planning and reducing potential earthquake risk,it’s necessary to detect the information of the buried faults in an urban area especially,including the location and activities.An integrated technique with geophysical and geological methods,including the shallow seismic reflection profile,electrical resistivity measurement,geologic borehole section,and exploration trench,was used to detect the Chengnanhe fault,which is one of the two main faults passing through the Weihai urban area in Shandong province,China.The results show that it is a normal fault striking with E-W direction,and it is relatively inactive and stable.By using the thermoluminescence(TL)dating,we found that the Chengnanhe fault initiated in mid-Pleistocene and there was no offset after late Pleistocene.Such an integrated technique with multiple geological and geophysical methods provides a significant assessment of earthquake risk for city planning in urban areas.