Mass spectrometric U-series dating of the Chaoxian hominin site at Yinshan

Mass spectrometric U-series dating of the Chaoxian hominin site at Yinshan

Guanjun Shen, Yingshan Fang, James L. Bischoff, Yue-xing Feng, Jian-xin
Zhao
Quaternary International, In Press

Abstract

The fossils of Chaoxian hominin, widely accepted as representing archaic
Homo sapiens in eastern China, were recovered from the middle or
slightly higher levels of Layer 2 deposits of a collapsed cave at
Yinshan, Anhui Province. Results of mass spectrometric U-series dating
of intercalated speleothem calcites are presented. Based mainly on four
broadly coeval calcite samples, the hominin fossils should be bracketed
in the range of 310–360 ka or somewhat older. These ages are much
older than the previous estimate at 160–200 ka based on the U-series
dating of fossil teeth and bones, and may be cited as supporting
evidence for an earlier H. erectus–archaic H. sapiens interface in
China.