DATING OF THE HOMINID (HOMO NEANDERTHALENSIS) REMAINS ACCUMULATION FROM EL SIDRÓN CAVE (PILOÑA, ASTURIAS, NORTH SPAIN): AN EXAMPLE OF A MULTI-METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE DATING OF UPPER PLEISTOCENE SITES

• Published in: Archaeometry 2010-08, Vol.52 (4), p.680-705
• Main Authors: De TORRES, T., ORTIZ, J. E., GRÜN, R., EGGINS, S., VALLADAS, H., MERCIER, N., TISNÉRAT-LABORDE, N., JULIÁ, R., SOLER, V., MARTÍNEZ, E., SÁNCHEZ-MORAL, S., CAÑAVERAS, J. C., LARIO, J., BADAL, E., LALUEZA-FOX, C., ROSAS, A., SANTAMARÍA, D., De La RASILLA, M., FORTEA, J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 14C; AAR; Archaeology and Prehistory; DATING; ESR; Europe; Excavation and methods; Humanities and Social Sciences; Laboratory methods; Lower and Middle palaeolithic; Methodology and general studies; NEANDERTHAL; OSL; Palaeolithic and mesolithic; Prehistory and protohistory; South West Europe; SPAIN; U/TH
• ISSN: 0003-813X; 1475-4754
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4754.2009.00491.x

The age of Neanderthal remains and associated sediments from El Sidrón cave has been obtained through different dating methods (14CAMS, U/TH, OSL, ESR and AAR) and samples (charcoal debris, bone, tooth dentine, stalagmitic flowstone, carbonate‐rich sediments, sedimentary quartz grains, tooth enamel and land snail shells). Detrital Th contamination rendered Th/U dating analyses of flowstone unreliable. Recent 14C contamination produced spurious age‐values from charcoal samples as well as from inadequately pretreated tooth samples. Most consistent 14C dates are grouped into two series: one between 35 and 40 ka and the other between 48 and 49 ka. Most ESR and AAR samples yielded concordant ages, ranging between 39 and 45 ka; OSL dating results permitted adequate bracketing of the sedimentary layer that contained the human remains. Our results emphasize the value of multi‐dating approaches for the establishment of reliable chronologies of human remains.