PALAEO-05481; No of Pages 9
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx
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Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / p a l a e o
Astronomical dating of the Xiantai, Donggutuo and Maliang Paleolithic sites in the
Nihewan Basin (North China) and implications for early human evolution in
East Asia
Hong Ao a,b,⁎, Chenglong Deng a, Mark J. Dekkers c, Qingsong Liu a, Li Qin d, Guoqiao Xiao e, Hong Chang b
a
Paleomagnetism and Geochronology Laboratory (SKL-LE), Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xian 710075, China
c
Paleomagnetic Laboratory ‘Fort Hoofddijk’, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Budapestlaan 17, 3584 CD Utrecht, The Netherlands
d
Chongqing Three Gorges Institute of Paleoanthropology, China Three Gorges Museum, Chongqing 400015, China
e
State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology of Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
b
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 28 August 2009
Received in revised form 20 July 2010
Accepted 23 July 2010
Available online xxxx
Keywords:
Astronomical chronology
Paleolithic site
Nihewan Basin
Pleistocene
Human evolution
a b s t r a c t
Magnetostratigraphic studies have established a first-order chronological framework for the Paleolithic sites
in the Nihewan Basin (North China), which enabled tracking early human evolution in East Asia. However, to
fully understand how well early humans were adapted to climate change, a truly precise dating of the
Paleolithic sites is required. Here, we established a high-resolution astronomical timescale for the Xiantai
and Donggutuo fluvio-lacustrine successions at the eastern margin of the Nihewan Basin employing lowfield magnetic susceptibility (χ) as a climatic indicator, aiming to further refine the ages of the Xiantai,
Donggutuo and Maliang Paleolithic sites. Starting from an initial age model constrained by geomagnetic
reversals, larger-scale χ cycles were firstly tuned to orbital obliquity using an automatic orbital tuning
method. This first-order tuning was followed by simultaneously tuning χ to both obliquity and precession.
The finally tuned χ records can be correlated almost cycle-by-cycle with the quartz grain-size record of the
Chinese loess sequence and the marine δ18O record. The astronomically estimated age of the Xiantai
Paleolithic site is ca. 1.48 Ma, corresponding to paleosol layer S20 of the Chinese loess sequences or marine
oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 49, an interglacial period. The astronomical estimate for the Donggutuo
Paleolithic site ranges from ~ 1.06 Ma to 1.12 Ma, corresponding to paleosol/loess layers S11–S12 or MIS 31–
33, spanning both interglacial and glacial periods. The astronomically estimated age of the Maliang
Paleolithic site is ~0.79 Ma, corresponding to loess layer L8 or MIS 20, a glacial period. This astronomical
finding further implies that early humans may have permanently occupied China as far north as 40oN since
at least 1.1 Ma, and before this time the occupation may be intermittent.
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
The Nihewan Basin is an inland basin between the North China
Plain and the Inner Mongolian Plateau, ~200 km west of Beijing
(Fig. 1). Well-developed thick fluvio-lacustrine deposits, which
contain abundant Pleistocene Paleolithic sites and mammalian faunas,
are exposed in the basin (Barbour, 1924; Qiu, 2000; Xie, 2006; Xie
et al., 2006; Zhu et al., 2007; Deng et al., 2008; Dennell, 2009; Keates,
2010). The Nihewan Basin has been a major focus of investigations
into early human occupation in East Asia, which contains most early
Pleistocene hominin or Paleolithic sites in East Asia. Because of
considerable progresses in recent studies, our understanding of a
series of important issues has notably increased. These include early
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: + 86 29 88329660.
E-mail address: [email protected] (H. Ao).
human occupation in East Asia in the Old World, the infilling history of
the Nihewan Basin, and the chronological sequence of the Nihewan
faunas (Schick and Dong, 1993; Keates, 2000, 2010; Løvlie et al., 2001;
Peterson et al., 2003; Wang et al., 2004; Gao et al., 2005; Zhu et al.,
2007 and references therein; Deng et al., 2008; Li et al., 2008; Dennell,
2009).
Up to now, the chronology of the Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan
Basin is largely obtained through linear interpolation between
geomagnetic reversals (i.e., magnetostratigraphy). Since the lithology
varies across the strata, the sedimentation rate (SR) may have changed
accordingly and some potential faulties and disconformities may exist
as well. Thus, the initial magnetostratigraphy would result in potential
discrepancies of the estimated ages, even possibly yielding incorrect
information about the environmental conditions of early human
occupation (e.g., during interglacial or glacial periods). Therefore,
a robust chronology with higher precision should be helpful for
establishing the mode of early Pleistocene human occupation in the
0031-0182/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.07.022
Please cite this article as: Ao, H., et al., Astronomical dating of the Xiantai, Donggutuo and Maliang Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin
(North China) and implications for early human..., Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2010), doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.07.022
2
H. Ao et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx
Fig. 1. Schematic map showing the Loess Plateau, Nihewan Basin and the Paleolithic sites mentioned in this paper. The Yellow River is the major river in northern China. The Lvliang
and Taihang Mountains are the major mountain ranges in northern China.
Nihewan Basin, as well as mainland East Asia (Dennell and Roebroeks,
2005).
Astronomical tuning provides an alternative method to construct
timescales which, in principle, have a better accuracy than the
conventional timescales that are often based on linear interpolation
between biozones and/or geomagnetic reversals and/or radiometrically dated calibration points. During the past decades, astronomical
calibration of sedimentary cycles has gained great successes for
assigning absolute ages to marine (e.g., Raymo et al., 1989; Ruddiman
et al., 1989; Shackleton et al., 1990; Hilgen, 1991a,b; Hilgen et al.,
2003; Abels et al., 2005; Pälike et al., 2006a,b; Hüsing et al., 2010),
Chinese loess (e.g., Ding et al., 1994; Lu et al., 1999; Heslop et al., 2000;
Sun et al., 2006a,b) and other continental deposits (e.g., van Vugt et
al., 1998; Aziz et al., 2000, 2003, 2004). For the Nihewan fluviolacustrine strata, recent studies have suggested that the concentration-dependent magnetic parameters (e.g., magnetic susceptibility
(χ), saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM)) can be
considered as reliable proxies of the climatic change (Wang et al.,
2008; Ao et al., 2010). Also, some climatic indexes (e.g., χ, SIRM and
bulk grain size) are shown to correlate well to the marine δ18O record
(Li et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2008), implying that there was continuous
sedimentation without significant hiatus. Further, global climate may
have influenced the regional climate in the Nihewan Basin. These
recent observations allow developing a refined timescale for the
Nihewan fluvio-lacustrine strata using orbital tuning approaches.
In this study, we established two astronomical timescales for
the Nihewan fluvio-lacustrine strata of Early to Middle Pleistocene
age by tuning the χ records from the Xiantai and Donggutuo sections
to the Earth's orbital parameters. The astronomically calibrated ages
of the Xiantai, Donggutuo and Maliang Paleolithic sites not only
guarantee a more accurate and precise age determination of the sites,
but also allow linking them to individual glacial or interglacial
conditions. This further provides potential explanation(s) for the
causes of human expansion and occupation in East Asia during the
Pleistocene.
2. General setting
The fluvio-lacustrine strata in the Nihewan Basin, named the
Nihewan Formation, represent the type section of the early Pleistocene in North China and have attracted increasing attention from
geologists, paleontologists, geochronologists and paleoanthropologists (Barbour, 1924; Young, 1950; Schick et al., 1991; Yuan et al.,
1996; Qiu, 2000; Zhu et al., 2001; Pei, 2002; Zhu et al., 2003, 2004; Gao
et al., 2005; Deng et al., 2006; Xie, 2006; Xie et al., 2006; Zhu et al.,
2007; Deng et al., 2007, 2008; Dennell, 2009; Pei et al., 2009; Keates,
2010). Magnetostratigraphic study suggested that it began to
accumulate at about 2.6 Ma (Deng et al., 2008), almost synchronous
with the onset of thick loess deposition on the Chinese Loess Plateau
(Ding et al., 2002) and in the central Asia (Dodonov and Baiguzina,
1995).
At present, the basin shows a moderate semi-arid climate. The
regional climate (mean annual temperature of 6.4–7.3 °C; annual
rainfall of 359–418 mm) is characterized by cold and dry winters
under the influence of the East Asian winter monsoon. In contrast,
summers are relatively warm and humid under the influence of the
East Asian summer monsoon (the rainfall during summer amounts to
80% of the total annual rainfall) (Chen, 1988). The Nihewan Basin is
located at the northeastern edge of the Chinese Loess Plateau (Fig. 1).
Like the Chinese Loess Plateau, it would have been very sensitive to
precipitation changes during the Pleistocene as well. During the last
glacial maximum, the precipitation in this area is considered to be up
to 75% below the present-day rainfall, due to strong winter and weak
summer monsoons (Liu et al., 1995; Maher and Thompson, 1995;
Florindo et al., 1999).
The Xiantai (40º13.126' N, 114º39.623' E), also named Dachangliang
(Pei, 2002), is an outcropping section at the eastern margin of the basin
(Fig. 1b). Here the Nihewan Formation has a thickness of 64.5 m, which
mainly comprises massive grayish-green silts/clays and grayish-yellow
silts/clays, intercalated with fine-grained sands. It is capped by the
Holocene soil (S0, 0.4 m) and the last glacial loess (L1, 5.75 m) and the
last interglacial soil (S1, 2.3 m). It records a geomagnetic polarity pattern
from the early Olduvai normal subchron to the late Brunhes normal
chron (Deng et al., 2006). Except for an erosional hiatus at the base of the
section (69.75 m), no significant sedimentation gap is found in this
fluvio-lacustrine succession. Our tuning is thus based on the fluviolacustrine succession between 19 and 68.4 m; i.e., the lowermost
portion of the Xiantai section below the hiatus is not tuned (Fig. 2). The
Xiantai section is best known for the excavation of early Pleistocene
stone artefacts (Pei, 2002). The Xiantai Paleolithic site was discovered
and excavated in 2000, yielding 33 stone artifacts, including 1 scraper, 4
cores, 16 flakes and 12 chunks (Pei, 2002). In addition, 27 mammalian
bone fragments and some freshwater bivalve shells were unearthed
from this site. However, it is hard to identify the mammalian species due
to the broken nature of the fragments (Pei, 2002).
The Donggutuo section (40º13.417' N, 114º40.267' E) is about
1.5 km northeast of the Xiantai section (Fig. 1b). Here the Nihewan
Formation has a thickness of 37.4 m, capped by the aeolian S0 (0.3 m),
L1 (4.5 m) and S1 (2.9 m) and underlain by Jurassic breccia (Wang et
al., 2005). It records a continuous geomagnetic polarity pattern from
the late Matuyama reversed chron to the late Brunhes normal chron
(Wang et al., 2005). This section contains two Paleolithic sites:
Please cite this article as: Ao, H., et al., Astronomical dating of the Xiantai, Donggutuo and Maliang Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin
(North China) and implications for early human..., Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2010), doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.07.022
H. Ao et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx
3
Fig. 2. Xiantai section. (a) Lithostratigraphy, (b) detrended magnetic susceptibility (χ, 6-point running averages), (c) polarity zones, (d) correlation to the geomagnetic polarity time
scale, (e) estimated sedimentation rate (SR), and (f) detrended χ. The red points in (b) and (f) represent the added time control points. The original lithostratigraphy,
magnetostratigraphy and χ data are from Deng et al. (2006). Detrending was done with a locally weighted fit (least-squared error). (g) Stacked record of mean grain size of quartz
(MGSQ) from the Zhaojiachuan Chinese loess (Sun et al., 2006b). (h) The deep-sea δ18O record from 57 globally distributed sites (LR04 stack) (Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005).
Comparison of filtered (i) obliquity and (j) precession bands from the Xiantai χ (black lines) with the theoretical orbital obliquity (8-kyr lagged) and precession (5-kyr lagged) (red
lines). Band-pass filters with central frequencies of 0.02439 and 0.04762 kyr−1, and bandwidths of 0.004 and 0.015 kyr−1 were used to isolate the 41 and 21-kyr components of the χ
time series. e, geomagnetic excursion; B, Brunhes; J, Jaramillo; M, Matuyama; O, Olduvai; K, Kamikatsura. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader
is referred to the web version of this article.)
Donggutuo and Maliang sites. The Donggutuo site is one of the most
extensively excavated and prolific sites in the Nihewan Basin. More
than 10,000 stone artifacts have been excavated from this site,
accompanying a large quantity of mammalian fossils, including
Myospalax cf. fontanieri, Canis sp., Palaeoloxodon sp., Equus sanmeniensis, Coelodonta antiquitatis, Bison sp., and Gazella sp. (Wei et al.,
1985; Jia and Wei, 1987; Schick et al., 1991; Wei, 1991; Schick and
Dong, 1993). The artifact layer (41.5–45 m) is about 3.5 m thick and
can be divided into three levels (Fig. 3a). The upper level (43.5–45 m)
consists of fine silts associated with sands; the middle level (43–
43.5 m) consists of pebble conglomerates associated with sandy silts
and grayish-yellow fine-grained sands; the lower level (41.5–43 m)
consists of sandy silts. Its context was initially assumed to be primary
(Jia and Wei, 1987). Later studies proposed a possible allochthonous
origin of the archaeological materials, based on the occurrence of
well-rounded large size gravels up to boulder size (Keates, 2000).
However, recent paleomagnetic and mineral-magnetic studies suggested that the deposits here were primarily of autochthonous origin
(Wang et al., 2005; Wang, 2007). Although more evidence is required
to settle this question of origin, in the present study we tentatively
assign an autochthonous origin to the archaeological materials in line
with the most recent information, and in turn discuss the possible
implications for early human evolution. The excavation of the Maliang
site has yielded 200 stone artifacts associated with some mammal
faunas as well, such as Palaeoloxodon sp., Equus sp., and C. antiquitatis
(Wei, 1991).
3. Astronomical chronology
3.1. Proxy index of East Asian summer monsoon intensity
An astronomical timescale can only be established by recognizing
characteristic cycles of orbital forcing in lithology or other proxies
reflecting climate changes. For the Nihewan Formation, the χ
variations mainly reflect the changes in concentration of magnetic
minerals, which primarily result from preservation/dissolution cycles
of detrital magnetic minerals in alternating oxic and anoxic
depositional conditions (Ao et al., 2010). During the periods with a
strong East Asian summer monsoon, there exist high lake levels, high
biogenic productivity with abundant organic matter, which would
result in anoxic diagenetic conditions and magnetic mineral dissolution in the sediments (Ao et al., 2010). During the periods with a weak
East Asian summer monsoon, however, lowered lake levels and
decreased biogenic productivity and related organic matter content
would lead to oxic conditions and well preserved detrital magnetic
minerals instead (Ao et al., 2010). Thus the χ of the Nihewan fluviolacustrine sediments can be used as a proxy reflecting the East Asian
summer monsoon intensity in the basin. The strong and weak
summer monsoon periods can be represented by the low- and highχ units, respectively. A similar relationship between χ and climate
was also reported in other lake sediments, such as Lac du Bouchet
(France) (Thouveny et al., 1994; Williams et al., 1996). The present
relationship between χ and Asian summer monsoon differs from that
Please cite this article as: Ao, H., et al., Astronomical dating of the Xiantai, Donggutuo and Maliang Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin
(North China) and implications for early human..., Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2010), doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.07.022
4
H. Ao et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx
Fig. 3. Donggutuo section. (a) Lithostratigraphy, (b) detrended χ (6-point running averages), (c) polarity zones, (d) correlation to the geomagnetic polarity time scale, (e) estimated
sedimentation rate (SR), and (f) detrended χ. The red points in (b) and (f) represent the added time control points. The original lithostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy and χ data
are from Wang et al. (2005). Detrending was done with a locally weighted fit (least-squared error). (g) Stacked record of mean grain size of quartz (MGSQ) from the Zhaojiachuan
Chinese loess (Sun et al., 2006b). (h) The deep-sea δ18O record from 57 globally distributed sites (LR04 stack) (Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005). Comparison of filtered (i) obliquity and
(j) precession bands from the Donggutuo χ (black lines) with the theoretical orbital obliquity (8-kyr lagged) and precession (5-kyr lagged) (red lines). Band-pass filters with central
frequencies of 0.02439 and 0.04762 kyr−1, and bandwidths of 0.004 and 0.015 kyr−1 were used to isolate the 41 and 21-kyr components of the χ time series. e, geomagnetic
excursion; B, Brunhes; J, Jaramillo; M, Matuyama; S, Santa Rosa.
observed in the Chinese loess-paleosol sequences, although both
types of sediments are related to the Asian summer monsoon. For the
Chinese loess-paleosol sequences, strong summer monsoon would
enhance (rather than decrease) χ through pedogenic processes (e.g.,
Zhou et al., 1990).
3.2. Tuning target
For the establishment of an astronomical timescale, the selection
of suitable target curves is critical. In this study, we selected the orbital
obliquity and precession from the La2004 astronomical solution
(Laskar et al., 2004) as the tuning targets. This orbital solution
computed with present-day input values for the dynamical ellipticity
of the Earth and tidal dissipation in the evolution of the Earth–Moon
system, is demonstrated to have an accurate solution with respect to
the geological record (e.g., Pälike et al., 2006a,b; Tian et al., 2008;
Hüsing et al., 2010). Although a large number of chronological and
paleoclimatic records has been retrieved from marine and continental
sediments, the problem of the phase lag between orbital parameters
and related climatic change still remains unsolved. During the present
tuning procedure, we employ the SPECMAP-defined lags of 8 and 5kyr (Imbrie et al., 1984) for obliquity and precession respectively,
which have also been used to tune the Chinese loess (located on the
southwest of the Nihewan Basin) (Ding et al., 1994, 2002; Sun et al.,
2006a,b). If more exact lagging phases are determined in future
studies, only a small re-calibration is needed to update our
astronomical timescales.
3.3. Calibration and evaluation of the astronomical timescale
In the present study, we employ the orbital tuning method
modified by Yu and Ding (1998) to generate the astronomical
timescales for the Xiantai and Donggutuo sections, which involves
tuning the χ records to the orbital obliquity and precession. As a first
step in the tuning, an initial timescale for each χ is established by
linear interpolation between geomagnetic reversals. The ages of the
Matuyama/Brunhes (M/B) boundary, the top and base of the Jaramillo
subchron and the top of the Olduvai subchron derived from
ATNTS2004 (Astronomically Tuned Neogene Time Scale 2004,
Lourens et al., 2004) are used to establish the initial timescale for
the Xiantai section. Note that the starting layer (as illustrated by the
orange line at the base of the section, see Fig. 2) of our tuning and the
layer representing the top of the Olduvai subchron are more than 1
and 2 m above the hiatus, respectively. The ages of the M/B boundary,
the top and base of the Jaramillo subchron (Lourens et al., 2004) are
used to establish the initial timescale for the Donggutuo section. In the
second step, we repeatedly tune the 41-kyr frequency component in
the initial χ data (Figs. 2b and 3b) to the orbital obliquity (8-kyr
lagged) by manually adding new or deleting old time control points in
order to achieve a satisfactory correlation between them. This tuning
results in an intermediate timescale for the χ records. In the third
step, we repeatedly tune the intermediate χ records to both the
orbital obliquity (8-kyr lagged) and precession (5-kyr lagged) curves
by manually adding new or deleting old time control points and by
assuming a constant SR between the nearest calibration points, in
order that both the 41-kyr and 21-kyr frequency components in the χ
records are highly correlated with their targets. During the orbital
tuning processes, selection of suited time control points is critical for
generating an accurate age model. An effective way of determining
the tie points is to consider additionally the consistency between the
monsoon proxy and the marine oxygen isotope record (Sun et al.,
2006a). For the Nihewan Formation, the interglacial periods with a
strong summer monsoon are generally characterized by low-χ units,
while the glacial periods with a weak summer monsoon are generally
characterized by high-χ units (Li et al., 2008; Ao et al., 2010). Thus we
generally select the glacial/interglacial (i.e., high-χ/low-χ) boundaries as time control points (Figs. 2f and 3f). All together, at the end of
the iterative tuning procedure we select 47 and 18 time control points
to establish the resulted astronomical timescale for the Xiantai and
Donggutuo sections, respectively (see Tables 1 and 2 for the final tie
points adopted). Note that various alternative tuning options have
initially been considered. However, these lacked internal consistency
between the χ record and the stacked global marine oxygen isotope
record (Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005) or resulted in less consistent
changes in SR and were thus discarded.
The final version of the astronomical timescales of the Xiantai and
Donggutuo sections and a comparison of their 41-kyr and 21-kyr
frequency components with the obliquity and precession curves are
Please cite this article as: Ao, H., et al., Astronomical dating of the Xiantai, Donggutuo and Maliang Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin
(North China) and implications for early human..., Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2010), doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.07.022
H. Ao et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx
Table 1
Added time control points of the Xiantai section.
Depth (m)
Age (ka)
Depth (m)
Age (ka)
19
19.95
21
26.75
27.7
29.85
30.7
32.3
32.8
36.6
37.5
38
39.5
40.1
41
42.05
43.25
44.35
45.15
45.55
46.2
47.05
47.8
49.1
766
789
813
868
894
916
925
959
970
999
1010
1031
1061
1078
1102
1124
1150
1187
1218
1235
1256
1285
1297
1316
50.75
51.75
52.85
53.25
53.9
54.9
55.45
59.45
60.15
60.5
60.85
61.3
61.7
62.2
63.3
64.05
64.95
65.9
66.25
66.65
67.35
67.7
68.35
1344
1362
1385
1402
1426
1451
1466
1489
1504
1524
1539
1572
1595
1607
1633
1653
1677
1699
1709
1722
1748
1769
1800
shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Generally, the obliquity and precession (black
lines) filtered from the resulted Xiantai and Donggutuo χ records are
well correlated with their target curves (red lines) and show similar
amplitude modulation (Figs. 2i-j, 3i-j). The correlation coefficient at
obliquity is 0.82 for the Xiantai section and 0.84 for the Donggutuo
section. The correlation coefficient at precession is 0.80 for both
Xiantai and Donggutuo sections. Although good phase matches are
expected as a result of the tuning, the amplitude matches are tuningindependent.
A simple but very effective means of testing our astronomical
tuning is to compare the astronomically calibrated χ records with the
stacked mean grain size of quartz (MGSQ) of Chinese loess sequence
(Sun et al., 2006b) and the marine δ18O record (Lisiecki and Raymo,
2005). Both the tuned Xiantai and Donggutuo χ records are correlated
almost cycle-by-cycle with the quartz grain-size record of the Chinese
loess sequence and the marine δ18O record (Figs. 2f–h, 3f–h),
providing strong evidence for the climatic sensitivity of χ, the
patterns of orbital forcing in χ, the absence of hiatus, and the
reliability of our timescales.
Examination of the estimated ages of geomagnetic reversal
boundaries is further used to evaluate our timescales. Keep in mind
that the ages of the reversals have been selected to establish an initial
timescale, but during the tuning procedure they are not fixed. After
our final tuning they did not change much. In our tuned timescale, the
ages of the M/B boundary, the top and the base Jaramillo subchron and
the top of the Olduvai subchron within the Xiantai section are 0.78,
1.00, 1.06 and 1.77 Ma, respectively (Fig. 2d). The ages of the M/B
boundary and the top and the base of the Jaramillo subchron within
5
the Donggutuo section are 0.78, 1.00 and 1.07 Ma, respectively
(Fig. 3d). These ages are generally consistent with the recent
astronomical estimates for these geomagnetic polarity reversals
(Lourens et al., 2004; Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005).
Consistent tuning should yield geologically plausible variations in
SR (Brüggemann, 1992; Shackleton et al., 1995). For the Xiantai
section, the age of ~1 Ma seems to be a threshold for SR (Fig. 2e).
Before this time, SR is relatively low and does not vary much between
glacial and interglacial periods, with an average SR of ~ 5 cm/kyr. Only
at ca. 1.48 Ma, where the artefact layer is located, a higher SR
(~20 cm/kyr) is observed. After 1.0 Ma, SR increases during both
glacial and interglacial periods, and the interglacial SR is considerably
higher than the glacial SR. The different SR behaviour before and
after ~ 1 Ma may result from the Mid-Pleistocene climate transition
(MPT), which marks the movement from 40- to 100-kyr glacial
cyclicity (e.g., Pisias and Moore, 1981; Ruddiman et al., 1989; Ding
et al., 1994; Raymo et al., 1997; Clark et al., 2006). This more extreme
climate after ca. 1 Ma would increase the instability of the climate
system and in turn modulate changes in SR. This different SR character
before and after ~ 1 Ma seems to be detected in the Donggutuo section
as well (Fig. 3e).
Another convenient means of evaluating our astronomical tuning
is to perform a cross-spectral comparison between the resulted χ
record and the tuning target. We use the sum of normalized
eccentricity (e), obliquity (t), and reversed precession (p) as the
target curve (ETP) to reflect the characteristics of the Earth's orbital
elements. Here the cross-spectral analyses were performed by Arand
software developed by Philip J. Howell et al. (2006, Brown University).
Usually, coherencies between two signals above the 95% confidence
level indicate that they are well-matched. Cross-spectral analyses
show that both the tuned Xiantai and Donggutuo χ time series closely
match the ETP at the obliquity (41 kyr) and precession (23 and
19 kyr) bands, all above the 95% confidence level (Fig. 4). For the
Xiantai χ time series, the coherencies between χ and ETP curves are
0.86 at the 41-kyr, 0.90 at the 23-kyr, and 0.89 at the 19-kyr
periodicities (Fig. 4a). For the Donggutuo χ time series, the
coherencies between χ and ETP curves are 0.96 at the 41-kyr, 0.94
at the 23-kyr, and 0.85 at the 19-kyr periodicities (Fig. 4b). The
obliquity is the dominant periodicity in both the Xiantai and
Donggutuo χ time series as suggested by the cross-spectrum analysis.
It should be realized that the coherencies revealed by cross-spectral
analysis are mainly based on the phase modulation and it is extremely
difficult to use cross-spectral analysis to investigate whether signal
and forcing share the same amplitude modulation. That aspect of the
validity of an astronomical timescale must be evaluated by band-pass
filtering (e.g., Figs. 2i–j and 3i–j) or other means (e.g., complex
demodulation) (Shackleton et al., 1995). For example, the obliquity
and precession filtered from our tuned χ records matched the orbital
parameters not only over the phase, but also over the amplitude
(Figs. 2i–j and 3i–j).
4. Discussion
4.1. Astronomical ages of the Paleolithic sites
Table 2
Added time control points of the Donggutuo section.
Depth (m)
Age (ka)
Depth (m)
Age (ka)
20
22.45
23.3
27.9
28.5
32.35
33.25
35.15
36.45
760
788
816
861
881
916
935
954
971
38.15
39.05
39.65
40.2
40.55
41
42.4
43.55
44.9
982
991
998
1018
1033
1053
1078
1103
1116
The astronomical chronology we developed here is very useful for
accurately dating the Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin. The
astronomical estimate for the Xiantai stone artifact layer is ca.
1.48 Ma, corresponding to paleosol layer S20 of the Chinese loess
sequences or marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 49, an interglacial
period (Fig. 2). Since the Xiaochangliang artifact layer is contemporary with the Xiantai artifact layer as suggested by integrated
magnetostratigraphic, lithostratigraphic, magnetic susceptibility and
biostratigraphic correlations between the two sections (Deng et al.,
2006), its age could be ca. 1.48 Ma and correspond to S20 or MIS 49
interglacial period as well. Thus their astronomical ages are about
Please cite this article as: Ao, H., et al., Astronomical dating of the Xiantai, Donggutuo and Maliang Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin
(North China) and implications for early human..., Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2010), doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.07.022
6
H. Ao et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx
Based on the previous magnetochronology, it is difficult to
determine whether the geomagnetic excursion at ca. 27 m depth in
the Xiantai section (labeled e in Fig. 2c) corresponds to the Kamikatsura
event or the Santa Rosa event (Singer et al., 2004). However, the present
astronomical timescale suggests that this excursion has an age of ca.
0.88 Ma (Fig. 2d), close to the age of the Kamikatsura event (Singer et al.,
2004). Similarly, the geomagnetic excursion at ca. 36 m depth in the
Donggutuo section (labeled e in Fig. 3c) is astronomically dated at ca.
0.95 Ma, close to the age of the Santa Rosa event (Singer et al., 2004). The
40
Ar/39Ar dating of the Kamikatsura event and the Santa Rosa event is
0.899 and 0.936 Ma respectively, employing the standard age of
28.34 Ma for Taylor Creek Rhyolite (TCR) during calculation (Singer
et al., 2004). Their recalculated 40Ar/39Ar ages relative to the
astronomically calibrated age of 28.52 Ma for TCR (Kuiper et al., 2008)
are 0.904 and 0.941 Ma, respectively. In addition, the M/B boundary
recorded by the Nihewan Formation is just within MIS 19 (Figs. 2 and 3),
which suggests that its paleomagnetic signal is not significantly delayed
(Vanhoof and Langereis, 1991). This is unlike the Chinese loess deposits,
where the M/B boundary is generally within MIS 20, showing a
considerably delayed acquisition of remanent magnetization (Zhou and
Shackleton, 1999).
4.2. Implications of the constructed astronomical chronology
Fig. 4. Cross-spectral comparisons of the ETP curve with the astronomical calibrated χ
records from the Xiantai and Donggutuo section. The shaded areas represent the
coherency between χ and ETP, and the horizontal dashed line indicates 95% confidence
limit for coherence peaks. Here the ETP curve is the sum of normalized eccentricity (e),
obliquity (t), and reversed precession (p). The cross-spectral analyses were performed
by Arand software developed by Philip J. Howell et al. (2006, Brown University).
Bandwidth is 0.007 kyr−1.
0.12 Myr older than their previous magnetostratigraphic ages
(1.36 Ma) (Zhu et al., 2001; Deng et al., 2006). The astronomical
chronology indicates that the age of the Donggutuo Paleolithic site
ranges from ~ 1.06 to 1.12 Ma, corresponding to paleosol/loess layers
S11–S12 or MIS 31–33, spanning both interglacial and glacial periods.
The astronomical estimate for the Maliang Paleolithic site is ~0.79 Ma,
corresponding to loess layer L8 or MIS 20, a glacial period. These two
astronomical ages are only slightly different from the magnetostratigraphic ages of the Donggutuo (1.1 Ma) and Maliang (0.78 Ma)
Paleolithic sites (Wang et al., 2005). As we know, the magnetostratigraphic estimates are essentially based on linear interpolation
between geomagnetic reversals. Thus, its precision could be insufficient to accurately date specific layers (for instance those containing
artifacts) when there are fluctuations in SR above a certain threshold.
Compared to the magnetochronology, our astronomical chronology is
an improvement because fluctuated SR is also considered during
orbital tuning. Furthermore, an astronomical timescale can provide
additional environmental information of early human occupation, i.e.,
whether the occupation occurred during interglacial or glacial
periods.
The earlier magnetostratigraphic ages of the Paleolithic sites of
Majuangou (1.55–1.66 Ma) (Zhu et al., 2004), Xiantai (1.36 Ma)
(Deng et al., 2006), Xiaochangliang (1.36 Ma) (Zhu et al., 2001),
Banshan (1.32 Ma) (Zhu et al., 2004), Feiliang (1.2 Ma) (Deng et al.,
2007), Donggutuo (1.1 Ma) (Wang et al., 2005), Cenjiawan (1.1 Ma)
(Wang et al., 2006) and Maliang (0. 8 Ma) (Wang et al., 2005) in the
Nihewan Basin, seem to indicate a permanent human occupation in
the Nihewan Basin since the early Pleistocene. However, there also
exists another assertion that the occupation in northern China was
intermittent during the early Pleistocene, only within the warm
interglacial periods (Wang et al., 1997; Dennell, 2003). It is clear that
the earlier magnetostratigraphic studies of the Nihewan fluviolacustrine strata cannot provide the required information to test
these scenarios, because potentially fluctuated SR may have compromised the magnetostratigraphic ages of these Paleolithic sites (as
demonstrated here). However, these scenarios can be tested by tuning
the sections of interest.
Whether the human occupation occurred in both cold glacial and
warm interglacial periods can be used to recognize the continuity of
regional human records over a million-year span of the early
Pleistocene: if humans are present in both, it is reasonable to consider
it as a permanent occupation (Dennell, 2003). Our astronomical
chronology indicates that the Donggutuo Paleolithic site is located
within the range of paleosol/loess layers S11–S12 or MIS 31–33,
spanning from ~ 1.06 Ma to 1.12 Ma. The middle artifact level would
thus correspond to loess layer L12 and MIS 32, a cold glacial period.
This climate inference is consistent with the observed lithology. It is
logical that the glacial climate with a lowered lake level would result
in a near-bank condition at this site, with deposition of pebble
conglomerates associated with sandy silts and grayish-yellow finegrained sands. Although we note that the MIS 32 corresponds to a
relatively short and mild glacial period as indicated by the marine
δ18O record (Fig. 3h) and the Nihewan Basin never experienced
glacier during the Pleistocene as well, glacial periods would have
brought significantly colder and drier conditions in this 40oN latitude
area of East Asia than in Africa. Further, keeping in mind that
biological productivity is significantly lower during winters, with
reduced vegetation, greater seasonality and extremes in temperature
in this area as far as 40oN, thus it is significant that the early human
occupation at the Donggutuo site encompasses both interglacial and
glacial stages. This implies that early humans may have permanently
occupied in this 40°N latitude area since at least ca. 1.1 Ma ago. This is
Please cite this article as: Ao, H., et al., Astronomical dating of the Xiantai, Donggutuo and Maliang Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin
(North China) and implications for early human..., Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. (2010), doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.07.022
H. Ao et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx
about 0.3 Myr earlier than the currently accepted age of ~ 0.8 Ma,
based on the occupation at Zhoukoudian during glacial stages (Shen
et al., 2009). The Zhoukoudian site is located about 150 km east of the
Nihewan Basin: they are separated by part of the Taihang mountain
range (Fig. 1). In addition, although early humans first appeared in
Europe at Atapuerca (Spain) 1.2–1.1 Ma ago (TE9 level) (Carbonell
et al., 2008), occupation in northern Europe was always transient and
confined to interglacial periods. For example, Britain was unpopulated
for ca. 80% of the last 0.5 Myr (Stringer, 2006). Some recent studies
suggest that the southern Europe may also have been intermittently
occupied. For example, the evidence from the Atapuerca TD6 level
seems to show only interglacial occupation during the middle
Pleistocene (Berger et al., 2008). Thus it is possible that the whole
Europe may have been abandoned during severe glaciations after
even 0.5 Ma ago.
Consistent with the permanent occupation in North China
since ~ 1.1 Ma, early humans at the Maliang site (0.79 Ma) were able
to resist the cold glacial climate (MIS 20 or loess layer L8) as well.
Compared to the MIS 32 glacial stage within which the middle
Donggutuo artifact level was located, MIS 20 is just within the MPT
and corresponds to a longer and presumably colder glacial stage
(Fig. 3h). Furthermore, the MIS 49 interglacial period within which
the earlier Xiantai and Xiaochangliang sites are located is much
warmer and longer than the MIS 33 interglacial period within which
the lower Donggutuo artifact level was located (Fig. 2h). Such
extremely warm and long interglacial conditions may have been
necessary for early humans to survive in northern China during the
early expansion from Africa. However, along with their prolonged
occupation in northern China, they may have continually evolved and
enhanced their ability to resist the increasingly harsher climate in
northern China, e.g., making tools from animal bones, preying on large
grazing animals and processing food from animal tissues (Zhu et al.,
2004). Especially, the overwintering problem of the 40oN temperate
zone may have been solved by hunting and eating animals. Thus, early
humans were gradually able to resist mild interglacial, hostile glacial
and increasingly hostile glacial periods during the early Pleistocene, as
suggested by the climatic context and chronology of the occupation at
the Xiantai, Xiaochangliang, Donggutuo and Maliang sites.
In addition, we note that the permanent occupation in northern
China (~ 1.1 Ma) and the expansion into the Lantian (~ 34.5oN,
1.15 Ma) (An and Ho, 1989) and Xihoudu site (~34.8oN, 1.27 Ma)
(Zhu et al., 2003) in north-central China are generally contemporaneous with the initiation of the MPT (~1.25 Ma) (Clark et al., 2006)
and an expansion of C4 grass components in the Chinese Loess Plateau
(~1.3 Ma) (An et al., 2005). Furthermore, both the Zhoukoudian Homo
erectus (Shen et al., 2009) and the Acheulean-like stone technology in
southern China (Bose Basin) (Hou et al., 2000) occurred within the
MPT as well. It should be noted that the Zhoukoudian Homo erectus
started to live in caves and were able to use fires, which may have
enhanced their resistibility to an increasingly harsher climate in North
China during the MPT. These combined scenarios suggest a close
relationship between early human evolution and changes in climate
and vegetation (deMenocal, 2004): the environmental changes
during the MPT may have served an important driving force for
expansion and lengthy flourishing of early humans from temperate
northern China to subtropical southern China. In addition, a
widespread, moderately polymorphic and polytypic hominid species
(e.g., archaic Homo sapiens differentiation from Homo erectus)
occurred in Africa at ~ 1.0 Ma (Abbate et al., 1998; Rightmire, 1998;
Asfaw et al., 2002), within the MPT as well.
5. Conclusion
As suggested by our astronomical timescales, the Xiantai Paleolithic site has an age of ca. 1.48 Ma, corresponding to paleosol layer S20
of the Chinese loess sequences or MIS 49, an interglacial period. This
7
astronomically calibrated age is about 0.12 Myr older than its previous
magnetostratigraphic age. The astronomical estimate for the Donggutuo Paleolithic site ranges from ~1.06 Ma to 1.12 Ma, corresponding
to paleosol/loess layers S11–S12 or MIS 31–33, spanning both
interglacial and glacial periods. The astronomical estimate for Maliang
Paleolithic site is ~0.79 Ma, corresponding to loess layer L8 or MIS 20, a
glacial period. The astronomical ages of the Donggutuo and Maliang
Paleolithic sites are only slightly different from their magnetostratigraphic ages. Based on our astronomical timescales, we present a
series of testable hypotheses about the interglacial and glacial
occupation in the Nihewan Basin, which are testable with existing
paleoenvironmental techniques. Finding direct evidence of a glacial or
interglacial climate should be a priority in future investigations.
The present astronomical tuning technique is useful for accurately
dating the Paleolithic sites, which can serve a model for similar
research elsewhere. Our astronomical findings indicate that the early
humans may have permanently occupied in China as far as 40oN since
at least 1.1 Ma ago. This predates the previous earliest age of
permanent occupation in North China by about 0.3 Myr. This study
marks the first astronomical dating of Paleolithic sites in China.
Further astronomical dating of more early hominin or Paleolithic sites
in the Nihewan Basin is currently under way. It is foreseeable that the
orbital tuning technique will significantly increase our understanding
of early human evolution and adaptation in East Asia by providing
high-precision ages and more detailed environmental information for
the Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin, as well as other hominin or
Paleolithic sites throughout East Asia.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the editor and two reviewers for their insightful
comments, which significantly improved this paper. This study was
financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (grants 40221402 and 40325011), State Key Laboratory of Loess
and Quaternary Geology (IEECAS) (Grant 0951061294) and the
Chinese Academy of Sciences. Q. S. Liu was partly supported by the
100 talent program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. We especially
thank Prof. Z.W. Yu for introducing the automatic orbital tuning
method and Prof. Y.B. Sun for his insightful suggestions.
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