Matuyama-age lithic tools from the Sima del Elefante site, Atapuerca (northern Spain)

Josep M Parés; Alfredo Pérez-González; Antonio Rosas; A Benito; J M Bermúdez de Castro; E Carbonell; R Huguet

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.08.011

Matuyama-age lithic tools from the Sima del Elefante site, Atapuerca (northern Spain)

J Hum Evol. 2006 Feb;50(2):163-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.08.011. Epub 2005 Oct 24.

Authors

Josep M Parés¹, Alfredo Pérez-González, Antonio Rosas, A Benito, J M Bermúdez de Castro, E Carbonell, R Huguet

Affiliation

¹ Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan, 2534 C.C. Little Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. jmpares@umich.edu

PMID: 16249015
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.08.011

Abstract

Paleomagnetic results obtained from the sedimentary fill at the Sima del Elefante site in Atapuerca, Spain, reveal a geomagnetic reversal, interpreted as the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary (0.78 Ma). The uppermost lithostratigraphic units (E17 through E19), which contain Mode II and III archaeological assemblages, display normal polarity magnetization, whereas the six lowermost units (E9 through E16) yield negative latitudinal virtual geomagnetic pole positions. Units E9 through E13, all of which display reverse magnetic polarity, contain Mode I (Oldowan) lithic tools, testifying to the presence of humans in the early Pleistocene (0.78-1.77 Ma).

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Geologic Sediments*
Household Articles*
Humans
Magnetics
Paleontology
Spain