A NEW DATE FOR THE NEANDERTHALS FROM EL SIDRÓN CAVE (ASTURIAS,NORTHERN SPAIN)* |
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| Authors: | R. E. WOOD T. F. G. HIGHAM T. DE TORRES N. TISNÉRAT‐LABORDE H. VALLADAS J. E. ORTIZ C. LALUEZA‐FOX S. SÁNCHEZ‐MORAL J. C. CAÑAVERAS A. ROSAS D. SANTAMARÍA M. DE LA RASILLA |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK;2. Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia;3. Laboratorio de Estratigrafía Biomolecular, ETSIM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, c/ Ríos Rosas 21, 28003 Madrid, Spain;4. LSCE /IPSL, CEA‐CNRS‐UVSQ, Avenue de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif Sur Yvette Cedex, France;5. Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, UPF‐CSIC, c/ Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003, Barcelona, Spain;6. Departamento de Geología, MNCN‐CSIC, c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain;7. Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra y del Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alicante, AP. Correos 99, 03080 Alicante, Spain;8. Departamento de Paleobiología, MNCN‐CSIC, c/ José Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain;9. Departamento de Historia, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Oviedo, c/ Teniente Alfonso Martínez s/n, 33011 Oviedo, Spain |
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| Abstract: | Torres et al. (2010 ) published a series of radiocarbon, AAR, ESR and OSL dates from the site of El Sidrón, northern Spain, which is notable for the discovery of the partial remains of 12 Neanderthals. Whilst the non‐radiocarbon methods suggested an age beyond 32 600–46 300 years, direct radiocarbon dates on the human fossils were inconsistent, ranging between 10 000 and 50 000 bp . This study uses the ultrafiltration pre‐treatment protocol to obtain a date of 48 400 ± 3200 bp (OxA‐21 776) on a bone fragment and confirm the antiquity of the Neanderthal assemblage. Moreover, it demonstrates the comparability of the ultrafiltration and ninhydrin bone radiocarbon pre‐treatment protocols, and highlights the need for appropriate screening methods where valuable collections with poor biomolecular preservation are sampled for collagen extraction. |
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| Keywords: | RADIOCARBON ULTRAFILTRATION PRE‐TREATMENT %N PRE‐SCREENING EL SIDRÓ N NEANDERTHAL |
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