PALAEOMAGNETIC AND MINERAL MAGNETIC STUDIES OF SEDIMENTS FROM PETRALONA CAVE,GREECE

Palaeomagnetic measurements on sediments from Petralona cave. Greece indicate a stable, single component remanence of normal polarity. Redeposition experiments established the ability of the sediments to acquire the direction of the geomagnetic field. Magnetic properties and Mössbauer spectra of sediments and magnetic concentrates show that magnetite, which is slightly non-stoichiometric, and haematite are present in the sediments from the cave. The magnetite dominates the magnetic properties and exhibits pseudosingle domain behaviour. Using rstimated deposition rates for the sediments in the cave. and the fact that U Th and ESR dates which can be stratigraphically correlated to the palaeomagnetic section range from 200 to 750 ka. implies that the section represents a time span of about 150 180 ka within the Brunhes epoch. From this. the age of a human cranium found in the cave 25 years ago is estimated to be not older than 620 ka.