Rixhon, Gilles, Bourles, Didier L., Braucher, Regis, Siame, Lionel ORCID: 0000-0002-4288-9528, Cordy, Jean-Marie and Demoulin, Alain
(2014).
Be-10 dating of the Main Terrace level in the Ambleve valley (Ardennes, Belgium): new age constraint on the archaeological and palaeontological filling of the Belle-Roche palaeokarst.
Boreas, 43 (2).
S. 528 - 543.
HOBOKEN:
WILEY.
ISSN 1502-3885
Abstract
It is still disputed whether very old archaeological and palaeontological remains found in the Belle-Roche palaeocave (eastern Belgium) pertain to the Early (similar to 1 Ma) or Middle (similar to 0.5 Ma) Pleistocene. Here, in situ-produced cosmogenic Be-10 concentrations from a depth profile in nearby sediments of the Belle-Roche terrace (Ambleve Main Terrace level) are used as an indirect solution of this chronological issue. The distribution of Be-10 concentrations in the upper 3 m of this profile displays the theoretically expected exponential decrease with depth. Assuming a single exposure episode, we obtain a best fit age of 222.5 +/- 31 ka for the time of terrace abandonment. However, below 3 m, the Be-10 concentrations show a marked progressive increase with depth. This distinctive cosmogenic signal is interpreted as the result of slow aggradation of the fluvial deposits over a lengthy interval. Modelling of the whole profile thus suggests that the onset of the terrace formation occurred at around 550 ka, with a sediment accumulation rate of similar to 20 mm ka(-1). Based on two slightly different reconstructions of the geomorphic evolution of the area and a discussion of the temporal link between the cave and Main Terrace levels, we conclude that the fossil-bearing layers in the palaeokarst pertain most probably to MIS 14-13, or possibly MIS 12-11. This age estimate for the large mammal association identified in the Belle-Roche palaeokarst and the attribution to MIS 14-13 of a similar fauna found in the lowermost fossiliferous layers of the Caune de l'Arago (Tautavel) are in mutual support. Our results therefore confirm the status of the Belle-Roche site as a reference site for the Cromerian mammal association in NW Europe.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Creators: |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-441078 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DOI: | 10.1111/bor.12066 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Boreas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Volume: | 43 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number: | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Page Range: | S. 528 - 543 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date: | 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Publisher: | WILEY | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of Publication: | HOBOKEN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ISSN: | 1502-3885 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Language: | English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Faculty: | Unspecified | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Divisions: | Unspecified | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Subjects: | no entry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
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URI: | http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/44107 |
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