Dating of the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in western Europe using ultrafiltration AMS radiocarbon

放射性碳定年（14C）对研究近5万年来人类文化和生物发展具有重要意义。这是最早的解剖学意义上的现代人（AMH）分散到欧洲的时期，在同一时期，尼安德特人的数量减少，最终灭绝。欧洲的考古记录是记载一个人类物种消失并被另一个物种取代的最广泛的记录。然而，在确定这些过程的可靠年代方面出现了问题。放射性碳测年的有效应用在许多情况下都存在问题。有一个庞大的放射性碳数据数据库（1500+），但确定哪些是准确的，哪些是不准确的，是极其困难的。AMS放射性碳定年法的最新进展预示着这方面的重大突破。在过去的四年里，牛津大学开展了一项涉及“超滤”技术应用的工作，取得了非常有希望的成果，这将彻底改变该领域。该方法显著改善了使用加速器质谱法（AMS）进行放射性碳定年之前考古骨骼的预处理。到目前为止，从英国旧石器时代中期和晚期的样品中获得的结果表明，在许多情况下，以前使用不太严格的预清洗方法在同一材料上测量的14C年龄是不准确的。误差从几百年到几千年不等。广泛的分析数据支持这些新时代的可靠性。此外，结果似乎比以前更有考古意义：模式正在出现。这项工作对不列颠群岛旧石器时代的研究产生了巨大的影响。迫切需要将这一发展应用到欧洲旧石器时代的更广泛领域，在那里，许多重要的考古辩论都依赖于可靠的年表。尼安德特人灭绝的时间、解剖学上的现代人（AMH）取代他们的过程，以及许多人认为是由现代人类制造的奥日尼亚期工业的最早遗址的年代，就是三个这样的问题。我们的目标是通过对欧洲大陆27个关键旧石器时代遗址的骨骼样本进行测年，为解决与旧石器时代中晚期过渡文化转变相关的许多问题做出贡献。我们将对300块背景良好、精心挑选的骨头进行测年，包括人骨、切割过的骨头、诊断工具和装饰品。这些遗址来自德国、西班牙、法国和英国，其中包括许多处于旧石器时代考古学争论中心的最重要的遗址。可靠的考古年表的发展将有助于解决困扰欧洲旧石器时代的许多棘手问题。

Radiocarbon dating (14C) is of fundamental importance to the study of human cultural and biological developments during the last 50000 years. This is the period during which the earliest anatomically modern humans (AMH) dispersed into Europe and, over a similar time, Neanderthal populations contracted and finally became extinct. The European archaeological record is the most extensive record for documenting the disappearance of one species of human and its replacement by another. Problems arise, however, in the reliable dating of these processes. The effective application of radiocarbon dating has been problematic in many instances. There is a large database of radiocarbon data (1500+), but determining which are accurate, and which not, is extremely difficult. Recent developments in AMS radiocarbon dating of bone have heralded a significant breakthrough in this situation. Work undertaken in Oxford over the past four years, involving the application of a technique called 'ultrafiltration' has yielded extremely promising results which are set to revolutionise the field. The method significantly improves the pre-treatment of archaeological bones prior to radiocarbon dating using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Results obtained thus far from samples derived from the British Middle and Upper Palaeolithic demonstrate that, in many cases, 14C ages previously measured on the same material using less rigorous pre-cleaning methods, are inaccurate. This varies between a few hundred, to several thousands of years in error. A wide range of analytical data supports the reliability of these new ages. In addition, the results seem to make much better archaeological sense than previously: patterns are emerging. This work has had a dramatic impact upon the study of the Palaeolithic in the British Isles. There is an urgent need to apply this development to the wider sphere of the European Palaeolithic, where so many crucial archaeological debates hinge upon a reliable chronology. The question of the dates of Neanderthal extinction, the process by which anatomically modern humans (AMH) replaced them, and the age of the earliest sites containing evidence for Aurignacian industries, thought by many to be made by incoming modern humans, are three such problems. We aim to contribute to the resolution of many problems associated with the proper analysis of the cultural transformations of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition, by dating samples of bone from 27 key Palaeolithic sites in continental Europe. We will date 300 well-contexted and carefully selected bones, including human bone, cutmarked bone and diagnostic tools and ornaments. The sites come from Germany, Spain, France and Britain, and include many of the most crucial sites at the centre of debates in Palaeolithic archaeology. The development of reliable archaeological chronologies will contribute to the resolution of many intractable problems plaguing the Palaeolithic of Europe.