Precise Uranium-Series Dating of the Peking Man Site

在国家科学基金会的支持下，古德龙博士和他的同事们将对位于北京附近的周口店考古/古生物遗址的一系列洞穴石灰岩矿床进行铀系测年，中国。这个遗址是世界上最重要的遗址之一，因为它的沉积物跨越了上一个冰河时代的大部分，既有考古材料，也有原始人遗骸。来自该遗址的原始头骨材料在亚洲直立人的定义中发挥了基本作用。第一地点周口店的13层中有9层含有原始人遗骸。这些地层还含有非常丰富的考古材料，包括石器和动物遗骸，可能包含有控制地使用火的最早证据。该遗址的一个主要问题是，科学家无法获得每一层的准确年龄估计。顾博士和他的同事们将从安全的地质环境中收集洞穴化石，并进行铀系列测年。此外，年龄测定将使用热电离质谱仪进行-这是一项最近开发的技术，由于其无与伦比的精确度和灵敏度，已经彻底改变了地质年代学。它有可能将U系列测年的极限从约350ka扩大到约600ka。古人类学家希望了解原始人是如何随着时间的推移在文化和身体上发展起来的。迄今为止的数据表明，远东在这一过程中发挥了重要作用，但不幸的是，在世界这一地区发现和挖掘的遗址相对较少。因此，拥有丰富化石和考古记录的周口店是极其重要的。更精确的年代测定将使这些遗骸能够在更广泛的地理背景下得到解释。

Ku With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Teh-Lung Ku and his colleagues will conduct uranium series dating on a series of speleothem (cave limestone) deposits from the archaeological/paleontological site of Zhoukoudian which is located near Beijing, China. This site is one of the most important in the world because its deposits span a major portion of the last Ice Age and contain both archaeological materials and hominid remains. The hominid cranial material from the site played a basic role in the definition of Homo erectus in Asia. Nine of the 13 layers at Zhoukoudian, locality 1 contain hominid remains. The layers are also very rich in archaeological materials including both stone tools and faunal remains and may contain the earliest evidence for the controlled use of fire. A major problem with the site has been the inability of scientists to obtain good age estimates for each layer. Dr. Ku and his colleagues will collect speleothem from secure geological contexts and conduct uranium series dating. Additionally, the age determination will be carried out using thermal ionization mass spectrometry - a recently developed technique that has revolutionized the geochronology because of the technique's unparalleled precision and sensitivity. It has the potential to extend the U-series dating limit from ca 350 ka to ca. 600 ka. Paleoanthropologists wish to understand how hominids developed both culturally and physically over time. Data to date indicate that the Far East played an important role in this process but unfortunately relatively few sites have been discovered and excavated in this part of the world. For this reason Zhoukoudian with its rich fossil and archaeological record is extremely important. More precise dating will allow these remains to be interpreted in a broader geographical context.