Interpreting Radiocarbon Dates from the Paleolithic Layers of Theopetra Cave in Thessaly, Greece

Bibliographic Data

ID9242128
AuthorsYorgos Facorellis (0000-0002-5118-292X), Panagiotis Karkanas (0000-0002-7156-671X), Thomas Higham, Fiona Brock (0000-0003-0728-6091), Maria Ntinou (0000-0001-7810-5847), Nina Kyparissi-Apostolika
Year2013
Volume55
Issue3–4
Publication date2013-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueRadiocarbon (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-8222 • E-ISSN: 1945-5755
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2458/azu_js_rc.55.16316
OpenAlexW4256323345, W1848702996
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited20

Theopetra Cave is a unique prehistoric site for Greece, as the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods are present here, bridging the Pleistocene with the Holocene. During the more than 20 yr of excavation campaigns, charcoal samples from hearths suitable for 14 C dating were collected from all anthropogenic layers, including the Paleolithic ones. Most of the samples were initially dated using the ABA chemical pretreatment protocol in the Laboratory of Archaeometry of NCSR Demokritos, Greece, and the Radiocarbon Dating and Cosmogenic Isotopes Laboratory of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. The 14 C results, which were not always consistent versus depth, showed that the earliest limit of human presence is ∼50,000 yr BP, thus reaching the age limits of the 14 C dating method. However, 10 TL-dated burnt flint specimens unearthed from the lower part of the Middle Paleolithic sequence of the cave gave ages ranging between ∼110 and 135 kyr ago. These results are in disagreement with the 14 C dates, as they support a much later date for these layers. In order to clarify the situation further, charcoal samples originating from hearths were conventionally dated in the Laboratory of Archaeometry of NCSR Demokritos using the ABA pretreatment. Additionally, hand-picked charcoal fragments also underwent 14 C dating by AMS in the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit using the acid-base wet oxidation (ABOX-SC) pretreatment protocol. The 14 C dates from the cave's Paleolithic layers obtained by both pretreatment protocols suggest a probable charcoal diagenesis affecting the 14 C results of these very old samples. However, the dates obtained with ABOX-SC pretreatment are considered more reliable and in the younger stratigraphic part produced consistent results with the TL dating

Accelerator mass spectrometry · Archaeological science · Archaeology · Cave · Charcoal · Geography · Hearth · Holocene · Mesolithic · Middle Paleolithic · Pleistocene · Prehistory · Radiocarbon dating · Radiometric dating · Upper Paleolithic · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Chemistry · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Geology · Paleontology

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