New Luminescence Ages for the Galería Complex Archaeological Site: Resolving Chronological Uncertainties on the Acheulean Record of the Sierra de Atapuerca, Northern Spain

New luminescence dating techniques applied to the Galería Complex at Atapuerca reveal that the site's archaeological deposits are significantly younger (up to 50%) than previously estimated using polymineral thermoluminescence (TL) chronologies. The study employed post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIR-IR) and thermally transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL) dating, which provided more precise ages for the Middle Pleistocene deposits. Key findings include an age of up to 370 thousand years (ka) for the basal sterile sands and a depositional period during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 9 (~313±14 ka) for the lowermost sub-unit containing Mode II Acheulean lithics. Overlying units, rich in archaeopalaeontological remains, were deposited during late MIS 8 or early MIS 7 (~240 ka). These results suggest that pIR-IR and single-grain TT-OSL dating are effective for resolving Middle Pleistocene chronologies at Atapuerca, offering a refined timeline for the site's Acheulean record.

Demuro, M., Arnold, L. J., Parés, J. M., Pérez-González, A., Ortega, A. I., Arsuaga, J. L., Bermúdez de Castro, J. M., & Carbonell, E. (2014). New Luminescence Ages for the Galería Complex Archaeological Site: Resolving Chronological Uncertainties on the Acheulean Record of the Sierra de Atapuerca, Northern Spain. PLoS ONE, 9(10), e110169. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110169