title: ESR dating of the Die Kelders Cave 1 site, South Africa.
abstract: ESR measurements were made on ten enamel subsamples from six teeth recovered in layers 4-5, 6, 10, and 12 in the site of Die Kelders Cave 1, South Africa. The teeth (enamel and dentine) contained significant concentrations of uranium and therefore the U uptake model has a large influence on the computed ages. Variations in moisture content in the sediment had a smaller effect on the dose rate and calculated ages. For any given model of U uptake and moisture content, all the teeth gave very similar ages, implying that the entire deposit was formed over a short interval (<10,000 y). Comparison with OSL ages for the sediments suggests that the teeth experienced early U uptake, in which case the average age of the deposit is 70+/-4 ka (assuming a moisture content of 10%). Agreement between replicate subsamples was excellent.
authors.affiliation: School of Geography and Geology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4M1, Canada. schwarcz@mcmaster.ca
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Schwarcz
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Rink
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003743:Dental Enamel; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D005580:Fossils; D005843:Geography; D055593:Geological Phenomena; D005844:Geology; D015186:Hominidae; D006801:Humans; D010161:Paleodontology / Q000379:methods*; D013019:South Africa; D013995:Time