Matuyama-age lithic tools from the Sima del Elefante site, Atapuerca (northern Spain).
Paleomagnetic results obtained from the sedimentary fill at the Sima del Elefante site in Atapuerca, Spain, reveal a geomagnetic reversal, interpreted as the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary (0.78 Ma). The uppermost lithostratigraphic units (E17 through E19), which contain Mode II and III archaeological assemblages, display normal polarity magnetization, whereas the six lowermost units (E9 through E16) yield negative latitudinal virtual geomagnetic pole positions. Units E9 through E13, all of which display reverse magnetic polarity, contain Mode I (Oldowan) lithic tools, testifying to the presence of humans in the early Pleistocene (0.78-1.77 Ma).
Parés
Josep M
JM
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan, 2534 C.C. Little Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. jmpares@umich.edu
Pérez-González
Alfredo
A
Rosas
Antonio
A
Benito
A
A
Bermúdez de Castro
J M
JM
Carbonell
E
E
Huguet
R
R
D019015:Geologic Sediments; D006794:Household Articles; D006801:Humans; D008280:Magnetics; D010163:Paleontology; D013030:Spain