title: Stratigraphy and chronology of the WLH 50 human remains, Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area, Australia.
abstract: We present a detailed description of the geological setting of the burial site of the WLH 50 human remains along with attempts to constrain the age of this important human fossil. Freshwater shells collected at the surface of Unit 3, which is most closely associated with the human remains, and a carbonate sample that encrusted the human bone were analysed. Gamma spectrometry was carried out on the WLH 50 calvaria and TIMS U-series analysis on a small post-cranial bone fragment. OSL dating was applied to a sample from Unit 3 at a level from which the WLH 50 remains may have eroded, as well as from the underlying sediments. Considering the geochemistry of the samples analysed, as well as the possibility of reworking or burial from younger layers, the age of the WLH 50 remains lies between 12.2 ± 1.8 and 32.8 ± 4.6 ka (2-σ errors).
authors.affiliation: Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia. Rainer.Grun@anu.edu.au
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grün
authors.forename: Nigel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Spooner
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Magee
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thorne
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: Ge
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mortimer
mesh_terms: D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000737:chemistry*; D002910:Chronology as Topic; D005580:Fossils; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D009517:New South Wales; D010163:Paleontology; D055110:Radiometric Dating; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma