2024-12-15 QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS 2024 346(卷), null(期), (null页)
The Paleolithic site of Majuangou-III (MJG-III) in the Nihewan Basin, magnetostratigraphically dated to 1.66 million years ago (Ma), has been widely cited as documenting one of the earliest human settlements in China. Nevertheless, it remains important to cross-check the paleomagnetic dating with an independent and well-established radio-isotopic dating method. Here we report the application of Al-26/Be-10 burial dating to the Majuangou sites, assigning 1.28 +/- 0.11 Ma (1 sigma), >1.49 Ma and close to 1.63 +/- 0.09 Ma to Banshan, MJG-I and MJG-III, respectively. The proposed age sequence is supported by the general consistency between dates and stratigraphy as well as the consistency of dates between the samples from excavated cross-sections and those from deeply buried sediment cores. The age results agree with the previous magnetostratigraphy, providing the first radio-isotopic age for the earliest human occupation in high-latitude northern China.