ESR and uranium series dating of teeth from the lower Paleolithic site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel: Confirmation of paleomagnetic age indications

Abstract Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of tooth enamel and U‐series dating of adjacent dentine was carried out on samples obtained from Layers II‐6 and II‐7 from the lower Paleolithic site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel. The combined ESR/U‐series age estimate of these layers was found to be 652 ± 29 ka. The samples were collected about 2–4.5 m above the Brunhes‐Matuyama (B/M) chron boundary at the site. Goren‐Inbar et al. [(2000). Pleistocene milestones on the Out of Africa corridor at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel. Science, 289, 944–947] suggested that the entire sequence formed between 800 and 700 ka. Using their assumed accumulation rate ( compacted sediment) of 0.43 m ka − 1 , our samples would have been deposited 775–765 ka. Minimum accumulation rates found in the literature for similar environments suggest the extrapolated age could be as young as 765–750 ka. While our dates lie outside this range, they confirm the assignment of the paleomagnetic transition as the B/M boundary. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.