RT Journal Article
T1 Characterizing and dating authigenic phosphates from the sedimentary infill of Atapuerca archaeo-paleoanthropological cave sites (Spain)
A1 Campana Lozano, Isidoro
A1 Duval, M
A1 Álvaro-Gallo, Ana
A1 Guilarte, V.
A1 Shao, Q.
A1 Ortega, A. I.
A1 Arnold, L. J.
A1 Demuro, M.
A1 Bermúdez de Castro, José María
A1 Carbonell, E.
K1 Datación radiactiva
K1 Tiempo geológico
K1 Apatito
K1 Ablación láser
K1 Diagénesis
AB We present the results of a characterization and dating study of eight authigenic apatite samples collected from various stratigraphic units of three cave sites across the Atapuerca complex, namely Gran Dolina, Galería Complex and Sima del Elefante. Characterization analyses using X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) spectroscopy have been used to determine the nature and composition of the samples: seven of them are mostly made of hydroxyapatite, while one is composed of crandallite, and all show variable amounts of contamination by calcite and/or sediment. The timing of authigenic apatite formation, which results from the weathering of the limestone in a karstic environment, has been tentatively constrained through a combination of bulk and spatially resolved analyses using ESR and U-series methods. The dating results obtained enable the identification of various formation events during the Middle and Late Pleistocene at each site, around 170–180 ka and 110–120 ka in Gran Dolina, ∼250 ka and ∼40 ka in Galería Complex, and, possibly, ∼360 ka in Sima del Elefante. Importantly, all these ages are significantly younger than the depositional age of the host sediment, thus confirming the post-depositional nature of authigenic apatite. Additionally, the absence of age consistency across sites suggests that they have all experienced independent diagenetic events, which cannot be attributed to the overall karst dynamics of the Sierra de Atapuerca, but should rather be regarded as local processes. Beyond the dating results, this study provides an overview of the potential and current limitations of ESR and U-series methods applied to Quaternary authigenic apatite.
PB Elsevier
SN 1871-1014
YR 2025
FD 2025-06-09
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/39016
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/39016
LA eng
NO Campaña, I., Duval, M., Álvaro-Gallo, A., Guilarte, V., Shao, Q., Ortega, A. I., Arnold, L. J., Demuro, M., Bermúdez de Castro, J. M., & Carbonell, E. (2025). Characterizing and dating authigenic phosphates from the sedimentary infill of Atapuerca archaeo-paleoanthropological cave sites (Spain). Quaternary Geochronology, 89, 101674.
NO Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBUA
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 21 ene 2026