Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-cfpbc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T16:04:59.064Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

High resolution magnetostratigraphy and deposition cycles in the Nihewan Basin (North China) and their significance for stone artifact dating

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Li Huamei ,
Yang Xiaoqiang ,
Friedrich Heller  and
Li Haitao
Li Huamei
Affiliation:
Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O.Box 1131, Guangzhou 510640, China
Yang Xiaoqiang*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Friedrich Heller
Affiliation:
Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Li Haitao
Affiliation:
Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O.Box 1131, Guangzhou 510640, China
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: +86 20 84112390.E-mail address:eesyxq@mail.sysu.edu.cn (Y. Xiaoqiang).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Three lacustrine sections in the Nihewan Basin, Xiaodukou, Donggutuo and Xiaochangliang (40.1–40.4°N; 114.6–114.7°E), were closely sampled for magnetostratigraphic and deposition cycle analysis. Rock magnetic investigations show that the characteristic remanent magnetization of the sediments is mainly carried by magnetite and hematite. The Xiaodukou sequence is one of the most complete sections in the basin and has recorded substantial parts of the Brunhes and Matuyama chrons back to the termination of the Olduvai subchron. Several subchrons within the Matuyama period have been documented such as the Jaramillo, the Cobb Mt. and others. The Matuyama/Brunhes boundary, the Jaramillo, as well as the Cobb Mountain events were observed also at Donggutuo. On the basis of grain size and susceptibility data and of field investigations, the sections are divided into two longer lasting lacustrine episodes with a fluvio-lacustrine deposit in between. They are structured by 15 high-frequency deposition sub-cycles. In each cycle, the grain size fines upwards, while magnetic susceptibility decreases. This behavior is due to cyclic water level change of the ancient lake Nihewan. At Xiaodukou, the variations of the 0.2 to 7.5 μm grain size fraction can be correlated with the marine oxygen isotope stages OIS 64–OIS 11. The grey-green clayey to silty Paleolithic stone artifact layers at Xiaochangliang and Donggutuo are located at depths of 55.4 m and 43–38.7 m, respectively. They were buried when the lake-level was rising. The artifact layers have been deposited around the Cobb Mountain event during the sedimentary sub-cycle 6 of the older lacustrine phase corresponding to OIS 35, 36. Thus in contrast to the results of other studies, the estimated age of the Xiaochangliang stone artifact layer does not exceed 1.26 Ma, while the Donggutuo stone artifact layers date back to 1.21–1.15 Ma. This age determination brings the Nihewan hominids in close relation to the findings of Homo Erectus at Lantian on the Chinese Loess Plateau.

Keywords

MagnetostratigraphyDeposition cycleStone artifactsNihewan Basin
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 69 , Issue 2 , March 2008 , pp. 250 - 262
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

An, Z.S., Ho, C.K., (1989). New magnetostratigraphic dates of Lantian Homo erectus. Quaternary Research 32, 213–221.Google Scholar
Barbour, G.B., (1924). Preliminary observation in Kalgan area. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China 3, 2, 167–168.Google Scholar
Barbour, G.B., Licent, E., Teilhard de Chardin, P., (1926). Geological study of the deposits of the Sang Kan Ho Basin. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China 5, 3–4, 268–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berger, W.H., Yasuda, M.K., Bickert, T., Wefer, G., Takayama, T., (1994). Quaternary time scale for the Ontong Java Plateau: Milankovitch template for Ocean Drilling Program Site 806. Geology 22, 463–467.Google Scholar
Cande, S.C., Kent, D.V., (1995). Revised calibration of the geomagnetic polarity timescale for the late Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Journal of Geophysical Research 100, 6093–6095.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Channell, J.E.T., Mazaud, A., Sullivan, P., Turner, S., Raymo, M.E., (2002). Geomagnetic excursions and paleointensities in the Matuyama Chron at Ocean Drilling Program Sites 983 and 984 (Iceland Basin). Journal of Geophysical Research 107, B6, 2114 .Google Scholar
Cheng, G.L., (1999). The magnetostatigraphy re-study for Nihewan Formation. Unpublished report National Natural Science foundation of China (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Cheng, G.L., Lin, J.L., Li, S.L., Liang, Q.P., (1978). A primary study of paleomagnetism of Nihewan formation. Scientia Geologica Sinica 2, 247–252.,(in Chinese).Google Scholar
Clement, B.M., (1992). Evidence for dipolar fields during the Cobb Mountain geomagnetic polarity reversals. Nature 358, 405–407.Google Scholar
Clement, B.M., Kent, D.V., (1987). Short polarity intervals within the Matuyama: transitional field records from hydraulic piston cord sediments from the North Atlantic. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 81, 253–264.Google Scholar
Deng, C.L., Wei, Q., Zhu, R.X., Wang, H.Q., Zhang, R., Ao, H., Chang, L., Pan, Y.X., (2006). Magnetostratigraphic age of the Xiantai Paleolithic site in the Nihewan Basin and implications for early human colonization of Northeast Asia. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 244, 336–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deng, C.L., Xie, F., Liu, C.C., Ao, H., Pan, Y.X., Zhu, R.X., (2007). Magnetochronology of the Feiliang Paleolithic site in the Nihewan Basin and implications for early human adaptability to high northern latitudes in East Asia. Geophysical Research Letters 34, L14301 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunlop, D.J., Ozdemir, O., (1997). Rock Magnetism: Fundamentals and Frontiers. Cambridge University Press, .Google Scholar
Fisher, R.A., (1953). Dispersion on a sphere. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A 217, 295–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gai, P., Wei, Q., (1974). Discovery of Early Pleistocene stone artifacts in Nihewan. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 12, 6, 67–74.,(in Chinese).Google Scholar
Guo, B., Zhu, R.X., Yue, L.P., Wu, H.N., (1998). Cobb Mountain event recorded in Chinese loess. Science in China (Series D) 28, 4, 327–333.,(in Chinese).Google Scholar
Heslop, D., Langereis, C.G., Dekkers, M.J., (2000). A new astronomical timescale for the loess deposits of Northern China. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 184, 125–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hou, Y.M., Wei, Q., Feng, X.W., Lin, S.L., (1999). Re-excavation at Donggutuo in the Nihewan basin, North China. Quaternary Sciences 2, 139–147.,(in Chinese with English abstract).Google Scholar
Hu, S., Wang, S., Appel, E., Ji, L., (2000). Environmental mechanism of magnetic susceptibility changes of lacustrine sediments from Lake Hulun, China. Science in China (Series D) 43, 5, 534–540.Google Scholar
Kirschvink, J.L., (1980a). The least-squares line and plane and the analysis of palaeomagnetic data. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 62, 699–718.Google Scholar
Kirschvink, J.L., (1980b). The least-squares line and plane and the analysis of paleomagnetic data. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 62, 699–718.Google Scholar
Li, H.M., Wang, J.D., (1982). Magnetostratigraphic study of several typical geologic sections in North China. Quaternary Geology and Environment of China China Ocean Press, 33–37.Google Scholar
Li, H.M., Yang, X.Q., (2003). A study on magnetostratigraphy and cyclic sedimentology of several sections in the Nihewan basin, North China: significance on age determination of stone artifact layer. XVI INQUA Congress, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Reno, Nevada 197.Google Scholar
Mankinen, E.A., Grommé, C.S., (1982). Paleomagnetic data from the CosoRange, California and the current status of the Cobb Mountain normal geomagnetic polarity event. Geophysical Research Letters 9, 1279–1282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mankinen, E.A., Dalrymple, G.B., (1989). Revised geomagnetic polarity time scale for the interval 0–5My B.P. Journal of Geophysical Research 82, 615–626.Google Scholar
Mankinen, E.A., Donnelly, J.M., Grommé, C.S., (1978). Geomagnetic polarity event recorded at 1.1 m.y. B.P. on Cobb Mountain, Clear Lake volcanic field, California. Geology 6, 653–656.Google Scholar
Roberts, A.P., (1995). Magnetic properties of sedimentary greigite (Fe3S4). Earth and Planetary Science Letters 134, 227–236.Google Scholar
Schick, K., Toth, N., Wei, Q., Clark, J.D., Etler, D., (1991). Archaeological perspectives in the Nihewan Basin, China. Journal of Human Evolution 21, 13–26.Google Scholar
Shackleton, N.J., Berger, A., Peltier, W.R., (1990). An alternative astronomical calibration of the lower Pleistocene timescale based on ODP Site 677. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Earth Sciences 81, 251–261.Google Scholar
Singer, B.S., Hoffman, K.A., Chauvin, A., Coe, R.S., Pringle, M.S., (1999). Dating transitionally magnetized lavas of the late Matuyama chron: toward a new 40Ar/39Ar timescale of reversals and events. Journal of Geophysical Research 104, 679–693.Google Scholar
Tang, Y.J., You, Y.Z., Li, Y., (1981). The Early Pleistocene mammalia fossils and paleolith silts of Yangyuan and Weixian counties of Hebei Province. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 19, 256–268.,(in Chinese).Google Scholar
Tang, Y.J., Li, Y., Chen, W.Y., (1995). Mammalian fossils and the age of Xiaochangliang Paleolithic site of Yangyuan, Hebei. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 33, 74–83.,(in Chinese with English abstract).Google Scholar
Teilhard de Chardin, P., Piveteau, J., (1930). Les mammiferes fossiles de Nihowan (Chine). Annales de Paléontologie 19, 1–154.Google Scholar
Vittori, E., Ventura, G., (1995). Grain size of fluvial deposits and late Quaternary climate: A case study in the Po River valley (Italy). Geology 23, 8, 735–738.Google Scholar
Wang, X.S., Yang, Z.Y., Lovlie, R., Min, L.R., (2004). High-resolution magnetic stratigraphy of fluvio-lacustrine succession in the Nihewan Basin, China. Quaternary Science Reviews 23, 1187–1198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, H.Q., Deng, C.L., Zhu, R.X., Wei, Q., Hou, Y.M., Boëda, E., (2005). Magnetostratigraphic dating of the Donggutuo and Maliang Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin, North China. Quaternary Research 64, 1–11.Google Scholar
Wang, H.Q., Deng, C.L., Zhu, R.X., Xie, F., (2006). Paleomagnetic dating of the Cenjiawan Paleolithic site in the Nihewan Basin, northern China. Science in China (Series D) 49, 3, 295–303.Google Scholar
Wei, Q., (1985). A primary observation of the Donggutuo Paleolithic site. Acta Anthropologica Sinica 4, 4, 289–300.,(in Chinese).Google Scholar
Yang, X.Q., Li, H.M., (2002). The correlation between the content of the different grain size and magnetic susceptibility in lacustrine sediments,Nihewan Basin. Acta Sedimentologica Sinica 20, 4, 675–679.,(in Chinese with English abstract).Google Scholar
Yang, X.Q., Li, H.M., Li, H.T., (2003). Loess deposits of Nihewan Basin and its palaeogeographic significance. Journal of Palaeogeography 5, 2, 20–216.,(in Chinese with English abstract).Google Scholar
You, Y.Z., Tang, Y.J., Li, Y., (1979). The discovery of the Xiaochangliang site in the Nihewan formation and its significance. Chinese Science Bulletin 24, 8, 365–367.,(in Chinese).Google Scholar
Yuan, B.Y., Zhu, R.X., Tian, W.L., Cui, J.X., Li, R.Q., Wang, Q., Yan, F.H, (1996). Age, division and comparison of the Nihewan formation. Science in China (Series D) 26, 1, 67–73.,(in Chinese).Google Scholar
Zheng, H.B., An, Z.S., Shaw, J., Yue, L.P., (1992). Magnetostratigraphical study of Duanjiapo loess section. Liu, T.S., An, Z.S., Loess, Quaternary Geology and Global Change, part III. Science Press, Beijing, China., 44–50.,(in Chinese).Google Scholar
Zhu, R.X., Hoffman, K.A., Potts, R., Deng, C.L., Pan, Y.X., Guo, B., Shi, C.D., Guo, Z.T., Yuan, B.Y., Hou, Y.M., Huang, W.W., (2001). Earliest presence of humans in northeast Asia. Nature 413, 413–417.Google Scholar
Zhu, R.X., An, Z.S., Potts, R., Hoffman, K.A., (2003). Magnetostratigraphic dating of early humans in China. Earth Science Reviews 61, 341–359.Google Scholar
Zhu, R.X., Potts, R., Xie, F., Hoffman, K.A., Deng, C.L., Shi, C.D., Pan, Y.X., Wang, H.Q., Shi, R.P., Wang, Y.C., Shi, G.H., Wu, N.Q., (2004). New evidence on the earliest human presence at high northern latitudes in northeast Asia. Nature 431, 559–562.Google Scholar