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Vertebrate burrows in late pleistocene paleosols at Korean Palaeolithic sites and their significance as a stratigraphic marker

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Hyoun Soo Lim ,
Yong Il Lee ,
Seonbok Yi ,
Cheong-Bin Kim ,
Chull-Hwan Chung ,
Heon-Jong Lee  and
Jeong Heon Choi
Hyoun Soo Lim*
Affiliation:
Korea Polar Research Institute, Korea Ocean Research & Development Institute, Incheon 406-840, Korea
Yong Il Lee
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747, Korea
Seonbok Yi
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology and Art History, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-745, Korea
Cheong-Bin Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Science Education, Sunchon National University, Sunchon 540-742, Korea
Chull-Hwan Chung
Affiliation:
Faculty of Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757, Korea
Heon-Jong Lee
Affiliation:
Division of History and Culture, Mokpo National University, Chonnam 534-729, Korea
Jeong Heon Choi
Affiliation:
Isotope Research Team, Korea Basic Science Institute, Daejun 305-333, Korea
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: +82 32 260 6109.E-mail address:tracker@kopri.re.kr (H.S. Lim).
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Abstract

A vertebrate burrow-bearing layer of late Pleistocene age is commonly found at many Paleolithic archaeological sites in Korea. The burrows are straight to slightly curved in horizontal (plan) view and gently inclined in lateral (sectional) view. They are interpreted as having been produced by rodent-like mammals based on their size and architecture. The significance of such burrow-bearing layers as a characteristic stratigraphic marker unit is demonstrated by high burrow abundance, consistent stratigraphic position, lack of stratigraphic recurrence at these sites, and widespread geographic extent. Three dating methods, tephrochronology, radiocarbon, and OSL dating, were used to infer the age of these burrow-bearing layers. The dating results indicate that they were formed between ca. 40,000 and 25,000 yr (MIS 3−2), and this suggests that this layer can be used as a stratigraphic time-marker in late Pleistocene paleosol sequences for this region.

Keywords

Late PleistoceneVertebrate burrowStratigraphic time-markerTephraOSLRadiocarbon
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 68 , Issue 2 , September 2007 , pp. 213 - 219
Copyright
University of Washington

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