RADIOMETRIC DATING OF THE MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC TOOL INDUSTRY AND ASSOCIATED FAUNA OF PIN HOLE CAVE, CRESWELL CRAGS, ENGLAND

Uranium-series dating of derived speleothem suggests that the sediment s enclosing a Middle Palaeolithic stone artefact assemblage in Pin Hol e Cave probably accumulated after about 64 ka, and C-14 dates indicate a likely age of > 40 ka for the large mammal fauna associated with it . Electron spin resonance data from the fauna conform with these age c onstraints and are consistent with accumulation between 38 and 50 ka. This evidence supports the view that Britain was recolonised by homini ds during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3. Stratigraphically higher stone tool industries demonstrate the local presence of both early Upper and late Upper Palaeolithic cultures. (C) 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.