Coupled ESR and U-series dating of early Pleistocene Gigantopithecus faunas at Mohui and Sanhe Caves, Guangxi, southern China

Abstract

Several caves of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China, have delivered Gigantopithecus blacki remains, an extinct Pleistocene giant ape, in association with abundant mammalian faunas. To determine their geological ages, fossil teeth from Mohui and Sanhe Caves were dated using the coupled ESR/U-series method. The teeth from Mohui Cave gave age estimates of 1.69 ± 0.22 Ma and 1.29 ± 0.11 Ma. The Sanhe Cave samples had age estimates ranging from 910 ± 200 ka to 600 ± 150 ka with error weighted mean ages of 890 ± 130 ka and 720 ± 90 ka for the layers 5 and 4, respectively. Our results and previous paleomagnestism data place the Gigantopithecus fauna at Mohui Cave between Olduvai and Jaramillo subchrons and suggest that it was coeval with Chuifeng, Longgupo and Liucheng assemblages. The Sanhe fauna is younger, of late early Pleistocene age, and can be dated to the period between Jaramillo subchron and B/M boundary.