Tool Assemblages Research Articles

Explanations of variability in Middle Stone Age stone tool assemblage composition and raw material use in Eastern Africa

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) corresponds to a critical phase in human evolution, overlapping with the earliest emergence of Homo sapiens as well as the expansions of these populations across and beyond Africa. Within the context of growing recognition for a complex and structured population history across the continent, Eastern Africa remains a critical region to explore patterns of behavioural variability due to the large number of well-dated archaeological assemblages compared to other regions. Quantitative studies of the Eastern African MSA record have indicated patterns of behavioural variation across space, time and from different environmental contexts. Here, we examine the nature of these patterns through the use of matrix correlation statistics, exploring whether differences in assemblage composition and raw material use correlate to differences between one another, assemblage age, distance in space, and the geographic and environmental characteristics of the landscapes surrounding MSA sites. Assemblage composition and raw material use correlate most strongly with one another, with site type as well as geographic and environmental variables also identified as having significant correlations to the former, and distance in time and space correlating more strongly with the latter. By combining time and space into a single variable, we are able to show the strong relationship this has with differences in stone tool assemblage composition and raw material use, with significance for exploring the impacts of processes of cultural inheritance on variability in the MSA. A significant, independent role for terrain roughness for explaining variability in stone tool assemblages highlights the importance of considering the impacts of mobility on structuring the archaeological record of the MSA of Eastern Africa.

OPINIONS ON THE LOWLAND MAYA LATE ARCHAIC PERIOD WITH SOME EVIDENCE FROM NORTHERN BELIZE

AbstractThe fourth millennium b.p. in the Maya lowlands provides an interesting case, with mobile, aceramic peoples documented, while ceramic-using villagers lived in other parts of Mesoamerica. Rather than ask why ceramic containers and village life took so long to reach the Maya lowlands, the question can be inverted to posit that a mixed horticultural-foraging adaptation was so effective that it persisted longer than elsewhere. I propose that the so-called 4.2 ka b.p. event was the ultimate cause of increased sedentism and the first adoption of ceramic containers in a limited number of regions of Mesoamerica. My musings are grounded in the comparisons of data from the Soconusco region of southern Mexico and evidence from northern Belize at Colha and Pulltrouser Swamp, as well as the Freshwater Creek drainage. I assume that proximate behavior must account for local adaptations and different rates of change in each region of Mesoamerica. Therefore, regional adaptation in northern Belize during the Late Archaic period provides the evidence with which to reconstruct local adaptation. Excavations and regional reconnaissance document a distinctive orange soil horizon at Progresso Lagoon associated with patinated chert tools and an absence of ceramics. Stone tool assemblages from the preceramic components of three sites in the region indicate a spatial separation of tool use and resharpening at island versus shore. Starch grains recovered from these stone tools indicate that preceramic peoples in northern Belize harvested maize and several other domesticated plant species. These data are consistent with local paleoenvironmental studies that document an extended period of horticultural activity during the fifth and fourth millennia b.p. prior to the adoption of ceramics. Lithic assemblages and associated dietary information from multiple sites provide glimpses of the data necessary to reconstruct Late Archaic period adaptation from a single locale. Such data will be required to understand the proximate causes for the transition to a more settled, village life.

New excavations in the MNK Skull site, and the last appearance of the Oldowan and Homo habilis at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

MNK Skull is one of the most significant archaeological sites in Olduvai Gorge, particularly due to the previous discovery of human fossils referred to in the paper where the Homo habilis taxon was originally defined. An important archaeological assemblage is contained in the same horizon as the hominin fossils, constituting the last evidence of both Homo habilis remains and handaxe-free tool kits in the Olduvai Gorge sequence. Our excavations at the site are the first to be conducted since the original work in the 1960s, and sought to refine the archaeological context wherein the Homo habilis remains were discovered. Chronostratigraphic results place the MNK Skull sequence in Middle Bed II prior to deposition of Tuff IIB. The assemblage was deposited near the shoreline, as Palaeolake Olduvai withdrew into the basinal depocentre, and fossils and stone tools were subjected to significant post-depositional processes. The assemblage was affected by mudflow deposits that buried and preserved the assemblage but also entrained surficial bone and lithic elements into the flow. Rather than an occupation site as originally interpreted, the assemblage is better understood as a background deposit, possibly accumulated on an unconformity surface over a long period of time. The stone tool assemblage is typical of the Oldowan, with no technological elements announcing the appearance of the Acheulean, which is well attested to across the Olduvai sequence in post-Tuff IIB times. Our results highlight that, with an approximate age of circa 1.67 Ma, MNK Skull stands as a key site to understand the late Oldowan and the disappearance of Homo habilis in East Africa.

Raw material procurement at Boila Rockshelter, Epirus, as an indicator of hunter-gatherer mobility in Greece during the Late Upper Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic

Mobility represents one of the most important behavioural strategies of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic, allowing groups to organise their use of landscapes by positioning themselves close to resources, as well as to regulate group size and social networks. One way of measuring the scale of this mobility is through the transport of lithic raw materials in the form of cores and finished artefacts. This paper aims to investigate settlement and mobility in Greece during the Late Upper Palaeolithic to Early Mesolithic transition, by using chipped stone technology and raw material transport as an index for wider subsistence and settlement changes associated with the Early Holocene. We take as a case study the Boila Rockshelter, located in the Voidomatis Basin in the rugged uplands of the Tymphi Massif, part of the Pindus Mountains in northwestern Greece.Typological analysis of almost two-thirds of the Boila chipped stone assemblage was carried out, along with geochemical trace element analysis on chert samples from the site, as well as limestone exposures in the local area and further afield. The geochemical analysis was focused on rare earth and other elements, with the results from Boila and the geological samples then compared. These confirmed that the majority of the chert used at Boila was originally derived from outcrops within the Vikos Gorge and Voidomatis River Valley, with the best pieces from approximately 10 km to the southeast of the site. Abrasion on the surfaces of these indicates that the majority of pieces used at Boila were collected from secondary fluvial deposits, such as those immediately below the site. In contrast, the geochemical results suggested that the reddish-brown varieties which were recovered at low frequency at Boila were probably collected from deposits located further towards the south.Synthesis of the results from the chipped stone and geochemical analyses suggested that during the Early Holocene at Boila, there was a change in the composition of the retouched tool assemblage. Backed bladelets continued to be made, but they were added to by increasing numbers of backed points and geometrics, along with a significant increase in the frequency of microburins. In parallel, the use of local black chert increased, albeit from a high level to begin with, while the poorer quality local greyish-white varieties declined, along with reddish-brown. The decline in greyish-white chert probably points to deliberate choice, favouring the better quality local black variety. The decline in reddish-brown chert, likely to have been collected further towards the south, suggests increasingly localised use of the landscape, possibly in response to improving conditions leading to increasing abundance, thus reducing the scale of mobility systems or the need for as frequent site relocation.

Manufacture, use and management of macro-lithic resources in the Bronze Age settlement of Bruszczewo (Poland)

Contrary to pottery or metal artefacts, macro-lithic tools are still not fully integrated into the archaeological research programs concerning the Early Bronze Age of Central Europe. While such kind of archaeological materials usually do not easily allow typological approaches, their constant participation in several productive spheres makes them a crucial element for understanding the economic processes and the organisation of past societies. This paper presents the general results of the investigation carried out on an assemblage of 1073 macro-lithic items recovered in the wet soil area of the site of Bruszczewo (municipality of Śmigiel, Poland). This fortified settlement was inhabited during the Early Bronze Age (2100-1650 BCE) and later on in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age (1100-800 BCE), with minor archaeological evidences from Middle Ages. The methodology applied in this assessment is a holistic one, which combines manufacturing (petrography and morphometry), functional (use-wear and residues) and spatial analyses. This approach has allowed recording a mainly local raw material supplying system, based on the gathering of pebbles in the vicinity of the site and a minimal transformation of raw pieces previous to use. Moreover, Bruszczewo comes out to be a central settlement managing and controlling exogenous ores, such as copper and gold, as shown by residues found on some macro-lithic forging anvils. All in all, the recognition in the macro-lithic tool assemblage of different tasks related to subsistence (food preparation) as well as to manufacture (metallurgy, probably bone working) processes contributes to (a) defining the settlement's organisation and the management of resources in the site and (b) improving our understanding of the role played by central settlements in the socio-economic networks, at a time when the first class societies emerged in Central Europe.

Daily Practices and Special Events

The article offers a detailed analysis of the grinding tool assemblage from the two neighbouring, partially contemporary and almost entirely excavated Late/Final Neolithic settlements of Kleitos, northwestern Greece. The data shed light on various choices regarding the organisation of the production and management of these implements. According to the evidence, grinding tools were not only used as part of the daily routine, but were also often used in special events. The limited rates of exhausted implements, the extreme fragmentation, and special patterns of deposition indicate the complex manipulation of grinding implements beyond their primary functions.

A New Perspective on Copper Age Technology, Economy and Settlement: Grinding Tools at the Valencina Mega-Site

Activity patterns at large prehistoric sites are often difficult to interpret, as they frequently combine productive, domestic and funerary components. Valencina, the largest of the Copper Age mega-sites in Iberia, has proved particularly challenging in this regard. Macrolithic tool assemblages have been generally neglected in these debates but can provide specific insight into the nature and patterning of activities. In this study, 185 grinding tools from seven separate excavations across this 450 ha mega-site were subjected to multiple lines of analysis including quantification, morphology, raw material, use-wear and depositional context. A surprising feature of this assemblage is the high degree of fragmentation, with more than half of the items representing less than 25% of the original artefact and only a small minority of them (< 10%) complete. The absence of intact quernstones is particularly striking. The results indicate a ritualization of deposition at Valencina, and throw new light on the interpretation of this complex site. Furthermore, they emphasize the central role that grinding technology should play in future discussion of European prehistoric mega-sites.

The Starčevo Culture Horizon at the Site of Kneževi Vinogradi (Eastern Croatia)

The region of Slavonia in eastern Croatia represents the westernmost area inhabited by the communities of the Starčevo culture, part of the Starčevo-Körös-Criş cultural complex. This region was intensively inhabited during the period between 6200 and 5500 cal BC, and numerous sites were excavated. Some of the aspects of the lives of these communities, however, are still insufficiently explored, in particular the economy and craft production. In this paper we will focus on lithic and osseous tool assemblages from the site of Kneževi Vinogradi-Osnovna škola. The Starčevo cultural horizon has only yielded small assemblages of lithic and osseous tools, but they show some interesting technological and typological traits.&#x0D;

The Karasai site: The first stratified Mesolithic assemblage in eastern Kazakhstan

In 2019, a joint Russian-Kazakh expedition discovered the first stratified Mesolithic locality in eastern Kazakhstan. Excavations at the Karasai site revealed a rich Early Holocene cultural layer (Layer 2). The lithic industry includes elements of all stages of lithic production. Cores include low-backed prismatic and narrow faced varieties and the tool assemblage is dominated by non-geometric microblade inset, fragmentary points, borers, micro-burins and microlithic scrapers. The Mesolithic age of the finds is confirmed by two AMS radiocarbon dates between 10,000–8,500 cal years BP. The Karasai industry most closely resembles lithic assemblages dating to the beginning of the Early Holocene in northern Kazakhstan.

The gateway to the oriental zone: Environmental change and palaeolithic behaviour in the Thar Desert

The global distribution of modern humans is unparalleled amongst other terrestrial fauna and explaining how we have become so uniquely successful is a topic of major debate in palaeoanthropology. Examining how past populations engaged and adapted to new ecologies, rather than just when and where they first appear in the fossil record, can best be rooted in broader studies of biogeography that explicitly recognize key thresholds between major ecozones. In this paper, focus is placed on the Thar Desert, marking the boundary between the Saharo-Arabian desert belt to the west and the monsoonal Oriental zone to the east as an example of such a boundary. The goal of this study is to provide a broad synthesis of available evidence from the region, aiming to clearly communicate the nature of the existing Palaeolithic record and to identify tension and contradiction within it as foci for future research. Following review of modern ecology and palaeoenvironmental archives from the region, a quantitative analysis of the Palaeolithic record of the Thar Desert is presented. Hierarchical clustering is used to evaluate the extent to which typological constellations within stone tool assemblages reflect the top level terminology used to group Palaeolithic behaviour, revealing six broad clusters of assemblages and three clusters of artefact types. A more detailed appraisal of dated and stratified assemblages highlights rare patterns of exclusion between Acheulean, Middle Palaeolithic and Late Palaeolithic assemblages alongside more prominent proportional differences in assemblage composition. These results are discussed in the broader context of key behavioural changes in Palaeolithic South Asia and the expansion of modern humans.

Technological transitions and human-environment interactions in Mesolithic southeastern Norway, 11 500–6000 cal. BP

In Northern Europe, the Holocene is characterized by climatic and environmental variations. A central question is how hunter-gatherer in different regions coped with these changes. In this article, we explore the temporal co-variance between environmental change and transitions in lithic technology during the Mesolithic of southeastern Norway. The empirical starting point comprises technological analysis of lithic assemblages from sites dated between 11 500 and 6000 cal. BP. We focus on two transitions identified in the lithic assemblages: 1) the introduction of the conical core pressure blade technology and ground macro tool technology, c. 10 300–10 100 cal. BP, and 2) the introduction of microblade production on handle cores and changes in the macro tool assemblage, c. 7700-7500 cal. BP. The main objective is to investigate the factors influencing transitions in material culture, and contribute to the discussion of the complexity and diversity of human-environment interactions during the Mesolithic of Northern Europe. The results from this study contribute to an increasing knowledge on the diversity and complexity of hunter-gatherers relation with environmental and climatic variation, and add more insight to the vital question of how we can understand culture change among past populations.

Phytolith evidence for human-plant subsistence in Yahuai Cave (Guangxi, South China) over the past 30000 years

South China preserves a rich archaeological record elucidating the evolution of early modern humans during the Late Pleistocene. However, few studies on plant utilization were conducted in this region. We used phytolith analysis from Yahuai Cave, Guangxi, to infer human use of plant resources over the past 30000 years. AMS 14C dating was used to constrain the chronological framework. Results indicate that several economically essential species were present throughout the sequence including Urticineae (cf. Ulmus sp.), which appears in the lower layers of the sequence (Marine Isotope Stage 3 through Heinrich 1); bamboo and palm which appear throughout the sequence, and wild rice which appears in a clear archaeological context dating to 16000 years ago. This is the earliest record of wild rice in South China and a prerequisite for rice domestication. The unique stone tool assemblages, which resemble those in north China as opposed to South China, point to the possibility that humans, seeking refuge from the colder north, brought their tool kit with them and utilized familiar northern taxa. Warmer South China would have served as a refuge for human populations escaping the cold, harsh climate in the north with more ameliorate conditions in the south.

Plant processing experiments and use-wear analysis of Tabon Cave artefacts question the intentional character of denticulates in prehistoric Southeast Asia

The presence of notches on European Palaeolithic flaked stone tools termed ‘denticulates’ has been variously ascribed to cultural, functional and taphonomic factors. In Southeast Asia prehistoric stone tool assemblages are dominated by unretouched flakes, so the rare retouched lithics, including denticulates, can be considered unique testimonies of the intention of the tool makers to control the shape and properties of tool edges. Here we report the results of plant processing experiments with modern unretouched flakes made of red jasper. Splitting plants with the help of a specific hand and arm movement (“twist-of-the-wrist”) resulted in a series of use-wear traces that included large crescent-break micro-scars. These are very similar in shape and appearance to the notches of prehistoric denticulated tools. These results suggest that some denticulated pieces in prehistoric Southeast Asia could be less intentional than previously thought, being instead the result of plant processing activities. We also report here the analysis of 41 denticulates from Tabon Cave, Philippines. While some are clearly intentionally retouch, others exhibit use-wear and nocth micro-morphology characteristic of plant splitting. The notches of others result from utilisation and taphonomy or trampling. Altogether, our observations raise the following question: should the term denticulates be restricted to the tools intentionally retouched or encompass all the tools with adjacent notches whatever the origin of the latter is?

Neanderthal lithic procurement and mobility patterns through a multi-level study in the Abric Romaní site (Capellades, Spain)

This study represents the first integrated approach to the lithic raw materials exploited by the Neanderthals that occupied the Abric Romaní site (NE Iberia). Focusing on chert as the most abundant raw material (>80% of the assemblages), we determine the potential procurement areas and the mobility patterns. Geo-archaeological surveys within a radius of 30 km from the site documented 32 primary locations with silicifications. The chert abundance ratio, a quantitative approach to the raw material availability, together with macroscopic and petrographic analyses, confirm the underexploitation of the local raw materials (<10 km).The main procurement areas are located between 16 km (Sant Martí de Tous chert) and 24 km (Panadella chert), indicating different procurement strategies and mobility patterns. Stone tool assemblages from levels M and Oa fall within a foraging radius, whereas level P, in part, suggests a logistical radius, demonstrating a complex scenario of extensive knowledge and intensive exploitation of the landscape among Neanderthals.

Confirming a Cultural Association at the La Prele Mammoth Site (48CO1401), Converse County, Wyoming

Archaeologists have long subjected Clovis megafauna kill/scavenge sites to the highest level of scrutiny. In 1987, a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) was found in spatial association with a small artifact assemblage in Converse County, Wyoming. However, due to the small tool assemblage, limited nature of the excavations, and questions about the security of the association between the artifacts and mammoth remains, the site was never included in summaries of human-killed/scavenged megafauna in North America. Here we present the results of four field seasons of new excavations at the La Prele Mammoth site that confirm the presence of an associated cultural occupation based on geologic context, artifact attributes, spatial distributions, protein residue analysis, and lithic microwear analysis. This new work identified a more extensive cultural occupation including the presence of multiple discrete artifact clusters in close proximity to the mammoth bone bed. This study confirms the presence of a second Clovis mammoth kill/scavenge site in Wyoming and shows the value in revisiting proposed terminal Pleistocene kill/scavenge sites.

Plant Foods and Different Uses of Grinding Tools at the Neolithic Site of Tanghu in Central China

ABSTRACT In the central plain of China, grinding tools are a common category of artefacts at sites attributed to the Peiligang Culture (c. 9000-7000 BP). This paper focuses on the grinding tool assemblage from the site of Tanghu, the largest Peiligang Culture settlement yet discovered. The results from the microwear and residue analyses both suggest that cereals were the primary plant material processed with the grinding tools. Other plants, including acorns and underground storage organs, were also processed, but probably to a smaller extent. Furthermore, microwear analysis suggests that the dry-grinding technique was adopted for cereal processing, and a piece of hide or animal skin was placed underneath the grinding slabs to gather the processed plant material. Apart from plant food processing, one of the grinding tools was also involved in processing bone. These data put more insights into the Neolithic culinary practices and different uses of grinding tools in this region.

Needle case, sound instrument or something else? A worked and ornamented swan (Cygnus sp.) ulna from a Late Mesolithic male burial, Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov, Northwest Russia

The focus of this article is an analysis of tubular bone items made by cutting off the epiphyses of large bird ulnae, such as those found in burials 67 and 69 at Late Mesolithic Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov (Lake Onega, Northwest Russia). The bone tube from grave 69 was studied systematically, and tested to determine whether it could have been used as a sound instrument. In order to do so, we made a replica of the object, and tested its functions as a flute and a reed pipe. More generally, we propose alternatives to conventional and somewhat unimaginative interpretations of tubular bone artefacts. We raise awareness of their possible acoustic dimension, and discuss the outlook, structure, function and uses of simple bone flutes, whistles and reed pipes, highlighting their most common role as decoy whistles or animal calls. Blown instruments should be kept in mind when looking for explanations of tubular bone artefacts. Sound tools, and especially decoy whistles or animal calls, were common and necessary implements used everywhere and throughout all time periods, especially among hunters and fowlers, and should be considered a basic part of the bone tool assemblage.

Human occupation of northern India spans the Toba super-eruption ~74,000 years ago

India is located at a critical geographic crossroads for understanding the dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa and into Asia and Oceania. Here we report evidence for long-term human occupation, spanning the last ~80 thousand years, at the site of Dhaba in the Middle Son River Valley of Central India. An unchanging stone tool industry is found at Dhaba spanning the Toba eruption of ~74 ka (i.e., the Youngest Toba Tuff, YTT) bracketed between ages of 79.6 ± 3.2 and 65.2 ± 3.1 ka, with the introduction of microlithic technology ~48 ka. The lithic industry from Dhaba strongly resembles stone tool assemblages from the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Arabia, and the earliest artefacts from Australia, suggesting that it is likely the product of Homo sapiens as they dispersed eastward out of Africa.

Subspheroids in the lithic assemblage of Barranco León (Spain): Recognizing the late Oldowan in Europe

The lithic assemblage of Barranco León (BL), attributed to the Oldowan techno-complex, contributes valuable information to reconstruct behavioral patterning of the first hominins to disperse into Western Europe. This archaic stone tool assemblage comprises two, very different groups of tools, made from distinct raw materials. On the one hand, a small-sized toolkit knapped from Jurassic flint, comprising intensively exploited cores and small-sized flakes and fragments and, on the other hand, a large-sized limestone toolkit that is mainly linked to percussive activities. In recent years, the limestone macro-tools have been the center of particular attention, leading to a re-evaluation of their role in the assemblage. Main results bring to light strict hominin selective processes, mainly concerning the quality of the limestone and the morphology of the cobbles, in relation to their use-patterning. In addition to the variety of traces of percussion identified on the limestone tools, recurrences have recently been documented in their positioning and in the morphology of the active surfaces. Coupled with experimental work, this data has contributed to formulating hypothesis about the range of uses for these tools, beyond stone knapping and butchery, for activities such as: wood-working or tendon and meat tenderizing. The abundance of hammerstones, as well as the presence of heavy-duty scrapers, are special features recognized for the limestone component of the Barranco León assemblage. This paper presents, for the first time, another characteristic of the assemblage: the presence of polyhedral and, especially, subspheroid morphologies, virtually unknown in the European context for this timeframe. We present an analysis of these tools, combining qualitative evaluation of the raw materials, diacritical study, 3D geometric morphometric analysis of facet angles and an evaluation of the type and position of percussive traces; opening up the discussion of the late Oldowan beyond the African context.

Refining the chronology of Acheulean deposits at Porto Maior in the River Miño basin (Galicia, Spain) using a comparative luminescence and ESR dating approach

Trapped charge dating of optically bleached quartz, which involves techniques such as electron spin resonance (ESR) and thermally transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL), is increasingly being used to establish Middle and Early Pleistocene chronologies for archaeological, palaeontological and palaeoenvironmental sedimentary sequences. Comparative dating studies that make use of several independent or semi-independent radiometric techniques in tandem are an invaluable means of assessing the reliability of optically bleached quartz dating methods and ascertaining empirical relationships between different quartz dating signals. In this study, we undertake a comparative dating evaluation of single-grain TT-OSL and various ESR signals that exhibit different optical resetting properties (Al, Ti–Li and, where measurable, Ti–H centres) at the Middle Pleistocene archaeological site of Porto Maior, northwest Spain, which contains a distinctive, regionally significant Acheulean stone tool assemblage. We expand the existing chronological framework for Porto Maior using single-grain TT-OSL dating, derive combined numerical ages for individual depositional units using Bayesian modelling, and further examine the relationship between ESR and TT-OSL signals by reviewing a range of published comparative dating studies. The new single-grain TT-OSL ages obtained for unit PM3 at Porto Maior (225 ± 31 ka and 242 ± 32 ka) are in close agreement with previously published ESR Ti–Li ages for this unit (266 ± 23 ka and 279 ± 26 ka) and significantly younger than those reported for the Al centre (441 ± 75 ka and 452 ± 66 ka). Our broader comparison of published TT-OSL – ESR dating results also shows statistically significant agreement between single-grain TT-OSL and Ti–Li centre ages in other sedimentary settings, suggesting a potentially closer relationship between the TT-OSL-producing traps and the Ti–Li paramagnetic centres in quartz, rather than between the TT-OSL and Al centre signals. The Bayesian modelling results for Porto Maior enable us to refine the existing bracketing depositional age for the archaeological accumulation at Porto Maior and provide a stronger statistical foundation for chronostratigraphic correlations with other Acheulean archaeological deposits found in the Miño River basin. The Bayesian model indicates that the entire Porto Maior sedimentary sequence was deposited between 312.6 ± 32.6 ka and 18.8 ± 7.7 ka, and that the in situ large cutting tool assemblage from level PM4 most likely accumulated during Marine Isotope Stage 7 (mean depositional age = 210.7 ± 24.7 ka). The results of this study reinforce the usefulness of applying the multiple centre (MC) ESR dating approach in many dating contexts, and demonstrate the value of undertaking comparisons between semi-independent quartz dating signals in order to maximise the reliability of ESR and single-grain TT-OSL quartz chronologies.