Thermoluminescence, Electron Spin Resonance and 14C-dating of the Late Middle and Early Upper Palaeolithic Site of

Thermoluminescence (TL) dating of burnt silex (flint, chert), electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of teeth and 14C-accelerator-mass-spectrometry (AMS) dating of bones has been carried out on samples from the Late Middle Palaeolithic and Early Upper Palaeolithic levels of the Geißenklösterle Cave, South Germany. ESR dating on tooth enamel from the upper part of level IV, which contains a very small undefined Middle Palaeolithic assemblage, yields a mean age of 43·34 ka. The overlying Early Aurignacian (level III) is placed in the Hengelo Interstadial by palaeoecological analysis. 14C-AMS results give a mean age of 38·40·85 ka, whereas a mean age of 40·21·5 ka is obtained by TL of burnt silex, confirming the correlation of the Early Aurignacian level with the Hengelo Interstadial in Oxygen Isotope Stage (OIS) 3. 14C-AMS of bone samples from the Aurignacian (level II) resulted in a mean age of 33·50·35 ka, whereas the TL ages on burnt silex are again older at c. 37 ka. These TL results can be taken as an indication of the age underestimation by 14C caused by the lack of calibration. The Aurignacian level contains some of the most elaborate symbolic representations from the Upper Palaeolithic. Artwork of comparable quality is radiocarbon dated to 31,000 ka at the Grotte Chauvet, thus being significantly younger. Furthermore, the Geißenklösterle Cave provides evidence of the existence of early rock art in Central Europe, although only small pieces survived erosion. The Gravettian assemblage of the Geißenklösterle Cave yielded a mean 14C-AMS age o