Environmental factors in human evolution and dispersals in the Upper Pleistocene of the western Mediterranean

6. Gibraltar Sites

   1. Introduction and underlying rationale
   2. Key Issues
   3. Specific Objectives
   4. People
   5. Moroccan Sites
   6. Gibraltar Sites
   7. Map of Sites
   8. Summary of Sites
   9. References

Gorham's and Vanguard Caves, Gibraltar

The finely stratified sediments in the Gibraltar caves have already been extensively dated using AMS 14C, luminescence and U-Series techniques (Pettitt & Bailey 2000; Rink et al. 2000) While AMS 14C has provided a highly consistent set of dates for the Upper Palaeolithic (30 ka BP), the dating of the youngest Middle Palaeolithic and underlying deposits is more difficult to interpret. A potential solution to this problem will be the application of multiple OSL dates on these horizons using the single aliquot technique (Rhodes) and further AMS 14C dating on shell (Higham & Ramsey). A pilot study by Rhodes using OSL has demonstrated that this technique works exceptionally well in both caves. One of the most surprising and significant results has been to show that deposits of equivalent OIS4 and OIS5 age are much more extensive at Gorham's than previously believed. It is now important to continue this work further up the sequence. Both Gorham's and Vanguard caves have yielded very rich palaeoenvironmental evidence (Gale & Carruthers 2000) and associated archaeological finds covering a combined timespan of 120-25 ka BP. Recently re-located Homo sapiens finds from Gorham's Cave will also require direct dating.