Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 9 (2016) 160167

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Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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Radiometric dating of Late Pleistocene mammal bones from La Mixteca

Alta Oaxaquea
E. Ordoez-Regil a, M.G. Almazn-Torres a,, E. Jimnez-Hidalgo b, D. Tenorio a
a
b

Laboratorio de Paleobiologa Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, La Marquesa Ocoyoacac, Mexico

Instituto de Recursos, Campus Puerto Escondido, Universidad del Mar, Carr. Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 3 December 2015
Received in revised form 11 July 2016
Accepted 18 July 2016
Available online xxxx
Keywords:
Uranium series
Alpha spectrometry
Fossil mammals
Bone and tooth
Numeric age
Southern Mexico

a b s t r a c t
Numeric age of Late Pleistocene mammals remains recovered from La Mixteca Alta Oaxaquea have been determined by using uranium series dating (238U-234U-230Th method). Prior to radiometric dating, fossil bone samples
were characterized using different techniques including X-Ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Spectroscopy Infrared and Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) in order to verify their composition and diagenetic processes. Uranium and thorium isotopes were measured by alpha spectrometry of electroplated thin sources after
radiochemical separation by liquid-liquid chromatography column packed with Di-(2-Etil-Hexil)-phosphoric
acid (D2EPHA). Fossil bone samples dates were estimated from 234U/238U and 230Th/234U activity ratios considering a closed system in which the sample initially contains some uranium but is free of thorium. The ages obtained (between 88.3 ka and 12.4 ka BP) are all consistent with a Late Pleistocene age. However, some samples
belonging to Bison antiquus yielded ages older than the expected age (around 60 ka as maximum age), which
could be associated with diagenetic alteration suffered these samples during burial. This study gives the rst
numeric ages of some mammal species that inhabited southern Mexico during the Late Pleistocene.
2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Records of Late Pleistocene (126 ka11 ka BP) mammals in the Mexican territory are abundant (ArroyoCabrales et al., 2002, 2006). Much
of the Late Pleistocene age was dominated by glaciations, which produced important environmental changes. During this period, the Mexican territory was subject to less extreme weather conditions that the
north and south of America (Ceballos et al., 2010). Many species from
the areas strongly affected by glaciations migrated toward diverse
areas across the country. Fossil remains belonging to these and other
species, particularly mammals, have been found in some areas of Baja
California Sur, Sonora, Nuevo Len, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Hidalgo,
Tlaxcala, Puebla, San Luis Potos, Mexico, Chiapas and Oaxaca. Most of
the fossil remains have been attributed to species like tortoises,
glyptodonts, camels, bison, mammoths, mastodons and ancient horses
(Arroyo-Cabrales et al., 2005).
Although Late Pleistocene mammal localities are abundant in Mexico
(around 776), formally reported dating of these fossil localities are very
scarce (around 29 localities have numeric ages) and almost all of them
are in central Mexico (ArroyoCabrales et al., 2002; Tovar et al., 2013).
Fossil species provide useful information for paleoclimatic and
paleoenviromental reconstructions. Studies of past changes in the environment and biodiversity often reect on the current situation, and
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: guadalupe.almazan@inin.gob.mx (M.G. Almazn-Torres).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.07.021
2352-409X/ 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

specically the impact of climate on mass extinctions and biotic evolution (Sahney and Benton, 2008). In order to understand environmental
and climate changes in the past, accurate dating is of fundamental importance. Fossils bones can be accurately and precisely dated by using
uranium-series disequilibrium methods (Bischoff et al., 1995; Garca
et al., 2004), which include a range of techniques involving many different nuclides. 238U234U230Th method that is based on accumulation of
decay products, allows dating materials in the age range of up to 350
500 ka, which makes it particularly suitable for dating Quaternary fossil
bones (Ku, 1976, 2000; Bischoff et al., 1995). In this method, the parent
nuclide may be deposited free of its daughters or a daughter deciency
of known extent may be established, so that at some subsequent time,
the age of the deposit can be determined from the degree of growth of
the daughters toward secular equilibrium with its parent (Ivanovich,
1994). Uranium is assimilated into bone soon after burial in an early uptake, and then would remain as a closed system (i.e. decay products did
not migrate either in or out sample) thereafter (Bischoff et al., 1995).
This has already been demonstrated for younger samples, those within
the range of radiocarbon control for which concordance has been found
between uranium-thorium and radiocarbon dates (Szabo, 1980;
Bischoff and Rosenbauer, 1981; Rae et al., 1987).
In this study, 238U234U230Th method was used to date Late Pleistocene mammals bone remains from La Mixteca Alta Oaxaquea, Northwestern Oaxaca, southern Mexico (Jimnez et al., 2011, 2013). The
Mixteca region is an important Pleistocene fossiliferous area of Oaxaca
state, but unfortunately at present there is only one reported

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161

radiometric date, that of the archaeo-palaentological site of Chazumba,

in the Mixteca Baja, which is located around 55 km north-westerly
from our study area (Vias-Vallverd et al., 2015).
The dating methods based on U-series disequilibrium are particularly sensitive to diagenesis and alteration. Diagenetic processes can modify the original chemical composition of bone, as well as its crystallinity,
their chemical and physical properties. For this reason, fossil bone samples were rstly prepared and submitted to a physical and chemical
analysis. For radiometric dating, uranium and thorium were measured
by alpha spectrometry of electroplated thin sources after radiochemical
separation.
2. Provenance of studied samples and stratigraphy of fossil localities
The analyzed bone samples were extracted from Late Pleistocene
mammalian specimens (Table 1) that are housed at the Coleccin
Cientca del Laboratorio de Paleobiologa, Instituto de Recursos, Campus Puerto Escondido, Universidad del Mar, under the prex UMPE.
These fossils were collected in an area between 17 3517 55 Lat N
and 97 2097 40 Long W, within the Mixteca Alta region of Oaxaca
state (Fig. 1). The fossil localities are Oax-2 El Pedernal, Oax-3 La
Pedrera, Oax-4 Ro Salado, Oax-5 Llano de Hueso, Oax-6 Caada del
Misterio and Oax-7 Ro Tejupam (Fig. 1; Table 1). In these localities diverse specimens of glyptodonts, rodents, camels, bison, horses, mammoths, ostracodes, small bivalves and gastropods, among others, have
been collected and together constitute the Viko Vijin Local Fauna
(Jimnez et al., 2011).
In locality Oax-2 El Pedernal, the stratigraphic sequence begins with
a medium bedded vitric tuff that is discordantly covered by a massive
bed, constituted by well-indurated, poorly sorted, ne- and mediumgrained sand with subangular to subrounded clasts and some lenses of
silt and gravel; a Bison antiquus radius-ulna (Fig. 2) was recovered
from the basal part (50100 cm) of this massive sandy bed, as well as
other specimens (Jimnez et al., 2011, 2013). Four thick beds of neand medium sand, with some lenses of gravel, discordantly overlie the
fossil bearing bed. In the top of the sequence there is a layer of soil
(Fig. 3).
In locality Oax-3 La Pedrera, the base of the stratigraphic sequence is
a ne-grained, cross-stratied tuffaceous sand with laminar stratication, which is discordantly overlain by a breccia with basalt clasts and
sandy matrix. This breccia is discordantly overlain by a thick bed of
silty clay with few lenses of gravel and moderately sorted ne-grained
sand (Fig. 3). In the middle part of the silty clayey bed a Bison antiquus
skull and pelvis were collected (Fig. 2). A gravel layer with clasts from
2 to 10 cm in diameter and sandy matrix caps the fossiliferous bed.
Above the gravel there is a soil bed (Jimnez et al., 2011).
In localities Oax-4 Ro Salado, Oax-5 Llano de Hueso and Oax-6 Caada del Misterio, the stratigraphic sequence starts with a pack of siltstone that is discordantly covered by a thick bed of well-indurated,
ne-grained silty sand with lenses of poorly sorted, ne- and
Table 1
Sampled specimens for U/Th dating and their collecting locality.
Catalogue
number

Sample
number

UMPE 0077

Equidae 1

UMPE 0445
UMPE 0021
UMPE 0473

Bovidae 1
Glyptodon
Equidae 2

UMPE 0074
UMPE 0645

Bovidae 2
Mammoth

UMPE 0004
UMPE 0572
UMPE 0464

Bovidae 3
Bovidae 4
Bovidae 5

Species

Locality

Equus
conversidens
Bison antiquus
Glyptotherium sp.
Equus sp.

Oax-5 Llano de hueso

Bison antiquus
Mammuthus
columbi
Bison antiquus
Bison antiquus
Bison antiquus

Oax-3 La Pedrera
Oax-4 Ro Salado (Bottom)
Oax-4 Ro Salado (Tecolote
site)
Oax-3 La Pedrera
Oax-7 Ro Tejupam
Oax-2 El Pedernal
Oax-7 Ro Tejupam
Oax-6 Caada del Misterio

Fig. 1. Index map of Mexico showing the location of the study area in Oaxaca and the
Pleistocene fossil localities. Stars indicate fossil localities; full names of localities are
given in Table 1.

medium-grained sand as well as gravel (Fig. 3); Pleistocene fossils

have been collected in this bed (Table 1). Three beds of ne-grained
silty sand with some gravel lenses cover this fossiliferous bed, and in
one of them (Tecolote site) some Equus teeth were collected (Fig. 3;
Table 1). Capping the sequence there is a soil layer. Finally, in locality
Oax-7 Ro Tejupam, the stratigraphic sequence is similar to the previous
one; it only differs because in the base of the fossiliferous bed there are
some conglomerate lenses and the fossil bearing bed is a is ne-grained
silty sand with lenses of clay and gravel (Fig. 3). A fragment of mammoth skull was collected from this silty sand (Table 1).
The above-described sediments are common in uvial depositional
systems, including small rivers and ponds (Boggs, 2001). The predominance of ne-grained sand and silt in the fossiliferous beds and the moderate to well preserved specimens (including the very delicate bivalves
and ostracods) indicates a low to medium energy system in which the fossil specimens were only shortly or not transported (Jimnez et al., 2011).
3. Materials and methods
Samples were extracted from the bone and tooth fragments of fossil
mammals (Fig. 2) and pulverized using an agate mortar. These samples

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E. Ordoez-Regil et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 9 (2016) 160167

Fig. 2. Fossil specimens sampled for dating (analyzed samples are also shown). 1. UMPE 0077, Equus conversidens skull (Equidae 1). 2. UMPE 0445, Bison antiquus pelvis (Bovidae 1). 3.
UMPE 0021, Glyptotherium sp. caudal tube (Glyptodon). 4. UMPE 0473, Equus sp. tooth fragment (Equidae 2). 5. UMPE 0074, Male Bison antiquus skull (Bovidae 2). 6. UMPE 0645,
Mammuthus columbi skull fragment (Mammoth). 7. UMPE 0004 Bison antiquus radio-ulna (Bovidae 3). 8. Female Bison antiquus skull (Bovidae 4). 9. UMPE 0464 Bison antiquus pelvis
(Bovidae 5).

were dried during 24 h at 100 C. Physical and chemical analysis of bone

samples was carried out using several analytical techniques including X
Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Infrared
Spectroscopy and Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA).
The powder XRD patterns were recorded in a SIEMENS model D500
diffractometer, using CuK ray (k = 1.5404 A). For SEM observations,
the powders were deposited on an aluminum ribbon. Electron micrographs were then obtained using a microscope JEOL 5900LV equipped
with an Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) detector and analysis system.
IR spectra were recorded in the range of 4000400 cm 1 with a
PerkinElmer 1600 FT-IR spectrometer. Solid samples were mixed
with KBr (infrared grade) at a ratio of 1:200.
For radiometric dating of fossil samples, uranium and thorium isotopes were rstly separated and puried. Radiochemical separation
was executed by partition chromatographic method using di-2-EthylHexil phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as stationary phase (Ordez -Regil,
1986; Rout et al., 2010). Four grams of pulverized bone sample were
soxhlet extracted with 25 mL of hexane for 18 h in order to dissolve
and extract the remains of collagen in the bone samples. This is because
they could interfere in the extraction of alpha emitters. Residual mineral
is then calcined to eliminate organic matter as CO2 and dissolved in HCl
6 M NH4Cl 0.1 M solutions. Suspension was agitated for 18 h and separated by ltration. The ltrate is diluted with water to 500 mL. This solution is passed through the chromatography column containing Teon
granules impregnated with D2EHPA. Uranium and thorium fractions
were sequentially eluted with concentrated hydrochloric acid and
oxalic acid, respectively from the leachable fraction (Ordez -Regil,

1986). The respective eluates were then evaporated until incipient dryness. The thin sources for alpha spectrometry were prepared by electrodeposition of alpha emitters on 304 mirror polished stainless steel discs
for 24 h at 15 mA. Finally, the discs were removed and rinsed with deionized water and allowed to dry air. The yield of the extraction process
for alpha emitters was 85 5%. At least two replicates of each sample
were made, but in some cases three or four replicates were necessary
to conrm the results.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Physical and chemical analysis
A total of nine fossil bone and tooth samples have been analyzed
(Fig. 2). Bone samples studied were identied as: Equidae 1 (Equus
conversidens), Glyptodont (Glyptotherium), Mammoth (Mammuthus
columbi), Bovidae 1, Bovidae 2, Bovidae 3, Bovidae 4 and Bovidae 5
(Bison antiquus). The only sample of tooth was identied as Equidae 2
(Equus sp.).
Mammal bone and tooth is a composite constituted by organic and
inorganic compounds. The organic part consists mainly of collagen
and proteins, while the main inorganic mineral component is hydroxyapatite (Goffer, 1980; Child, 1995). There is a small percentage of other
elements (such as calcium, magnesium and sodium carbonate) incorporated into the bone structure. Natural alteration of bone begins immediately after death and continues after burial. In this context, the
characteristics of the soil environment play an important role in the

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163

Fig. 3. Stratigraphic columns of Pleistocene fossil localities in northwestern Oaxaca where sampled specimens where collected.

deterioration or preservation of bones (White and Hannus, 1983; Child,

1995; Wilson and Pollard, 2002). In order to verify composition and alteration degree of fossil bone samples, four complementary analytical
techniques have been used: X-ray diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Infrared Spectroscopy and Neutron Activation Analysis.
X-ray diffraction patterns of representative bone samples are shown
in Fig. 4. Poorly crystalline hydroxyapatite is the main mineral constituent in all samples examined. Calcium carbonate (as calcite) is also present in different proportions, which indicate that bone samples have
suffered different degrees of alteration. It is important to note that the

Fig. 4. Diffraction patterns of fossil bone samples from la Mixteca Alta Oaxaquea, Mexico.

isomorphic substitution of carbonate ions by phosphate ions into the

hydroxyapatite structure normally occurs during fossilization process.
The samples examined, particularly those of bovidae, presented also
secondary mineral phases (such as quartz, cristobalite and montmorillonite), which were incorporated into the bone structure from the burial
soils.
Microstructures and composition of bone samples were examined
using a scanning electron microscope coupled with Energy Dispersive
X-ray spectroscopy. SEM images of some osteological samples examined are shown in Fig. 5. Samples of Glyptodont (Glyptotherium),
Bovidae 1 and Bovidae 2 (Bison antiquus) are mostly constituted by
spongy bone which is characterized by irregular latticework of thin
plates called trabeculae. The samples Equidae 1 (Equus conversidens),
Mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) and Bovidae 3 (Bison antiquus) correspond to compact bone. In some of these samples small particles can be
seen into the matrix and on the surface of bone, which correspond to
secondary mineral phases. The sample of tooth (Equidae 2), hydroxyapatite crystals are arranged in long, thin structures called rods (Fig. 6). It
is estimated that the number of rods in a tooth ranges from 5 million in
the lower lateral incisor to 12 million in the upper rst molar. Minute
spaces exist where crystals do not form between rods. Typically called
pores, they contribute to enamel's permeability (Fincham et al., 1999).
The EDX spectra were obtained in order to conrm elemental composition corresponding to the fossil bones (Table 2). The major constituent elements of hydroxyapatite (Ca, P) were found in both spongy and
compact bone, together with small amounts of elements characteristic
of secondary mineral phases (Al, Mg, Si, Na, Fe), which were particularly
present in bovidae samples. Molar ratios of Ca/P were in the range between 2.1 and 2.5. Excluding those values measured in samples of
Bovidae 1, 2 and 3 (2.5), Ca/P values are close to that of living bones
(2.16). Thus, carbonate substitution by phosphate ions in bovidae samples is revealed by an increase in Ca/P ratios.

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Equidae 1

Glyptodont

Mammoth

Bovidae 1

Bovidae 3

Bovidae 5

Bovidae 2

Bovidae 4

Fig. 5. Scanning Electron Microscopy images of fossil bone samples from La Mixteca Alta Oaxaquea, Mexico.

The IR spectrum of bones is characterized by adsorption bands produced by the major molecular species: phosphate group (from the mineral hydroxyapatite), carbonate group (from carbonate substitution for

hydroxyl and phosphate groups), proteins constituents, mainly from

collagen and water. All bone samples IR spectra (Fig. 7) examined in
this study show the three absorbance bands of phosphate group: the

Equidae 2

Fig. 6. Scanning Electron Microscopy images of fossil tooth sample from La Mixteca Alta Oaxaquea, Mexico.

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165

Table 2
The chemical composition of fossil bone and tooth samples examined.
Element (% at.)
Sample

Species

Al

Si

Equidae 1
Bovidae 1
Glyptodont
Equidae 2
Bovidae 2
Mammoth
Bovidae 3
Bovidae 4
Bovidae 5

E. conversidens
B. antiquus
Glyptotherium
Equus sp.
B. antiquus
M. columbi
B. antiquus
B. antiquus
B. antiquus

78.9
20.6
26.9
28.8
27.3
21.1
23.2
23.6
22.5

17.3
47.2
44.3
47.1
42.6
48.0
41.0
51.2
43.0

0.74
0.26
0.66
0.85
0.72
0.45
1.71
0.72
2.03

0.66

main absorbance peak is recorded at 1033 cm1, and the doublet representative of the triply degenerate antisymmetric bending vibration of
the PO34 is recorded at 609 and 563 cm 1. The set of absorption
1
(stretching modes) and
bands of CO2
3 group occur at 1457 cm
872 cm1 (deformational modes). Absorption bands likely related to
the presence of organic matter occur around 2924 cm 1, while the
adsorbed water bands are recorded at 3429, 2350 and 1650 cm1. The
absorption bands associated with secondary mineral phases were
below the detection limit of the IR.
The concentration of uranium and thorium were determined by
Neutron Activation Analysis in order to verify their presence in the fossil
bone samples. The concentrations of uranium ranged from 30 to
115 mg/Kg and thorium from below the detection limit (LD = 0.23) to
3 mg/Kg (Table 3). For most bone samples, uranium and thorium concentrations are signicant and they allow getting reliable uranium series age.
4.2. Uranium series dating
It was assumed that the fossil bone samples analyzed in this study,
after burial have remained as a closed system with respect to uranium
through the time of aging, which means they have not exchanged
230
Th and 234U with the environment. Samples age (t) using
238
U234U230Th method is given by:
Th=234 U


U=234 U 1 exp0 t 



i
1 238 U=234 U 0 =0 4 1 exp4 0 t
238

Equidae 1
C-H
O-H

O-H
C-OP=O
C-O

H-O-H

Glyptodont

Transmission (a.u.)

230

C-O
P-O
O-P-O
P-O

Equidae 2

Mg

Na

Fe

Ca

Ca/P

0.29

0.16

1.52
3.35
18.47
21.70
20.59
6.97
9.11
3.04
17.6

0.66
1.33
8.38
10.3
8.25
3.21
3.56
1.41
7.88

2.3
2.5
2.2
2.1
2.5
2.2
2.5
2.1
2.2

0.19
0.45
0.34
0.19

0.29
0.21
0.35
0.28
0.11

2.61
0.53

0.14
0.10
0.20

0.48
0.42

where 0 and 4 represent respectively the decay constants of 230Th and

234
U; 230Th, 234U and 238U are measured specic activities in a sample of
t years old (Ku, 1976). The variation of 234U/238U and 230Th/234U ratios
with the time in a closed system free of initial 230Th is the graphical solution for this equation (Fig. 8). The calculated 234U/238U and 230Th/234U
activity ratios of samples analyzed and the estimated dates, which were
obtained from experimental data by using the equation above, are summarized in Table 4. Sample of Bovidae 1 could not be dated because thorium content was not enough to provide a reliable age.
All of the estimated dates of studied bone samples are consistent
with a Late Pleistocene age; however discrepancies in the age of some
samples were observed. All bovidae samples analyzed in this study belong to Bison antiquus. First record of this species in North America date
around 60 ka and became extinct at around 11.7 ka (Springer et al.,
2009). Therefore, the estimated ages of samples Bovidae 2 and Bovidae
4 (88.4 ka and 73.4 ka respectively) are much older than the expected
age. One possible explanation for this result is that the physical-chemical alteration, mainly due to inclusion of mineral particles from buried
soil, observed particularly in these samples could be yielding unreliable
estimated ages. Additionally, samples Bovidae 2 and Bovidae 4 were extracted from skull, which have pneumatic bones that probably facilitated diagenetic alteration of these samples, while Bovidae 3 and Bovidae 5
samples were extracted from a pelvis and a radio-ulna, which are mainly constituted by compact bone.
The observed differences in the reliable ages can be explained taking
into account the geographic location of fossil localities from where specimens proceed. The two oldest ages are from fossils collected in localities Oax-4 Ro Salado and Oax-7 Ro Tejupam (Table 4), which are in
the deepest part of the basin (at approximately 2114 masl), whilst
younger ages, such as those of Equidae 1 and Bovidae 5, were obtained
from fossils collected in Oax-5 and Oax-6 localities which are closer to
the basin edge (at 2157 and 2162 masl). Moreover, as can be seen in
Fig. 1, these localities are geographically proximate and the estimated
ages of samples from these localities are very similar (26 ka 1305 and
27 1391 ka), which makes them contemporary in geological time. This
conrms that the numeric ages of Equidae 1 and Bovidae 5 are certainly accurate. Finally, the estimated age of 12 ka of Equus sp. tooth reects the
Table 3
Neutron activation analysis of fossil bone and tooth samples.

Bovidae 2

Concentration, mg/Kg
Mammoth

Bovidae 3

4000

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

-1

wavenumber (cm )

Fig. 7. IR spectra of fossil bone samples from La Mixteca Alta Oaxaquea, Mexico.

Sample

Species

Uranium

Thorium

Equidae 1
Bovidae 1
Glyptodont
Equidae 2
Bovidae 2
Mammoth
Bovidae 3
Bovidae 4
Bovidae 5

E. conversidens
B. antiquus
Glyptotherium
Equus sp.
B. antiquus
M. columbi
B. antiquus
B. antiquus
B. antiquus

115 18
65.5 13
51 6.5
30 5.0
41 5.0
46 8.0
50 8.0
44 8.0
41 7.0

1.0 0.1
LD = 0.23
1.6 0.3
0.5 0. 1
2.0 0.2
1.0 0.2
3.0 0.3
1.5 0.2
1.6 0.2

LD = limit of detection.

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Glyptodont
Equidae 1
Mammoth
Bovidae 5
Bovidae 4

Equidae 2
Bovidae 3

Bovidae 2

Fig. 8. Variation of 234U/238U and 230Th/234U ratios with the time in a closed system free of initial 230Th.

higher position of the fossiliferous bed in the stratigraphic column (Fig.

3).
The estimated ages for the Viko Vijin Local fauna, indicates that the
observed similarity in grain size and texture among fossiliferous sediments reects roughly similar climatic conditions between 84 ka to
12 ka in the studied area.
Numeric radiometric dating of the studied specimens is the rst
taken directly from bone/teeth of Pleistocene mammals from southern
Mexico allowing to restrict the temporal range of the studied fossil
localities.

respectively) are much older than the expected age (around 60 ka,
which correspond to the rst record of Bison antiquus in North America).
The unreliable ages for these samples could be associated with the physical-chemical alteration due to inclusion of mineral particles from buried soil.
The obtained results allow us to conclude that to achieve a good degree of accuracy with uranium dating method, the preservation of fossil
bone samples is fundamental.
This study gives the rst numeric ages of some mammal species that
inhabited southern Mexico during the Late Pleistocene.

5. Conclusions

Acknowledgment

Fossil bones samples from la Mixteca Alta Oaxaquea were dated by

the uranium series based on 230Th-234U-238U method.
The physical and chemical analysis using different analytical techniques showed that the studied bone samples are well preserved;
with minimal alterations associated to the conditions prevailed during
burial. The main mineral constituent of fossil bone samples is hydroxyapatite, while the principal authigenic mineral inlling pores and ssures is calcite. Some samples, particularly those of bovidae, showed
greater alteration due to the inclusion of mineral particles from burial
soil.
Most of fossil bone samples could be dated using uranium series
based on 230Th-234U-238U method. The ages of the specimens here studied range between 12.6 and 88.4 thousand years. The estimated dates
are all consistent with the Late Pleistocene epoch; however estimated
ages of the samples Bovidae 2 and Bovidae 4 (88.4 ka and 73.4 ka

Funding for collecting the Pleistocene specimens was provided by

Conacyt-Ciencia Bsica project N 101626 to EJH.

Table 4
Isotopic activity ratios of fossil bone samples.
Activity ratio
Sample

Species

234

Equidae 1
Bovidae 1
Glyptodont
Equidae 2
Bovidae 2
Mammoth
Bovidae 3
Bovidae 4
Bovidae 5

E. conversidens
B. antiquus
Glyptotherium
Equus sp.
B. antiquus
M. columbi
B. antiquus
B. antiquus
B. antiquus

2.6
0.95
2.73
1.99
0.96
2.26
1.62
1.93
2.01

n.d. = not determined.

U/238U

230

Th/234U

0.22

0.58
0.11
0.55
0.45
0.29
0.52
0.24

Estimated age, ka
26 1305
n.d.
84 7100
12 620
88 4415
60 3000
36 1825
73 3687
27 1391

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