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Volume 61 Supplement 1

Special Issue: Magnetism of Volcanic Materials-Tribute to Works of Michel Prévot

Paleomagnetic and rock-magnetic study on volcanic units of the Valsequillo Basin: implications for early human occupation in central Mexico

Earth, Planets and Space volume 61, pages 205–211 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Alleged human and animal footprints were found within the upper bedding surfaces of the Xalnene volcanic ash layer that outcrops in the Valsequillo Basin, south of Puebla, Mexico (Gonzalez et al, 2005). The ash has been dated at 40 ka by optically stimulated luminescence analysis, thereby providing new evidence that America was colonized earlier than the Clovis culture (about 13.5 Ma). We carried out paleomagnetic and rock magnetic analysis on 18 Xalnene ash block and core samples collected at two distinct localities and 19 standard paleomagnetic cores belonging to nearby monogenetic volcanoes. Our data provide evidence that both the volcanic lava flow and Xalnene ash were emplaced during the Laschamp geomagnetic event spanning from about 45 to 39 ka.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio Interinstitucional de Magnetismo Natural, Instituto de Geofisica, Sede Michoacán, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Mexico

    Avto Goguitchaichvili

  2. Departamento de Vulcanología, Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 04510, México DF, Mexico

    Ana Lillian Martin-Del Pozzo

  3. Programa de Posgrado en Ciencias de la Tierra, Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 04510, México DF, Mexico

    Jose Luis Rocha-Fernandez

  4. Laboratorio de Paleomagnetismo, Departamento de Geomagnetismo y Exploración Geofísica, Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 04510, México DF, Mexico

    Jaime Urrutia-Fucugauchi & Ana Maria Soler-Arechalde

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  1. Avto Goguitchaichvili
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  2. Ana Lillian Martin-Del Pozzo
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Correspondence to Avto Goguitchaichvili.

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Goguitchaichvili, A., Pozzo, A.L.MD., Rocha-Fernandez, J.L. et al. Paleomagnetic and rock-magnetic study on volcanic units of the Valsequillo Basin: implications for early human occupation in central Mexico. Earth Planet Sp 61, 205–211 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352900

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352900

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