Dating the Quaternary, which covers approximately the last 2 million years, has experienced considerable progress over the past few decades. On the one hand, this resulted from the necessity to obtain a valid age concept for this period which had seen tremendous environmental changes and the advent of the genus Homo. On the other hand, instrumental improvements, such as the introduction of highly sensitive analytical techniques, gave rise to physical and chemical innovations in the field of dating. This rapid methodological development is still in full progress. The broad spectrum of...

Dating the Quaternary, which covers approximately the last 2 million years, has experienced considerable progress over the past few decades. On the one hand, this resulted from the necessity to obtain a valid age concept for this period which had seen tremendous environmental changes and the advent of the genus Homo. On the other hand, instrumental improvements, such as the introduction of highly sensitive analytical techniques, gave rise to physical and chemical innovations in the field of dating. This rapid methodological development is still in full progress. The broad spectrum of...