Radiocarbon Ages of Soils and Charcoal in Late Wisconsinan Loess, South-Central Nebraska

Abstract

Abstract The Farmdale Soil occurs below late Wisconsinan loess throughout the U.S. Midwest. At the La Sena site in the central Great Plains, humates in the Farmdale Interstadial Soil have a corrected age of 21,000 yr B.P. Humates in a buried Bt horizon and a bulk sample of overlying loess 2.5 m above the Farmdale Interstadial Soil have ages of 17,000 and 19,000 yr B.P., respectively. In the Republican River Valley Picea (spruce) charcoal is common in the lower meter of Peoria loess. Near Bloomington, Nebraska, humates from burned organic matter only 60 cm above the base of Peoria loess have a corrected age of ca. 19,000 yr B.P.