To better understand the timing of the presence of early humans in Central Asia, Aske Lohse Sørensen has researched the hundred meters thick wind-blown dust deposits covering the southern Tajikistan. In that regard, he developed two novel probabilistic methods for 1) determining age-depth relationships and 2) to align stratigraphic signals. These methods combine different datasets from the Khovaling Loess Plateau to improve the precision of the age-depth relationships. These datasets include luminescence ages, cosmogenic nuclide concentrations, paleomagnetic boundaries and magnetic susceptibility records. The result is the first absolute chronology for the Early Paleolithic in Central Asia, revealing that the Karatau Culture thrived during the interglacial periods associated with Marine Isotope Stages 11, 13, and 15 (approximately 600 to 400 thousand years ago). The methods were also applied to cosmogenic nuclide concentrations from the Mu Us Desert in northern China, providing new insights into the desert’s formation and accumulation history.

The PhD study was completed at Department of Geoscience, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Friday, 12. September 2025 at 14:00
Place: Building 1671, room 137, Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000 Aarhus C
Title of PhD thesis: Establishing the first absolute chronology of the Early Paleolithic in Central Asia
Contact information: Aske Lohse Sørensen, e-mail: als@geo.au.dk, tel.: +45 22 28 70 44
Members of the assessment committee:
Professor Darryl Granger, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, United States of America
Professor Raimund Muscheler, Department of Geology, Lund University, Sweeden
Associate Professor Stéphane Bodin (chair), Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark
Main supervisor: Professor Mads Faurschou Knudsen, Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark
Co-supervisor: Associate Professor Thomas Mejer Hansen, Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Natural Sciences/GSNS, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1521, 8000 Aarhus C