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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and petrographic analysis for dating Mesolithic and Neolithic pottery from Al Khiday (Sudan)
Alfonso ZoleoAldo ParlatoMarina BrustolonLara MaritanMaurizio MarraleClaudia BortolussiAlberto CollautoDonatella Usaisubject
010506 paleontologyRadiation060102 archaeologyAl Khiday; EPR dating; Prehistoric pottery; Quartz; Radiation; InstrumentationMineralogy06 humanities and the artsQuartz01 natural sciencesEPR datinglaw.inventionPetrographylawPrehistoric pottery0601 history and archaeologyPotterySignal intensityElectron paramagnetic resonanceAl KhidayQuartzInstrumentationGeologyMesolithic0105 earth and related environmental sciencesdescription
Abstract Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) dating, like luminescence techniques, is based on the time-dependent accumulation of trapped charges at mineral defect centres. However, Fe(III) ions prevent the common Continuous Wave (CW-EPR) approach for dating pottery, which always contains iron. The Pulsed method (ED-EPR) allowed this limitation to be overcome, with recording of radiation-induced defect signals, as shown by increased signal intensity after artificial irradiation of samples. The method was applied to studying Mesolithic and Neolithic pottery from Al Khiday (Central Sudan), characterized by quartz-rich tempers and coming from dated contexts. As the occurrence of a natural ED-EPR signal was found to be related to the quartz grain size of the temper, a petrographic study was carried out. This first attempt at age determination of pottery by ED-EPR meant that experimental conditions and important parameters could be taken into account in developing a new dating procedure.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-06-01 |