Luminescence

MAKING SENSE OF A DISTRIBUTION OF DATES: LUMINESCENCE DATING OF POTTERY FROM THE TURKISH BLACK SEA COAST
Aksel Casson
McGill University, Department of Anthropology, Montreal, Canada
aksel.casson@mcgill.ca

Over 60 fine-grained pottery sherds from 11 sites within the Sinop promontory were dated with both TL and single-aliquot OSL in the University of Washington’s Luminescence Laboratory [1,2]. The results are presented here in the context of broader research intended to develop a regional ceramic chronology for the prehistoric and historic periods of settlement in the area [3,4]. Dates for each sherd are the product of selecting the most reliable luminescence data from TL and OSL equivalent dose calculations. The date for each sherd was then assigned a qualitative grade (e.g., A, B, C) and plotted against the expected age of each site, based on ceramic typology. Graphs of this type were created for each of the 11 sampled sites on the promontory and illustrate the range of dates present at each site and their relationship to typological estimates of age. This presentation will focus on the archaeological value of these dates, and their distribution within sites, as a way to interpret and clarify local and regional site occupational timelines. Central to this discussion is a consideration of the issue of sample size requirements at site and regional levels.

Click here for the presentation slides: Casson Sinop Luminescence

References:
[1] Banerjee, D., Murray, A.S., Bøtter-Jensen, L, Lang, A. (2001). Equivalent dose estimation using a single aliquot of polymineral fine grains. Radiation Measurements 33:73-94.

[2] Roberts, H.M., Wintle, A.G. (2001). Equivalent dose determinations for polymineralic fine-grains using the SAR protocol: application to a Holocene sequence of the Chinese Loess Plateau. Quaternary Science Reviews 20:859-863.

[3]Doonan, O., Casson, A., and Gantos, A, 2008. Sinop Province Archaeological Project: Report on the 2006 Field Season. Arastirma Sonuclari Toplantisi, 25 (2) : 133-150.

[4] Doonan, O. 2004 Sinop Landscapes: Exploring Connection in a Black Sea Hinterland. University of Pennsylvania.