THE SUBTRACTION TECHNIQUE OF THERMOLUMINESCENT DATING

Combination of the routine approaches of thermoluminescence dating, the fine-grain and inclusion methods, allows an age to be determined that is independent of knowledge of the environmental dose-rate. This socalled subtraction technique is exampled by several terracottas of museum origin and some pottery collected from archaeological contexts without associated burial media. Age determination is estimated to have an accuracy of around ± 12%, in favourable conditions.     

Suffolk Place,Southwark, London: a Tudor palace and its terracotta architectural decoration

Suffolk Place (c. 1518–22), Southwark, was the London residence of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. This majestic palace is visible in the foreground of Wyngaerde’s London panorama (c. 1544), from which it can be inferred that it possessed a double courtyard plan. The southern and eastern ranges of the outer courtyard of Suffolk Place were apparently adorned with architectural terracottas at both entablature and parapet level. As the palace was demolished in 1557–58, the finds of ex-situ terracottas are a key source of information concerning the decorative scheme of this vanished palace. Petrological study and other research indicates that the terracottas were locally manufactured, implying the existence of a London-area workshop.     

Exploring the Coroplasts’ ‘Techne’ in Greek Architectural Terracottas from Sicily: an Archaeometric Approach

The study intends to support the archaeological questions about the technological choices related to the manufacturing of an important class of archaic artefacts—the fictile roof revetments of the temples—in the Greek colonies of Sicily, unveiling the possible relations among raw materials, decorative and firing techniques and functionality of the architectural terracottas. By applying a multidisciplinary and a multimethodological archaeometric approach, the aforementioned questions have been addressed, explaining the technological expedients employed by the coroplasts in the manufacturing of the roof revetments, and suggesting interesting mobility schemes of both raw materials and ‘techne’ (know‐how) throughout the island.     

SEASONAL FEASTS IN ROMAN BRITAIN

Summary: Epigraphic sources for the celebration of festivals in Roman Britain mainly come from military sites. Archaeological evidence indicates that a calendar of festivals similar to that of Rome was also observed by civilians within the province. the temene of the larger temples, and theatres connected with such shrines, were obvious places for large-scale, popular gatherings but there was also an intimate family cult represented by the care of ancestral tombs and the midwinter Saturnalia festivities.
Finds of sacred objects such as a cernus for first-fruits (offered to Ceres) and a castration-clamp (used in the worship of Cybele) as well as works of art, including gems and terracottas, also throw light on Roman religion. There were close resemblances with Celtic practice, and fusion between imported cults and native ones must have occurred very frequently.
In late Roman times, the Christian calendar came into use in Britain; the celebrations of Easter and the veneration of the Saints are both attested in Dark-age written sources.     

The application of luminescence dating in American archaeology

Luminescence dating is underutilized in American archaeology given the theoretical advantages of direct dating that it confers. Recent advances in understanding the physical processes underlying the method have also made it more reliable as a dating tool. This research as well as potential applications is reviewed.     

Implications of burial alterations on luminescence dating of archaeological ceramics

Recent mineralogical studies on archaeological pottery samples report significant variations in alkali metal concentrations due to environmental alterations during burial. Here we examine the effects of potassium (K) leaching on luminescence dating. The effect on the estimation of the dose rate is studied by considering four models of leaching (exponential, linear, early and late) and their impact on fine- and coarse-grain dating are calculated. The modeling approaches are applied to two cases of pottery in which evidence for alteration was found. Additionally, TL dating performed on pottery of one of the studied cases, indicates the importance of leaching effects on absolute dating measurements.     

Radiocarbon Wiggle-Match Dating in the Intertidal Zone

Radiocarbon wiggle-match dating is a technique that can combine the versatility of radiocarbon dating with chronological information from tree-rings. This makes it useful in contexts where timbers are preserved, but dendrochronological dating is impossible. As intertidal and marine timbers are waterlogged, this can favor their preservation and hence allow wiggle-match ¹⁴C dating, which can be of significant help in deriving relatively precise chronologies for a range of coastal structures. As the technique depends on making multiple radiocarbon measurements towards a single date, efficiency in application is the key and hence a number of practical considerations need to be taken into account in advance of conducting a dating program. This paper discusses some of these practical concerns and reviews them in the context of the intertidal crannogs in the Firth of Clyde on the west coast of Scotland.     

BAYESIAN ANALYSIS OF PLEISTOCENE CHRONOMETRIC METHODS*

Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates on Holocene archaeological sites has become well established. Application to Pleistocene sites dated by multiple techniques would be advantageous. This paper develops the necessary mathematical apparatus in the form of likelihoods for luminescence dating, and uranium‐series dating, and considers the possibility for amino‐acid racemization dating. Application of the new methods is illustrated using the stratigraphic sequences of dates from the sites of Saint‐Césaire and La Chaise‐de‐Vouthon. For application to amino‐acid racemization dating, fuller publication of data is found to be required.     

Comparison of three K-feldspar luminescence dating methods for Holocene samples

The luminescence dating of the K-feldspar fraction is an alternative way for samples that cannot yield reasonable equivalent dose (D_e) from quartz fraction with very weak luminescence signal. For testing the reliability of the infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) dating of K-feldspar, luminescence dating was applied to quartz and K-feldspar fractions respectively for several Holocene samples in this study. K-feldspar apparent ages using routine single aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol, K-feldspar ages using g value correction method and ages from isochron dating method were compared with quartz ages. It is found that the g value correction method cannot give reliable ages due to the large errors induced during measurements. The isochron dating method is effective to the sample with problematically external dose rate. However, isochron dating may introduce a relatively greater error during grain sizes — D_e curve fitting, therefore this method could obtain low-resolution ages for Holocene samples. Even K-feldspar apparent age from routine SAR protocol is relatively younger by about 10% than the quartz age, it still could establish reasonable chronological framework for Holocene samples.     

岩画断代研究——科技考古学领域中一个亟待解决的问题

探索和研究表明,岩画断代问题仍然是困扰岩画研究的难题之一,其主要原因是岩画本身不能够提供可供断代的直接依据。本文综述了目前岩画断代研究中经常使用的自然科学和考古学方法及其存在的问题,提出应用AMS14C是今后研究我国岩绘画断代问题的首选方法,解决岩刻画的断代问题则主要有赖于微腐蚀方法。     

Comparison of fluoride and direct AMS radiocarbon dating of black bear bone from Lawson Cave,Missouri

Abstract

After a 20-year hiatus (1955–1975) during which few archaeologists discussed fluoride dating, the method again received attention in the 1980s and 1990s when some argued for its validity. As a dating method, fluoride dating depends on the rate at which fluorine ions replace hydroxyl ions in osseous tissue. The rate of replacement is influenced by the properties of the skeletal part (SP), sediment chemistry (K), and sediment hydrology (H), and the replacement rate influences estimates of time. Calibrated AMS radiocarbon assays of 10 black bear (Ursus americanus) femora from a natural-trap cave in central Missouri are weakly correlated with fluorine concentrations, determined by neutron activation analysis in the 10 femora. Despite minimal variation in SP, K, and H, results indicate fluoride dating can be considered a valid dating method only in cases when the chronological validity of its results are confirmed with independent chronometric data. As similarities in fluorine amounts across specimens increase, provenience information and bone orientation data as well as fine resolution data on K and H become critical to the application of fluoride dating.     

Meta-analysis of dendrochronological dating of mass movements

Absolute dating of mass movements is crucial for disentangling possible release factors and determining the frequency of events. Here, we present an overview of a recent approach to dendrochronological dating of rockfalls, flows, landslides and avalanches. The results, based on 69 casestudies, show that methodological approaches to sampling and material processing differ considerably for different types of mass movements. Landslides are usually detected through abrupt growth changes and changes in stem eccentricity, whereas high-energy events as avalanches and flows are mostly identified by the formation of traumatic resin ducts, reaction wood, growth injuries and eccentricity changes. Cross-dating of dead wood is applicable as well. The dating of most mass movements except landslides is common, even with sub-annual resolution. In comparison to other methods of absolute dating, the main benefit of dendrochronology still lies in the high temporal resolution of the results. If living material is accessible, on-going research progress makes absolute dating of most mass-wasting events possible with sub-annual precision.     

2002年度香港西贡沙下遗址C02区和DⅡ02区考古发掘简报

20 0 2年 ,香港古物古迹办事处和河南省文物考古研究所联合在香港发掘西贡沙下遗址 ,发掘面积达 70 0平方米。发现有新石器时代晚期、青铜时代和宋元代的遗存。遗迹中属新石器时代晚期有房址、灰坑等 ,青铜时代有房址、灰坑、石器制造场、灰沟等 ,宋元代有灰坑。遗物中有不同时代的石器、陶器、硬陶器、瓷器、釉陶器等。     

The date of Marvell’s Hortus

A post-Restoration dating of Marvell’s poem The Garden and its Latin companion piece “Hortus” to around 1668 has been generally accepted in recent criticism, despite some counter-arguments from those who defend the traditional dating to Marvell’s period at Nun Appleton (1650–2). None of these analyses, however, have attempted to date the Latin rather than the English poem. This article offers a new dating of “Hortus” to around 1654, during Marvell’s time at Eton as tutor to John Dutton. The argument is based on a series of parallels and allusions to Latin poetry either dating from, or demonstrably particularly fashionable in, the period between 1646 and 1654, as well as close attention to the political resonance and contemporary understanding of the poem’s classical sources. As such, it is also a case study in the dating of neo-Latin verse, of which many thousands of examples survive from seventeenth-century England.     

ONLY TIME WILL TELL: A REVIEW OF THE METHODOLOGY OF DIRECT ROCK ART DATING

Epistemology has not kept pace with the progress experienced in the direct dating of rock art. This paper reviews the experimental methods that have been developed in recent years. While many do provide important information about the possible age of rock art, it is of concern that the precipitate archaeological interpretations these data are used for are often not warranted. Some are attributable to not understanding the severe qualifications that apply to most dating results, others perhaps to over-enthusiasm on the part of some researchers. The introduction of archaeological dynamics into direct dating of rock art threatens the reliability of this young methodology. Some of the pitfalls are considered in this paper, and a general rationale for the direct dating of rock art is developed.     

OSL dating using quartz fine grains extracted from loess in Upper Palaeolithic sites of Nihewan Basin, northern China

Although radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating, uranium-series dating, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating have been conducted for Upper Palaeolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin, northern China, there is room for constructing a detailed chronological framework. In this study, loess sediments collected from two Upper Palaeolithic sites, Youfang site and Hutouliang site, were dated using the single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) OSL protocol. OSL measurements for palaeodoses estimation used fine-grained quartz samples extracted from loess. OSL dating results were obtained as 10–17 ka. These OSL ages were consistent with the related stratigraphy of Palaeolithic sites, archaeological evidence and independent ¹⁴C ages.     

Prehistoric settlement chronology on Rapa Nui,Chile: obsidian hydration dating using infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy

The prehistoric Polynesian inhabitants of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) utilized obsidian for nearly 700 years in many activities connected with daily life. The near ubiquitous occurrence of the natural glass in both domestic residences and religious structures makes the application of obsidian hydration dating highly suitable for the investigation of cultural change. We have applied previously developed calibrations that estimate hydration rates for obsidian based upon the structural water content of the glass as determined by infrared spectroscopy. The archaeological ages estimated by this method were compared with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates using short-lived woody species endemic to the island. The convergence between the two dating methods is strong and we suggest that obsidian hydration dating may be used on Rapa Nui to reliably date contexts where suitable material for AMS dating may not be available.     

OPTICAL DATING RESULTS FOR BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL SEDIMENTS

In this paper optical dating results for a range of British archaeological sediments are presented to illustrate the potential this method offers for archaeologists. The optical dating is shown to offer an absolute method for directly dating the deposition of sediments for an age range of approximately 1–300ka. Problems have been found with recuperation of the optically stimulated luminescence signal and insufficient bleaching at deposition of the sediment. A suitable correction method for the recuperation has been found and a method of identifying insufficient bleaching is suggested.     

Contemplating the history and future of radiocarbon dating in the American Southeast

We consider the history, present, and future of radiocarbon dating in the American Southeast. We point out some of the past and present flaws related to archaeological research and dating. Our approach to this review is rooted in the perspective that each radiocarbon date collectively adds to our knowledge of the region and not just a particular site. Based on our observations, we suggest some “good” practices with respect to certain aspects of radiocarbon dating. Our concluding discussion considers Bayesian chronological analysis and the growing contribution of chronological modeling to the Southeast.