A NEW LUMINESCENCE CHRONOMETER FOR THE ENTIRE QUATERNARY: SLUGS, AND SNAILS, AND BIOGENIC CALCITE TALES

Over the last 25 years, advances in luminescence equipment, methods, and scientific understanding have revolutionised both the accuracy and the precision of luminescence dating applied to quartz and feldspars. These developments have given rise to a family of luminescence signals and techniques that can be used to address questions of archaeological, geomorphological, and palaeoenvironmental significance. However, the upper age limit of any of the luminescence techniques developed thus far for quartz and feldspars is restricted to several hundreds of thousands of years at most, and in some cases much less.

This presentation introduces a new approach that we are developing that uses the luminescence signal from biogenic calcite for dating (Duller and Roberts 2018). We estimate that this technique could provide a luminescence chronometer that extends as far back as 4 Ma (Duller et al. 2015), far exceeding the upper dating limit using quartz or feldspars. Our luminescence work has focussed on the study of biogenic calcites that have previously been identified as suitable for analysis of the amino acids found within the individual crystals of biominerals, including the opercula of Bithynia tentaculata (Penkman et al. 2013). Intra-crystalline protein degradation (IcPD) amino acid analyses of these materials have already proven highly successful for establishing relative chronologies (Penkman et al. 2011), and allowed the development of a temporal framework linking geological and archaeological sites within Britain through much of the Pleistocene (Penkman et al. 2013). The development of luminescence techniques applied to biogenic calcite offers the opportunity to supplement the temporal frameworks established by IcPD amino acid analysis with luminescence ages derived from the same biominerals. This approach underpins the EQuaTe project, which seeks to provide an overarching chronology for key Palaeolithic sites across northern Europe covering the last 2 Ma.

References

Duller, GAT, Roberts, HM (2018). Elements 14: 39-43

Duller, GAT, Kook, M, Stirling, RJ, Roberts, HM, Murray, AS (2015). Radiat. Meas. 81: 157-162

Penkman, KEH, Preece, RC, Bridgland, DR, Keen, DH, Meijer, T, Parfitt, SA, White, TS, Collins, MJ (2011). Nature 476: 446-449

Penkman, KEH, Preece, RC, Bridgland, DR, Keen, DH, Meijer, T, Parfitt, SA, White, TS ,Collins, MJ (2013). Quat. Sci. Revs 61: 111-134