TL ESTIMATION OF PALEODOSE OF DUNE-SAND QUARTZ

Archeological quartz exhibits two major TL peaks. At a ramp rate of 1-degrees-C/sec one (RBP) occurs at approximately 380 nm and approximately 290-degrees-C and bleaches very rapidly when exposed to light across the visible spectrum. The other (SBP) occurs at approximately 480 nm, at approximately 330-degrees-C and bleaches, when exposed to UV light, much more slowly. The 290-degrees-C peak can be isolated using a UV filter (e.g. Schott UG11) and a subtraction technique, and can be used to estimate the paleodose with the regeneration method. The 330-degrees-C peak can be isolated with a green (e.g. Chance 0Gr1) or yellow (e.g. Schott GG-475) filter and might be used to estimate the paleodose with the R-GAMMA technique. Measurements of first and second (after optical bleaching) glow growth curves suggest the SBP may not conform to the assumptions of the R-GAMMA method, and use of the RBP may require at least approximate reproduction of the solar exposure at the time of burial.