Abstract
Thermoluminescence (TL) dating of heated flint is frequently used to establish the age of Paleolithic sites. It is a dosimetric dating method, which employs the accumulation of radiation damage in crystal lattices through time. A flint artifact can be dated by TL methods if it has been heated in a prehistoric fire to about 400°C. The TL-age estimate refers to the last heating and therefore provides a direct date for a prehistoric event. Sample sizes for standard procedures require pieces of at least 10–15 g. A new TL-dating technique has been developed which uses only a few mg of material, thus reducing the minimum sample size significantly, and now allows the chronometric dating of sites which do not provide sample material for standard dating approaches.
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Richter, D. (2011). Dating Small Heated Flint Artifacts: A New Thermoluminescence Technique. In: Conard, N.J., Richter, J. (eds) Neanderthal Lifeways, Subsistence and Technology. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0415-2_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0415-2_6
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