ESR Dating of Pleistocene Hominid Sites

与McMaster的Schwartz和Grun博士合作 大学，豪厄尔博士将致力于改善ESR测年 技术，将其应用于牙釉质，并确定年龄的一个 一系列重要的考古遗址。 ESR测年 这种技术是基于对晶体中储存能量的测量 晶格是由环境的轰击造成的 放射性 存储的能量的量可以通过以下方式确定： 电子自旋共振（ESR）谱。 的年龄 然后，从累积的晶体的比率确定晶体。 能量剂量与剂量率的关系，剂量率是 环境中放射性元素的浓度。 这 该方法可应用于大型哺乳动物的牙釉质， 因此适用于大多数更新世史前遗址， 到几百万年。 该项目包括两个阶段。 第一，准确性 该技术将通过分析材料进行评估， 不同的年龄已经通过其他方式确定。 了几 欧洲网站铀系列日期可在一段时间内 在过去的几十万年里。 在东非， 数百万年前的遗址已经被K-A老化， 提供第二受控上下文。 在下一阶段的 研究，ESR测定将在未注明日期的地点进行， 突出的人类学意义。 这项研究之所以重要，有两个原因。 可靠和广泛 大多数考古学家缺乏适用的测年技术， 年龄超过40，000年的遗址（这是有效的时间限制 放射性碳测年）。 如果ESR可以作为一个可行的 技术，许多考古遗址，然后可以确定日期和 从它们获得的信息将大大增加。 的 这些技术对地质学家、古生物学家 关注过去的科学家 第二，具体 豪厄尔、施瓦茨和格伦博士计划检查的部位是 本身就很重要。

In collaboration with Drs. Schwartz and Grun at McMaster University, Dr. Howell will work to improve the ESR dating technique, apply it to tooth enamel, and determine the ages of a series of significant archaeological sites. The ESR dating technique is based on the measurement of energy stored in crystal lattices which results from the bombardment by environmental radioactivity. The amount of stored energy can be determined by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The age of the crystal is then determined from the ratio of the accumulated energy dose to the dose rate, which is a function of the concentration of radioactive elements in the environment. This method can be applied to the tooth enamel of large mammals and is thus applicable to most Pleistocene prehistoric sites for ages up to a few million years. This project includes two stages. In the first, the accuracy of the technique will be assessed through analyses of materials of varying ages which have been dated by other means. For several European sites uranium series dates are available over a time span of the last several hundred thousand years. In East Africa, sites dating to millions of years have been aged by K-A and these provide a second controlled context. In the next stage of the research, ESR determinations will be made on undated sites of outstanding anthropological significance. This research is important for two reasons. Reliable and widely applicable dating techniques are lacking for most archaeological sites over 40,000 years in age (this is the effective time limit for radiocarbon dating). If ESR can be established as a workable technique, many archaeological sites could then be dated and the information derived from them would be greatly increased. The technique would also be useful to geologists, paleontologists and other scientists concerned with the past. Secondly, the specific sites which Drs. Howell, Schwartz and Grun plan to examine are important in their own right.