Assessing the accuracy and precision of OSL dating against well vetted radiocarbon ages

Summary

OSL dating has advanced in the past decade with refinements in single aliquot and single grain regeneration (SAR) dating of quartz and feldspar. There is now many independent studies to evaluate the accuracy and precision of OSL dating, particularly for eolian and littoral sediments where solar resetting is often assured. This assessment will examine the potential meaning of radiocarbon ages that are > 45 ka in light of corresponding finite OSL ages for fluvial and marine sediments from the Hudson Bay Lowlands, Canada. A robust data set for evaluating the finite range of radiocarbon ages is the eolian stratigraphic record in the central U.S. where over the past decade an OSL chronology has emerged. In turn, OSL has utility in dating sediments < 1 ka, when radiocarbon ages often have poor precision. OSL can date distinct historic events, like eolian sand deposition during the 1930s Dust Bowl Drought. Lastly, the inherent limitations of OSL dating will be discussed including concepts of data overdispersion, precision versus aliquot/grain number, the assumptions behind statistical models, and associated errors. OSL can date many sediments but there remains a poorly defined population of quartz that defy the SAR protocols and yield spurious results.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Issues in Building Radiocarbon Chronologies

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