Luminescence Age Calculation Models, Termites, and Dune History in the Northern Kalahari Desert, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Summary

This is an abstract from the "A Tribute to the Contributions of Lawrence C. Todd to World Prehistory" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeologists often accept optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages with less critical review than those derived from the more commonly used radiocarbon dating methods. This is largely because of an incomplete understanding of optical dating techniques and the modeling assumptions used to calculate these ages. In this paper we compare ages derived using four commonly applied OSL age calculation models based on different assumptions about our sample site at Josivanini Dune. Our varying results show how sensitive OSL derived ages are to dune formation and postdepositional processes, such as bioturbation by termites. We combine this data, radiocarbon ages, and field observations to gain insights into Late Pleistocene and Holocene dune reactivation in the Kalahari Desert and discuss the implications for archaeological studies in the northern Kalahari Desert.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• A Tribute to the Contributions of Lawrence C. Todd to World Prehistory   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36685.0