Quaternary Dating Methods

Mike Walker is a highly experienced, script writer of drama and documentary for film, radio and television. He has won several Sony Awards for Best Play as well as a Royal Television Society Gold Medal and other awards including ones from the Society of Authors and Writers Guild. He has also written several novels and non-fiction works and teaches creative writing at Morley College London.

"This book is a must for any Quaternary scientist." (South African Geographical Journal, September 2006) "…very well organized, clearly and straightforwardly written and provides a good overview on the wide field of Quaternary dating methods…"(Journal of Quaternary Science, January 2007)

• Preface xv1 Dating Methods and the Quaternary 11.1 Introduction 11.2 The Development of Quaternary Dating 21.3 Precision and Accuracy in Dating 51.4 Atomic Structure, Radioactivity and Radiometric Dating 71.5 The Quaternary: Stratigraphic Framework and Terminology 91.6 The Scope and Content of the Book 12Notes 152 Radiometric Dating 1: Radiocarbon Dating 172.1 Introduction 172.2 Basic Principles 182.3 Radiocarbon Measurement 192.3.1 Beta Counting 202.3.2 Accelerator Mass Spectrometry 202.3.3 Extending the Radiocarbon Timescale 232.3.4 Laboratory Intercomparisons 242.4 Sources of Error in Radiocarbon Dating 242.4.1 Contamination 242.4.2 Isotopic Fractionation 252.4.3 Marine Reservoir Effects 262.4.4 Long-Term Variations in 14C Production 272.5 Some Problematic Dating Materials 292.5.1 Lake Sediments 292.5.2 Shell 302.5.3 Bone 312.5.4 Soil 312.6 Calibration of the Radiocarbon Timescale 322.6.1 Dendrochronological Calibration 322.6.2 The INTCAL Calibration 322.6.3 Extending the Radiocarbon Calibration Curve 342.6.4 Bayesian Analysis and Radiocarbon Calibration 352.6.5 Wiggle-Match Dating 372.7 Applications of Radiocarbon Dating 372.7.1 Radiocarbon Dating: Some Routine Applications 372.7.1.1 Dating of plant macrofossils: Lateglacial cereal cultivation in the valley of the Euphrates 382.7.1.2 Dating of charcoal: a Holocene palaeoenvironmental record from western Germany 382.7.1.3 Dating of peat: a Holocene palaeoclimatic record from northern England 412.7.1.4 Dating of organic lake mud: a multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental record from Lake Rutundu, East Africa 412.7.1.5 Dating of marine micropalaeontological records: an example of a problem from the North Atlantic 432.7.1.6 Dating of marine shell: a Holocene aeolianite from Mexico 452.7.1.7 Dating of bone: the earliest humans in the Americas 472.7.2 Radiocarbon Dating of Other Materials 472.7.2.1 Dating of textiles: the ‘Shroud of Turin’ 482.7.2.2 Dating of old documents: the Vinland Map 492.7.2.3 Dating of lime mortar: medieval churches in Finland 512.7.2.4 Dating of hair: radiocarbon dates and DNA from individual animal hairs 512.7.2.5 Dating of iron artefacts: the Himeji nail and the Damascus sword 522.7.2.6 Dating of pottery: the earliest pottery in Japan 522.7.2.7 Dating of rock art: Palaeolithic cave paintings in Spain and France 53Notes 543 Radiometric Dating 2: Dating Using Long-Lived and Short-Lived Radioactive Isotopes 573.1 Introduction 573.2 Argon-Isotope Dating 583.2.1 Principles of Potassium–Argon Dating 583.2.2 Principles of Argon–Argon Dating 593.2.3 Some Assumptions and Problems Associated with Potassium–Argon and Argon–Argon Dating 593.2.4 Some Applications of Potassium–Argon and Argon–Argon Dating 613.2.4.1 Potassium–argon and argon–argon dating of the dispersal of Early Pleistocene hominids 623.2.4.2 40Ar/39Ar dating of anatomically modern Homo sapiens from Ethiopia 623.2.4.3 40Ar/393.2.4.4 40Ar/39Ar dating and geological provenancing of a stone axe from Stonehenge, England 663.3 Uranium-Series Dating 663.3.1 Principles of U-Series Dating 673.3.2 Some Problems Associated with U-Series Dating 693.3.3 Some Applications of U-Series Dating 713.3.3.1 Dating the Last Interglacial high sea-level stand in Hawaii 713.3.3.2 Dating of early hominid remains from China 723.3.3.3 Dating of a speleothem from northern Norway 743.3.3.4 Dating of fluvial terraces in Wyoming, USA 743.4 Cosmogenic Nuclide Dating 773.4.1 Principles of Cosmogenic Nuclide (CN) Dating 773.4.2 Sources of Error in CN Dating 793.4.3 Some Applications of CN Dating 803.4.3.1 Cosmogenic dating of two Late Pleistocene glacial advances in Alaska 803.4.3.2 Cosmogenic dating of the Salpausselkä I formation in Finland 823.4.3.3 Cosmogenic dating of Holocene landsliding, The Storr, Isle of Skye, Scotland 823.4.3.4 Cosmogenic dating of alluvial deposits, Ajo Mountains, southern Arizona, USA 843.5 Dating Using Short-Lived Isotopes 843.5.1 Lead-210 (210 3.5.2 Caesium-137 (137Cs) 863.5.3 Silicon-32 (32Si) 863.5.4 Some Problems in Using Short-Lived Isotopes 873.5.5 Some Dating Applications Using Short-Lived Isotopes 873.5.5.1 Dating a record of human impact in a lake sequence in northern England 883.5.5.2 Dating a 500-year lake sediment/temperature record from Baffin Island, Canada 883.5.5.3 32Si dating of marine sediments from Bangladesh 91Notes 924 Radiometric Dating 3: Radiation Exposure Dating 934.1 Introduction 934.2 Luminescence Dating 944.2.1 Thermoluminescence (TL) 944.2.2 Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) 964.2.3 Sources of Error in Luminescence Dating 994.2.4 Some Applications of Luminescence Dating 1004.2.4.1 TL dating of Early Iron Age iron smelting in Ghana 1004.2.4.2 TL and AMS radiocarbon dating of pottery from the Russian Far East 1014.2.4.3 TL dating of burnt flint from a cave site in France 1024.2.4.4 TL dating of the first humans in South America 1034.2.4.5 OSL dating of young coastal dunes in the northern Netherlands 1044.2.4.6 OSL dating of dune sands from Blombos Cave, South Africa: single and multiple grain data 1044.2.4.7 OSL dating of fluvial deposits in the lower Mississippi Valley, USA 1074.2.4.8 OSL dating of marine deposits in Denmark 1084.3 Electron Spin Resonance Dating 1094.3.1 Principles of ESR Dating 1094.3.2 Sources of Error in ESR Dating 1104.3.3 Some Applications of ESR Dating 1104.3.3.1 ESR dating of teeth from the Hoxnian Interglacial type locality, England 1114.3.3.2 ESR dating of mollusc shells from the Northern Caucasus and the earliest humans in eastern Europe 1124.3.3.3 ESR dating of Holocene coral: an experimental approach 1134.3.3.4 ESR dating of quartz: the Toba super-eruption 1134.4 Fission Track Dating 1144.4.1 Principles of Fission Track Dating 1154.4.2 Some Problems Associated with Fission Track Dating 1164.4.3 Some Applications of Fission Track Dating 1164.4.3.1 Fission track dating of glacial events in Argentina 1164.4.3.2 Fission track dating of a Middle Pleistocene fossiliferous sequence from central Italy 1174.4.3.3 Dating of obsidian in the Andes, South America, and the sourcing of artefacts 117Notes 1195 Dating Using Annually Banded Records 1215.1 Introduction 1215.2 Dendrochronology 1225.2.1 Principles of Dendrochronology 1225.2.2 Problems Associated with Dendrochronology 1235.2.3 Dendrochronological Series 1255.2.4 Applications of Dendrochronology 1275.2.4.1 Dating a 2000-year temperature record for the northern hemisphere 1285.2.4.2 Dating historical precipitation records 1285.2.4.3 Dating volcanic events 1295.2.4.4 Dating archaeological evidence 1305.3 Varve Chronology 1325.3.1 The Nature of Varved Sediments 1335.3.2 Sources of Error in Varve Chronologies 1355.3.3 Applications of Varve Chronologies 1365.3.3.1 Dating regional patterns of deglaciation in Scandinavia 1365.3.3.2 Dating prehistoric land-use changes 1365.3.3.3 Dating long-term climatic and environmental changes 1395.3.3.4 Varve sequences and the radiocarbon timescale 1405.4 Lichenometry 1415.4.1 Principles of Lichenometric Dating 1425.4.2 Problems Associated with Lichenometric Dating 1425.4.3 Lichenometry and Late Holocene Environments 1435.4.3.1 Dating post-Little Ice Age glacier recession in Norway 1445.4.3.2 Dating rock glaciers and Little Ice Age moraines in the Sierra Nevada, western USA 1445.4.3.3 Dating Late Holocene rockfall activity on a Norwegian talus slope 1465.4.3.4 Dating archaeological features on raised shorelines in northern Sweden 1475.5 Annual Layers in Glacier Ice 1485.5.1 Ice-Core Chronologies 1495.5.2 Errors in Ice-Core Chronologies 1505.5.3 Ice Cores and the Quaternary Palaeoenvironmental Record 1515.5.3.1 Dating climatic instability as revealed in the Greenland ice cores 1515.5.3.2 Dating rapid climate change: the end of the Younger Dryas in Greenland 1525.5.3.3 Dating long-term variations in atmospheric Greenhouse Trace Gases 1545.5.3.4 Dating human impact on climate as reflected in ice-core records 1555.6 Other Media Dated by Annual Banding 1565.6.1 Speleothems 1565.6.1.1 Dating a proxy record for twentieth-century precipitation from Poole’s Cavern, England 1565.6.1.2 Dating climate variability in central China over the last 1270 years 1575.6.2 Corals 1585.6.2.1 Dating a 420-year-coral-based palaeoenvironmental record from the southwestern Pacific 1585.6.2.2 Dating a 240-year palaeoprecipitation record from Florida, USA 1585.6.3 Molluscs 1605.6.3.1 The development of a sclerochronology using the long-lived bivalve Arctica islandica 1605.6.3.2 The development of a ‘clam-ring’ master chronology from a short-lived bivalve mollusc and its palaeoenvironmental significance 162Notes 1626 Relative Dating Methods 1656.1 Introduction 1656.2 Rock Surface Weathering 1666.2.1 Surface Weathering Features 1666.2.2 Problems in Using Surface Weathering Features to Establish Relative Chronologies 1676.2.3 Applications of Surface Weathering Dating 1686.2.3.1 Relative dating of Holocene glacier fluctuations in the Nepal Himalaya 1686.2.3.2 Relative dating of periglacial trimlines in northwest Scotland 1686.2.3.3 Relative dating of archaeological features by Lake Superior, Canada 1706.3 Obsidian Hydration Dating 1726.3.1 The Hydration Layer 1736.3.2 Problems with Obsidian Hydration Dating 1736.3.3 Some Applications of Obsidian Hydration Dating 1746.3.3.1 Dating of a Pleistocene age site, Manus Island, Papua New Guinea 1746.3.3.2 Dating of fluvially reworked sediment in Montana, USA 1766.4 Pedogenesis 1766.4.1 Soil Development Indices 1766.4.2 Problems in Using Pedogenesis as a Basis for Dating 1776.4.3 Some Applications of Dating Based on Pedogenesis 1786.4.3.1 Relative dating of moraines in the Sierra Nevada, California 1786.4.3.2 Dating glacial events in southeastern Peru 1786.5 Relative Dating of Fossil Bone 1806.5.1 Post-Burial Changes in Fossil Bone 1816.5.2 Problems in the Relative Dating of Bone 1816.5.3 Some Applications of the Relative Dating of Bone 1826.5.3.1 Fluoride dating of mastodon bone from an early palaeoindian site, eastern USA 1826.5.3.2 Chemical dating of animal bones from Sweden 1826.6 Amino Acid Geochronology 1846.6.1 Proteins and Amino Acids 1856.6.2 Amino Acid Diagenesis 1866.6.3 Problems with Amino Acid Geochronology 1876.6.4 Applications of Amino Acid Geochronology 1886.6.4.1 Dating and correlation of the last interglacial shoreline (~MOI substage 5e) in Australia using aminostratigraphy 1896.6.4.2 Quaternary aminostratigraphy in northwestern France based on non-marine molluscs 1896.6.4.3 Dating the earliest modern humans in southern Africa using amino acid ratios in ostrich eggshell 1916.6.4.4 Dating sea-level change in the Bahamas over the last half million years 192Notes 1957 Techniques for Establishing Age Equivalence 1977.1 Introduction 1977.2 Oxygen Isotope Chronostratigraphy 1987.2.1 Marine Oxygen Isotope Stages 1997.2.2 Dating the Marine Oxygen Isotope Record 1997.2.3 Problems with the Marine Oxygen Isotope Record 2017.3 Tephrochronology 2027.3.1 Tephras in Quaternary Sediments 2027.3.2 Dating of Tephra Horizons 2047.3.3 Problems with Tephrochronology 2057.3.4 Applications of Tephrochronology 2077.3.4.1 Dating the first human impact in New Zealand using tephrochronology 2077.3.4.2 Dating and correlating events in the North Atlantic region during the Last Glacial–Interglacial transition using tephrochronology 2097.3.4.3 Dating Middle Pleistocene artefacts and cultural traditions in East Africa using tephrostratigraphy 2097.3.4.4 Dating Early and Middle Pleistocene glaciations in Yukon by tephrochronology 2117.4 Palaeomagnetism 2137.4.1 The Earth’s Magnetic Field 2147.4.2 The Palaeomagnetic Record in Rocks and Sediments 2157.4.3 Magnetostratigraphy 2167.4.3.1 Polarity changes and the palaeomagnetic timescale 2167.4.3.2 Secular variations 2167.4.3.3 Mineral magnetic potential 2197.4.4 Some Problems with Palaeomagnetic Dating 2207.4.5 Applications of Palaeomagnetic Dating 2217.4.5.1 Dating lake sediments using palaeosecular variations 2217.4.5.2 Palaeomagnetic correlations between Scandinavian Ice Sheet fluctuations and Greenland ice-core records 2227.4.5.3 Palaeomagnetic dating of the earliest humans in Europe 2237.4.5.4 Palaeomagnetic dating of the Sterkfontein hominid, South Africa 2247.5 Palaeosols 2257.5.1 The Nature of Palaeosols 2277.5.2 Palaeosols as Soil-Stratigraphic Units 2287.5.3 Some Problems with Using Palaeosols to Establish Age Equivalence 2297.5.4 Applications of Palaeosols in the Establishment of Age Equivalence 2307.5.4.1 Buried palaeosols on the Avonmouth Level, southwest England: stratigraphic markers in Holocene intertidal sediments 2307.5.4.2 The Valley Farm and Barham Soils: key stratigraphic marker horizons in southeast England 2317.5.4.3 Correlation between the Chinese loess–palaeosol sequence and the deep-ocean core record for the past 2.5 million years 233Notes 2358 Dating the Future 2378.1 Introduction 2378.2 Radiometric Dating 2378.3 Annually Banded Records 2408.4 Age Equivalence 2428.5 Biomolecular Dating 243Notes 244References 245Index 279