Data

This is the DRAC file (cf. Durcan et al., 2015) used for age calculation of the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating data from the Balta Alba Kurgan loess-paleosol sequence in Romania. This dataset corresponds to the luminescence age data published in Scheidt et al. (2020). The sample names in the first column are encoded as follows: Profile-number_sample-number_protocol. So for example sample BAK1_1_IR50 gives the results of conventional IRSL at 50°C measurements for sample no. 1 in profile BAK1....

A series of functions to estimate the detection windows of a luminescence reader based on the filters and the photomultiplier (PMT) selected. These functions also allow to simulate a luminescence experiment based on the thermoluminesce (TL) or the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) properties of a material.

Recent investigations of the Semlac loess section in the south-eastern Carpathian Basin, which is situated at an undercut slope position on the right bank of the Mureş River in its lower reaches (Banat region, western Romanian), are presented and discussed. Dating back to marine isotope stage (MIS) 10, the more than 10 m thick loess sequence includes four fossil soil-complexes developed in homogenous and relatively fine silty loess. Because of the good preservation of the sediment, Semlac is regarded as a...

Loess sequences provide important and at least a partial continuous record of Quaternary palaeoenvironmental change; some of the sequences even bury archaeological remains. In addition, loess-palaeosol sequences provide valuable information concerning environmental change and climate evolution. In this study, we compare two sections: (1) The Middle to Late Pleistocene loesspaleosol section of Semlac in western Romania (MIS 10 – 1), and (2) the sandy-loess section of Doroshivtsy in western Ukraine (MIS...

Post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) dating has reactivated the use of feldspar minerals to date Pleistocene deposits. We compared pIRIR stimulation measured at 290 °C (pIRIR290) of coarse grain feldspar (100–200 μm) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of coarse grain quartz (100–150 μm) with radiocarbon dating. The samples were taken from the lower part of the Doroshivtsy sandy loess sequence, which contains Gravettian artefact layers. The site is one of the very few sections in...

Previous geochronological and archaeological studies on the rock shelter Jarama VI suggested a late survival of Neanderthals in central Iberia and the presence of lithic assemblages of Early Upper Paleolithic affinity. New data on granulometry, mineralogical composition, geochemical fingerprints and micromorphology of the sequence corroborate the previous notion that the archaeological units JVI.2.1 to JVI.2.3 are slackwater deposits of superfloods, which did not experience significant post-depositional...

A detailed tephrostratigraphic record, which dates back to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5b (ca. 91 kyr), has been established from a 17.76 m long core (Co1215) from Lake Prespa (Macedonia, Albania and Greece). A total of eleven tephra and cryptotephra layers (PT0915-1 to PT0915-11) were identified, using XRF scanning, magnetic susceptibility measurements, and macro- and microscopic inspection of the sediments. The major element composition of glass shards and/or micro-pumice fragments indicates that the...

At Wadi Sabra (SW Jordan) human occupation dates back to the Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic. Although there is stratigraphic correlation based on archaeological finds of Ahmarian origin, numerical age estimates are lacking. We applied single-aliquot optical dating of coarse grained quartz of wadi deposits and investigated the luminescence properties in detail to achieve more accurate age information about the time of human occupation. Weak luminescence signals and scattered dose distributions characterise...

Thermoluminescence (TL) is routinely used to date heated lithic artefacts which mostly consist of silex (a mixture of amorphous opal and microcrystalline chalcedony). Analytical investigations of bulk samples confirmed that these materials contain considerable concentrations of radioactive elements, generating an internal dose rate contribution. Common dosimetric models assume the latter to be homogeneous throughout the sample. If this assumption would prove invalid, this will result in systematic errors in...

A combination of two autoradiography methods was applied to investigate the radionuclide distribution patterns in a range of different silices. We obtained greyscale images (β-radiation) and α-track patterns for qualitative assessment, and used a statistical approach to quantify the degree of uniformity of the radiation fields. It was found that almost all samples are poor in potassium, thorium and uranium, and that locally high concentrations are present only in dark-coloured veins and inclusions....

Currently, absolute dates for the emergence of the Early Upper Paleolithic and the timing of the earliest dispersal of anatomically modern humans (AMH) into Europe are sparse. This is especially true for regions adjoining the Eastern Mediterranean and Central Europe with its dense clusters of sites along the Austrian and German Danube Valley. This article makes a first step toward filling this gap and, for the first time, presents absolute ages for the open-air site of Româneşti-Dumbrăviţa I (Banat, SW...

Production of charcoal has accompanied human life from the beginning. We aimed at evaluating the degree to which the chemical signatures of charcoal may serve as a fingerprint for burning conditions. After a compilation of fire literature we differentiated three typical fire regimes [grass and forest ground (285 ± 143 °C), shrub (503 ± 211 °C) and domestic fires (797 ± 165 °C)] and three main factors impacting on charcoal formation: charring duration, temperature and fuel. For fingerprint calibration and...