T53 No Dates: No Rates—Utilizing Geochronometers to Quantify Rates of Geomorphic Processes or Archaeological Development over a Wide Range of Temporal and Spatial Scales

Sunday, 22 October 2017
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Room 3B

LUMINESCENCE DATING ON THE ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

Paper number: T53-5
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:35 PM – 2:50 PM

Authors

  • James K. Feathers Presenting Author
    University of Washington, Seattle, WA
  • Christopher R. Moore
    Savannah River Archaeological Research Program, South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, USC, New Ellenton, SC

Abstract

Single-grain optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL) has been applied to a number of sandy sedimentological and archaeological sequences along the Atlantic coastal plain in the southeastern United States. Here, we synthesize these data, including analyses from the past year, to inform on timing of depositional events, archaeological site formation, and landform reconstruction. Particular emphasis is given to interpreting equivalent dose distributions in the face of mixing from bioturbation and to related complexities in luminescence dating of these kinds of sediments. Our results suggest episodic depositional periods leading to a series of stable surfaces and subsequent mixing of archaeological deposits. The depositional periods may correspond to regional climatic changes.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 49, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2017AM-301745

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