COMPARISON OF OSL AND 14C DATES ESTIMATED FROM PALEOLITHIC PALEOSOL OF THE SUHEOL-RI SITE IN CHEONAN, KOREA

Authors

  • M.J. Kim Center for Applied Radiation Research, Neosiskorea Co. Ltd., Daejeon 305-380, Korea
  • B.G. Jung Division of Archaeology, Chungcheong Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, Gongju 314-923, Korea
  • S.Y. Kim Radiation Technology Institute, Neosiskorea Co. Ltd., Daejeon 305-380, Korea
  • D.G. Hong Department of Physics, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701, Korea

Keywords:

Suheol-ri site, paleosol, OSL dating, 14C dating

Abstract

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and radiocarbon (14C) dating were performed to determine absolute ages of Paleolithic paleosol layers from the Suheol-ri site in Cheonan, Korea. The results obtained from OSL dating of very fine sand-size (63-125 m) and fine sand-size (125-250 m) quartz showed that the OSL dates agreed well with each other and that all Paleolithic paleosol layers were buried after complete optical bleaching. The results obtained from 14C dating of acid-, neutral-, and base-humic acids (HA, HN, and HB) indicated that 14C dates of paleosol samples are only reliable when the 14C dates for HA, HN, and HB substances correspond with each other. Comparing between the OSL dates and 14C dates based on the typology of Korean Paleolithic stone tools and geological stratigraphy, we concluded that the OSL dating method is more reliable and effective than 14C dating for reconstructing the absolute chronology of Korean Paleolithic paleosol layers.

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Published

2023-07-27

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 3 (2013)

Section

Articles