ZHOU Liping, NIAN Xiaomei

Department of Geography, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

FIRST PARAGRAPH:  Optically stimulated luminescence dating method can be applied to obtain depositional age or burial age of the sediments in a variety of sedimentary environments. The physical basis of this method is that mineral grains are exposed to the sunlight/daylight during the transportation; hence the previously stored luminescence signals in the minerals are set to zero upon deposition. The decay of the radioactive nuclides in the sediments will generate radiation which interacts with the sediment grains, in essence, transferring energy from the ambient environment to the mineral grains and the amount of the energy stored in these grains being proportional to the time since their last exposure to the sunlight/daylight. To establish chronology for Paleolithic archaeological sites, a common approach involves dating of the sediments above and below the layers which yield artifacts or fossil remains. The ages of the sediments embracing the cultural layers provide constraints on the time of the human occupation or other activities at the sites.