Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating is among the best methods for establishing absolute dates for teeth, molluscs, barnacles, foraminifera, coral, and other carbonate fossils ranging from 5,000 to 2-4 million years old (i.e., throughout the Quaternary and late Pliocene) with 3-10% precision.  Thus, it can date archaeological and paleontological sites that may be too old to use   C,    Th/   U, or TL, or are too young to use   Ar/   Ar, U/Pb, or Th/Pb methods. Moreover, ESR dates the archaeological artefacts or fossils, rather than sedimentary or volcaniclastic sediment containing the archaeological or paleontological material.

 

We date fossils, plus travertine, quartz sediment, and flint tools from archaeological or geological sites. With clear stratigraphic relationships between the dated material and the archaeological or geological context, ESR dating can answer questions regarding site age, evolutionary relationships for both hominins and their tools, as well as other mammals. When combined with other data, ESR dates can help to develop paleoclimatic histories and sea level curves, and answer many other geological and archaeological questions. Samples are analyzed using the additive dose method to measure the tooth’s accumulated radiation dose. The internal dose rate is measured via neutron activation analyses (NAA).  Associated sediment is analyzed with NAA to find the sedimentary dose rates, while the cosmic dose rates are determined by the geological context.