A Luminescence Dating Study of Open-Air Palaeolithic Sites in Western Epirus, Greece

Abstract

We report results of a preliminary luminescence dating study of middle to late Pleistocene red beds and early Holocene dune deposits from prehistoric sites in northwest Greece. The wide range in age estimates contradicts the impression that all the red sediments of the region are as old as the Pliocene or early Pleistocene and that artefacts found in them are late intrusions and hence worthless in a stratigraphic context. Our data provide support for a recently proposed chronological framework of the Palaeolithic in the region. TL-IRSL comparisons confirm the IRSL as a more appropriate means for dating water-laid deposits, while both methods appear to be equally useful for aeolian sediments. The study cautions that the effect of various laboratory procedures used to obtain TL or IRSL dates in a context of complex depositional histories precludes a simple prima facie interpretation of the ages. A proper evaluation of luminescence dates requires a full account of the laboratory procedures employed and an understanding of the depositional history of the sediments.