42513
Accession Number
22568
Author
Walker, R.M.; Maurette, M.; Fleischer, R.L.; Price, P.B.
Author Affiliation
Washington University. Laboratory for Space Physics; Washington University. Laboratory for Space Physics;G.E. Research and Development Center;G.E. Research and Development Center
Title Of Journal Book
Applications of Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors to Archeology
Collation
14 p. : Figs.
Reference Bibliography
Bibliog.: p. 9-10
Report Number
SPP-6
Language Of Text
English
Literature Type
Monograph
Literature Level
Monographic
Abstract
Nuclear tracks can be recorded on materials such as minerals, glasses, and plastics following chemical etching. This report discusses how this technique can be applied to archaeological problems. Fission track dating is based on counting tracks due to fission of uranium impurity atoms before and after neutron irradiation to determine the concentration of uranium in the sample. The technique is limited to glasses with high uranium content or of great antiquity. Obsidian sourcing by fission track dating of the source flows is another potential application. A second method of dating mentioned is alpha recoil, which is expected to produce thousands of times more tracks, and thus be more sensitive, than the fission track technique. The technique requires independent measurement of uranium and thorium concentrations. Track techniques for determining concentration of uranium and thorium, which have potential applications for source analysis, are described. It is shown that track-sourcing results reproduce results of x-ray fluorescence source analysis of Middle Eastern obsidian.
Keywords
archaeology;fission track dating;alpha recoil track dating; source analysis
pub_id
42513