PP5-6 OSL Dating

The reason for the application is to undertake continued single grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of the archaeological samples from PP5-6. This will give an estimate of the age of deposition of the sediment grains contained within archaeological deposits and the dunes. OSL dating is undertaken on quartz grains extracted from the sediment – the sample preparation will require that a portion of the sample will be destroyed. All samples are sediment samples. The samples to be covered under this permit were extracted from Pinnacle Point Site 5-6 (PP5-6) during excavations in 2017 and 2016 and covered under permit 2492 Case Number 14021203TS0225M issued to Dr. C. Marean and Dr. T. Matthews. A final report was submitted and accepted for those excavations. We are now in the analysis phase of those excavations, and key part of that analysis phase is the establishment of a robust chronology. This permit application is to conduct OSL dating to help us reach that goal.

Our project (SACP4 - South African Coast Paleoclimate, Paleoenvironment, Paleoecology, Paleoanthropology Project) is a long term project involving a wide range of South African and international scientists. Our goal is to develop a high resolution and continuous record of change in climate and environment over the last 400,000 years, and use that to help us understand changing patterns of human adaptation and evolution over the time span of the origins of modern humans.