DATACIÓN DE CERÁMICA DE EL TIGRE, CAMPECHE, POR EL MÉTODO DE TERMOLUMINISCENCIA

Abstract

Thermoluminescence Dating of Ceramic from El Tigre-Campeche This article presents the results of the thermoluminescence (TL) dating of ceramic samples recovered during the El Tigre-Campeche Project in the State of Campeche. It involved eight samples from the El Tigre site and 12 from the Santa Clara site. However, only the El Tigre sample classified as TA2 was appropriate for dating. From Santa Clara, only those samples clas- sified as SC6, SC31 and SC36 were good candidates to date. Strontium-90 radiation levels of between 2.5 and 12 Gy were used. The TL signals were obtained by warming the samples to 20 C/s using a Daybreak TL reader. In order to determine the annual dose rate, the potassium (K) concentration was determined by means of energy-dispersive X ray spectroscopy (EDS) in a scanning electron microscope, whereas the thorium (Th) and uranium (U) content was determined by means of neutron activation analysis (NAA), us- ing a TRIGA MARK III reactor. The contribution of the gamma radiation from the soil in which the samples were buried, as well as the contribution of cos- mic radiation, was measured with TL dosimeters of LiF:Mg, Cu, P+PTFE developed by the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares (ININ). Once the paleodose is known, as well as the annual dose rate of each sam- ple, its age is estimated. The ages obtained for the studied samples were: TA2, 2645 ± 106 years; SC6, 1962 ± 76 years; SC31, 1327 ± 62 years and SC36, 1899 ± 47 years. These ages agree with the typology of the samples,