ESR dose estimation on fossil tooth enamel by fitting the natural spectrum into the irradiated spectra

Abstract

Fitting the natural, derivative ESR spectrum into the irradiated spectra has been tested as a method for the estimation of the dose value of powdered fossil tooth enamel, which is the basis of ESR dating. It was found that this method has significant advantages over traditional peak-to-peak assessments, dose versus magnetic field plots as well as deconvolution of the absorption spectrum, because it is less dependent on a range of interferences. Furthermore, the fitting procedure is computationally trivial and the dose results are not dependent on random noise. It is concluded that fitting the natural spectrum ought to provide the most reliable dose estimations for most fossil teeth which have been exposed to doses of more than 5-10 Gy. Show more