Quaternary dating by electron spin resonance (ESR) applied to human tooth enamel

This paper presents the results obtained from using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) to analyse tooth enamel found at the Aguazuque archaeological site (Cundinamarca, Colombia), located on the savannah near Bogota at 4 ° 37 ’ North and 74°17 ’ West. It was presumed that the tooth enamel came from a collective burial consisting of 23 people, involving men, women and children. The tooth enamel was irradiated with gamma rays and the resulting free radicals were measured using an electron spin resonance (ESR) X-band spectrometer to obtain a signal intensity compared to absorbed doses curve. Fitting this curve allowed the mean archaeological dose accumulated in the enamel during the period that it was buried to be estimated, giving a 2.10 ± 0.14 Gy value. ROSY software was used for estimating age, giving a mean 3,256 ± 190y before present (BP) age. These results highlight EPR’s potential when using the quaternary ancient ruins dating technique in Colombia and its use with other kinds of samples like stalagmites, calcite, mollusc shells and reefs. RESUMEN En este trabajo se presentan los resultados obtenidos por datación mediante el uso de Resonancia Paramagnética Electrónica en muestras de esmalte dental provenientes del sitio arqueológico Aguazuque, ubicado en la sabana de Bogotá en coordenadas 4 ° 37 ’ de latitud norte y 74°17 ’ de longitud oeste de Greenwich. Se presume que e