Comparative study of luminescence dating of pottery and sediments from the Holocene Zhuqiusi site in Central China

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating has emerged as a robust protocol for establishing a chronological framework for archaeological sites, particularly due to the ubiquity of pottery and stratigraphic deposits, which offer useable dating materials. Despite its effectiveness, this method encounters challenges in dating young archaeological sites in the Holocene period, such as stratigraphic disturbances, insufficient bleach, and residual doses from infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) of potassium-rich feldspar (K-feldspar), which compromise the accuracy of the dating results. To address the challenges of optical dating in young archaeological sites and to demonstrate its accuracy, this study applies diverse luminescence dating techniques at the Holocene archaeological site of Zhuqiusi in the Central Plains of China, with a specific focus on accurately dating pottery and sediment samples. For fine-grain (FG) quartz samples from pottery, single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) OSL dating and multiple-aliquot additive-dose (MAAD) thermoluminescence (TL) dating methods were used. For coarse-grain quartz and K-feldspar from sediments, the SAR-based OSL method was used for quartz and the multiple-elevated-temperature post-infrared IRSL (MET-pIRIR) method was used for K-feldspar; in both cases, multi-grain (MG) or single-grain (SG) measurement protocols were adopted to investigate the effect of bleaching on dating. The results showed that the quartz OSL and TL ages of pottery samples were consistent, while sediment quartz and K-feldspar showed varying degrees of insufficient bleaching, leading to significant age differences. For such samples, single-grain dating methods must be used to obtain accurate luminescence ages. Ultimately, the Zhuqiusi site was dated to two occupation stages: the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (2.14–2.82 ka) and the late Longshan period (3.90–4.27 ka), consistent with radiocarbon ages within the error range. The comparative study of luminescence dating in pottery and sediment provides a valuable guide to selecting dating methods for Holocene archaeological sites.