Dating the Quaternary, which covers approximately the last 2 million years, has experienced considerable progress over the past few decades. On the one hand, this resulted from the necessity to obtain a valid age concept for this period which had seen tremendous environmental changes and the advent of the genus Homo. On the other hand, instrumental improvements, such as the introduction of highly sensitive analytical techniques, gave rise to physical and chemical innovations in the field of dating. This rapid methodological development is still in full progress. The broad spectrum of chronometric methods applicable to young rocks and artifacts also becomes increasingly intricate to the specialist. Hence, it is my goal to present a comprehensive, state-of-the-art sum mary of these methods. This book is essentially designed as an aid for scientists who feel a demand for dating tasks falling into this period, i. e., Quaternary geologists and archaeologists in the broadest sense. Since it has been developed from a course of lectures for students of geological and archaeological sciences, held at the University of Heidelberg, it certainly shall serve as an introduction for students of these disciplines.

extensive and balanced representation of the field based on a lecture for archaeologists and physical geographers

Autorentext
Günther A. Wagner ist ein führender Experte im Bereich der Paläontologie, Archäologie und Anthropologie.

Inhalt
1 Introduction.- 2 Materials.- 3 Radiogenic Noble Gases.- 4 Uranium Series (Radioactive Equilibrium, Disequilibrium as Clock, Detection Techniques, Thermo-Ionization Mass Spectrometry, Gamma Spectrometry).- 5 Cosmogenic Nuclides (Atmospheric Production, In Situ Production, Accelerator Mass Spectrometry).- 6 Particle Tracks (Track Accumulation Age).- 7 Radiation Dosimetry (Radiation Damage, Natural Dose, Resetting, Fading, Dose Rate, Dose Rate Evaluation).- 8 Chemical Reactions (Reaction Kinetics, Diffusion).- 9 Paleomagnetism.- 10 Earth's Orbit, Climate and Age.- References.