OSL dating of Zhuangbianshan site in the humid subtropical coastal region of China

Establishing a reliable chronology is the basis of archaeological research; this is normally undertaken using radiocarbon dating and, more recently, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). The application of the latter to Neolithic sites in the Fujian Province of China is still quite limited. In this study, a total of eight OSL samples were collected from the Zhuangbianshan site (ZBS). The single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol was applied to coarse silt (38-63 mu m) quartz. The results showed that the 38-63 mu m grains appeared to be well bleached. The ages for the samples range from 5.5 to 3.3 ka for the ZBS sections, which is in general internally coherent within the limits of experimental errors and with respect to their stratigraphical order. Two OSL ages (ZBSH03-2 and ZBST05H) of the ZBS were significantly older than their expected archaeological ages, while most of those from the ZBS core generally showed good agreement with their archaeological ages and stratigraphical succession. Based on the OSL ages, two periods (similar to 6.3 and 3.5-3.3 ka, approximately) of rapid cultural accumulation can be identified at this site. These investigations indicate that the OSL technique is an effective method with which to date Holocene cultural accumulations, especially sites in the humid subtropical areas of South China where organic carbon material is sparse.