Thermoluminescence is phosphorescence of a material due to heating. Thermoluminescence occurs as a result of high-energy electrons trapped within the material being studied. The electrons are trapped at metastable sites within the mineral lattice of...

Thermoluminescence (TL) dating is the determination by means of measuring the accumulated radiation dose of the time elapsed since material containing crystalline minerals was either heated (lava, ceramics) or exposed to sunlight (sediments). As the...

Stone artefacts found in sediments at a Jinmium rock-shelter in Australia's Northern Territory are dated by thermoluminescence. Results provide evidence for human habitation in the area prior to 116,000 years plus or minus 12,000 years. Since such findings are likely to create controversy, further...

An earlier dawn for modern humans? Burnt flints from a cave in Israel have yielded evidence that anatomically modern humans were living in the Middle East around 92,000 years ago, about 50,000 years earlier than most previous estimates, according to a team...