OSL ages of the Clovis, Late Paleoindian, and Archaic components at Area 15 of the Gault Site, Central Texas, U.S.A.

Abstract

The Gault Site, Texas, U.S.A., affords a near-complete regional prehistoric sequence from an ~ 2 m-thick alluvial sedimentary interval. Age estimates on Clovis, Late Paleoindian, and Archaic components were obtained using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of silt-sized quartz grains. The luminescence characteristics of the quartz are favorable, showing normal equivalent dose distributions and no evidence of incomplete zeroing. The artifacts span Clovis to Archaic forms, and their ages are generally in excellent agreement with independent radiocarbon ages from five other Texas sites. The mean OSL age of the Clovis deposits of 12,900 ± 700 a agrees with the known Clovis ages from Central Texas and a generalized model that places the Clovis occupation of Central Texas between ~ 13,600 to 13,000 cal BP (Holliday, 2000). This study indicates that accurate age determinations can be made using OSL on silt-sized quartz grains at Gault.