Luminescence dating method for out-of-context samples

In the standard luminescence dating methodologies the general equation used to determine the age in luminescence dating is given by the ratio between the Equivalent Dose (ED) and the Annual Dose rate (AD). The ED, measured using luminescence signals, is the total absorbed dose starting from the last "zero event" while the DR, evaluated by in situ and extra situ radioactivity measurements, represents the rate at which energy is absorbed from natural radioactivity present in the sample and in the environment. For samples for which information on environmental dose contribution is lacking, which are considered out-of-context samples, this method is not applicable. However, the combination of different methodologies of luminescence dating, the fine-grain, and inclusion technique from same sample, allows age to be determined independently of knowledge of the environmental dose-rate. In this work, the method named subtraction dating is applied to an archaeomaterial sampled near Angkor Thom, Siem Reap, Cambodia. The dating results obtained using subtraction method were compared with that obtained, for each grain size, using standard approach with good results.