Luminescence dating and its application to anthropogenic sedimentary sequences:Tepecik-Çiftlik prehistoric settlement

Luminescence dating is a fundamental technique in the field of earth sciences research, offering a reliable method fordetermining the age of sediments and artifacts. Applications of luminescence dating in archaeology include the dating of ancienthabitation sites, burial mounds, and artifacts such as pottery. This provides a chronological framework for understanding humanactivities and environmental changes over millennia. The capacity of luminescence dating to ascertain the age of events spanning a fewdecades to several hundred thousand years renders it an indispensable instrument for the construction of timelines and interpretationof the past. This study presents a concise overview of the various stages of luminescence dating, including sampling, mineral separation,sample preparation, measurement, and evaluation. Furthermore, the study examines the application of luminescence dating tothe Tepecik-Çiftlik prehistoric settlement, a significant archaeological site in Central Anatolia, Türkiye. Tepecik-Çiftlik, which wasextensively occupied from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic period, provides a valuable context for examining human activity overmillennia. Luminescence dating was successfully carried out on three samples from a trench of the mound. The findings contributesignificantly to the chronology of Central Anatolian prehistory, providing insights into human adaptation and resilience in changingenvironmental and social landscapes. Three luminescence samples were studied and dated thoroughly to reveal the timing of depositionof the Tepecik-Çiftlik settlement, retrieved from both natural and anthropogenic fills observed in the deep trench (trench code 16-K) ofthe excavation. The results fall within the proposed mound stratigraphy, exhibiting the applicability of the method when conventionaldating methods fail to date focus layers.