Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and petrographic analysis for dating Mesolithic and Neolithic pottery from Al Khiday (Sudan) Claudia Bortolussi a, * , Alfonso Zoleo a , Lara Maritan b , Alberto Collauto c , Marina Brustolon a , Maurizio Marrale d , Aldo Parlato e , Donatella Usai f a Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, Via F. Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy b Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Via G. Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova, Italy c Department of Chemical Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzi St., 7610001 Rehovot, Israel d Department of Physics and Chemistry, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Edificio 18, 90128 Palermo, Italy e Department of Energy, Computer Engineering and Mathematical Models, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Edificio 6, 90128 Palermo, Italy f Centro Studi Sudanesi e Sub-sahariani, Strada di Canizzano 128d, 38100 Treviso, Italy highlights  Radiation-induced defects in prehistoric pottery were detected through pulsed EPR.  Paleo-dose estimation in pottery through pulsed EPR was tempted.  A correct trend of signal intensity vs. irradiation dose was obtained.  Pulsed EPR paleo-dose was overestimated compared to SAR-TL.  A relationship between quartz grain-size and signal intensity was found. article info Article history: Received 20 October 2015 Received in revised form 7 March 2016 Accepted 24 March 2016 Available online 25 March 2016 Keywords: EPR dating Prehistoric pottery Quartz Al Khiday abstract Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) dating, like luminescence techniques, is based on the time- dependent accumulation of trapped charges at mineral defect centres. However, Fe(III) ions prevent the common Continuous Wave (CW-EPR) approach for dating pottery, which always contains iron. The Pulsed method (ED-EPR) allowed this limitation to be overcome, with recording of radiation-induced defect signals, as shown by increased signal intensity after artificial irradiation of samples. The method was applied to studying Mesolithic and Neolithic pottery from Al Khiday (Central Sudan), characterized by quartz-rich tempers and coming from dated contexts. As the occurrence of a natural ED- EPR signal was found to be related to the quartz grain size of the temper, a petrographic study was carried out. This first attempt at age determination of pottery by ED-EPR meant that experimental conditions and important parameters could be taken into account in developing a new dating procedure. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Stylistic examination of shapes, surface treatments and deco- rations is the first and oldest method used for dating pottery. Recognizing stylistic changes through time or other attributes, and detecting variation trends is largely adopted for establishing rela- tive chronology of artefacts (Bonsall et al., 2002). But this approach is empirically derived and does not provide by itself absolute ages. Different methods to the chronological topic are possible, being all functional to dating specific moments of the lifetime of a ceramic object, as the manufacture, the use or the burial. The choice of an absolute dating technique is in fact related to the archaeological event for which an age is required, as well as to the availability in terms of type and quantity of the material suitable for the specific analysis (Wagner, 1998). The radiocarbon dating on pottery is possible only in few cases, since it can be applied only in presence of organic residues, as food (Stott et al., 2003), and charcoal or seeds occurring in the ceramic surface or paste, respectively. However, pottery rarely has an organic content that could form a basis for radiocarbon dating, and when present there is always the risk of * Corresponding author. E-mail address: claudia.borto@gmail.com (C. Bortolussi). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Radiation Measurements journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/radmeas http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.radmeas.2016.03.008 1350-4487/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Radiation Measurements 89 (2016) 89e98