About

Marine Frouin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Stony Brook University, affiliated with the Turkana Basin Institute and a research associate at the University of Oxford. She holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Poitiers, France, and a Ph.D. from the University of Bordeaux, France. Her postdoctoral research was conducted at the University of Oxford and the Technical University of Denmark. Her research focuses on the development and application of luminescence techniques to provide age constraints on archaeological materials and geological events. Specifically, she aims to understand luminescence processes of minerals in terrestrial sediments, extend the age range of luminescence dating methods to the Plio-Pleistocene, and investigate the chronology of human evolution in Eurasia and Africa. She is actively establishing a new luminescence dating laboratory with advanced instrumentation and is seeking talented students, post-docs, and visitors to utilize this facility.

Research topics

• Paleontology
• History
• Archaeology
• Materials science
• Geography
• Ancient history
• Optoelectronics
• Optics
• Biology
• Geology
• Physics
• Remote sensing
• Mineralogy

Selected publications

• New chronological framework for Zapotec architecture at Las Mesillas, Oaxaca, Mexico: Integrating radiocarbon and luminescence dating

  Journal of Archaeological Science Reports · 2026-01-29

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  • Combined luminescence and radiocarbon dating refine Zapotec chronology. • Single-grain quartz OSL provided reliable ages for monumental architecture. • The Las Mesillas architectural features were constructed and subsequently modified between ∼ 100 CE and 1000 CE. • Feldspar luminescence ages were overestimated due to partial bleaching. San Pedro Martir Quiechapa, a municipality in the southern highlands of Oaxaca, preserves evidence of landscape engineering by the ancient Zapotec civilization. At Las Mesillas, the municipality’s largest archaeological site, terraced hillsides and monumental architectural complexes reveal the intensive reshaping of the landscape. Architectural phases show cycles of infilling, resurfacing, and reconfiguration that reflect ritual renewal practices and long-term ceremonial investment in the site. To establish the chronology of construction at Las Mesillas, we applied luminescence dating techniques to sediments sealed beneath two excavated architectural contexts, Operation A and B. Coarse quartz grains were extracted from the sediment and analyzed using a single-grain Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) protocol, while coarse feldspar grains were analyzed using a multi-grain post-Infrared-Infrared luminescence (pIR-IRSL) protocol. Three radiocarbon dates were obtained from charcoals contained in the sediment. The integrated radiocarbon and luminescence-based chronology from Operations A and B reveals a sequence of construction, renovation, and reuse at Las Mesillas from the 1st century BCE through the 11th century CE, from the Terminal Formative through the Early Postclassic periods. Renovations of both the summit and terrace during the 10th-11th centuries CE indicate coordinated planning and continued participation in broader Mesoamerican sociopolitical networks.

  PublisherDOI

• Chronological Analysis of Providence Island Occupation by Luminescence Dating

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Spatially resolved infrared-radiofluorescence (SR IR-RF) measurements for single-grain feldspar dating

  Radiation Physics and Chemistry · 2026-04-18

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Further investigations into the accuracy of infrared-radiofluorescence (IR-RF) and its inter-comparison with infrared photoluminescence (IRPL) dating

  2025-01-15 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen accessCorresponding

  Abstract. Infrared radiofluorescence (IR-RF) is an alternative dating technique for potassium feldspar grains, offering a higher signal stability and based on a simpler underlying mechanism than more common luminescence dating approaches. However, its accuracy when tested on known-age samples has so far shown inconsistent results. In this study, we present a refined accuracy assessment using samples that have previously produced unreliable IR-RF ages. Our approach incorporates two major methodological advancements developed over the past decade: elevated temperature measurements using the IR-RF70 protocol and sensitivity change correction by vertical sliding. To expand the dose range comparison, we included two additional samples: one expected to be in saturation and another of modern age. Additionally, we evaluated the effect of using a narrower bandpass filter to exclude any signal contributions from potentially contaminating shorter wavelength emissions. Our results following the IR-RF70 protocol with sensitivity corrections show an improvement over the original room temperature results. For four out of the seven tested known-age samples spanning 20–130 ka, we obtained results in keeping with the expected doses. Two additional modern samples, however, yielded slight age underestimations. Introduction of a multiple-aliquot regenerative dose (MAR) protocol improved the accuracy of two out of three samples with large sensitivity changes. Finally, we also compared the new IR-RF equivalent doses (De) to those obtained with the newer trap-specific dating method infrared-photoluminescence (IRPL) for the same samples, including previously published values and new measurements. We observe that with the new improvements the success rate of IR-RF is comparable to that of IRPL.

  PublisherDOI

• Supplementary material to "Further investigations into the accuracy of infrared-radiofluorescence (IR-RF) and its inter-comparison with infrared photoluminescence (IRPL) dating"

  2025-01-15

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Dune, outcrop, and pan sediments from the southern Kalahari Basin: A geoarchaeological case study from the Kgalagadi district, Botswana

  Southern African Field Archaeology · 2025-07-07 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Research from the southern Kalahari Basin (previously considered to be of limited Pleistocene archaeological significance) has provided evidence of human occupation. Surveys and excavations conducted in the Kgalagadi District near Tsabong in south-western Botswana have revealed a plethora of archaeological evidence. The region includes geomorphological features, including dunes, low quartzite hills, and pans. Duricrust formations are visible inside the pans. Previous research suggests that the pans form in topographical low points and likely already existed during the Pleistocene, while lunette dunes accumulated from deflated pan sediment during recent drying periods. However, in this region, these features have not been analysed in a geoarchaeological context, which can provide insight into the formation of archaeological sites. We investigated the mechanisms involved in the deposition of pan, dune, and sandy outcrop sediment by applying a multi-method analysis to thirty sediment samples. Analysis of pan samples reveals the presence of mostly intergrade duricrusts, with some calcretes present. Pan sediment containing fragmented ostracod valves in juvenile instars indicates post-mortem transport (taphocoenosis), and along with the diatoms (Campylodiscus sp.), are indicative of a brackish to saline water body. Inner dune samples share more similarities with pan sediments than with the red sand samples, as they contain higher concentrations of calcium oxide and some contain calcite and sepiolite. Particle size distributions change from unimodal in the outcrops and red dunes, to polymodal in the pans, suggesting that runoff during the wet season contributes to site formation. Sediment deflation by wind contributed to artefacts being exposed on the surfaces of the outcrops. This study therefore identifies three main site formation processes, namely deflation, runoff, and various duricrust formations, which provides insights into the environmental and climatic conditions that influenced human habitation in the Kalahari.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Further investigations into the accuracy of infrared radiofluorescence (IR-RF) and its inter-comparison with infrared photoluminescence (IRPL) dating

  Geochronology · 2025-08-06 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract. Infrared radiofluorescence (IR-RF) is an alternative dating technique for potassium feldspar grains, offering a higher signal stability and based on a simpler underlying mechanism than more common luminescence dating approaches. However, its accuracy when tested on known-age samples has so far shown inconsistent results. In this study, we present a refined accuracy assessment using samples that have previously produced unreliable IR-RF ages. Our approach incorporates two major methodological advancements developed over the past decade: elevated temperature measurements using the IR-RF70 protocol and sensitivity change correction by vertical sliding. To expand the dose range comparison, we included two additional samples: one expected to be in saturation and another of modern age. Additionally, we evaluated the effect of using a narrower bandpass filter to exclude any signal contributions from potentially contaminating shorter wavelength emissions. Our results following the IR-RF70 protocol with sensitivity corrections show an improvement over the original room-temperature results. For four out of the seven tested known-age samples spanning ca. 100–300 Gy (20–130 ka), we obtained results in keeping with the expected doses. Two additional modern samples, however, yielded slight dose underestimations. Introduction of a multiple-aliquot regenerative dose (MAR) protocol improved the accuracy of two out of three samples with large sensitivity changes. Finally, we also compared the new IR-RF equivalent doses (De) to those obtained with the newer dating method, infrared photoluminescence (IRPL), for the same samples, including previously published values and new measurements. Like IR-RF, IRPL is also expected to be trap-specific. We observe that, with the new improvements, the success rate of IR-RF is comparable to that of IRPL.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Testing SandAI’s Performance on Quartz Grains from Glacial and Volcanic Provenance

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2025-01-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Spatially resolved infrared-radiofluorescence (SR IR-RF) measurements for single-grain feldspar dating

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• A REFINED CHRONOLOGY FOR PERSPEKTYWICZNA CAVE, POLAND: A MULTI-METHOD LUMINESCENCE DATING APPROACH

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2024-01-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Norbert Mercier

  Institut de Recherche sur les ArchéoMATériaux

  129 shared

• Alain Turq

  72 shared

• Guillaume Guérin

  Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

  62 shared

• Christelle Lahaye

  Université de Bordeaux

  49 shared

• Harold L. Dibble

  University of Pennsylvania

  48 shared

• Thomas Higham

  47 shared

• Laure Metz

  Aix-Marseille Université

  44 shared

• Hélène Valladas

  Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement

  39 shared

Labs

• Marine Frouin LabPI

Education

• B.S.

  University of Poitiers

  2008

• M.S.

  University of Poitiers

  2010

• M.S.

  University of Bordeaux

  2011

• Ph.D.

  University of Bordeaux

  2014

• Other

  University of Oxford

  2014

• Other

  Technical University of Denmark

  2019

• Other

  Stony Brook University

  2020