
Five textural generations of biotite and at least two generations of kyanite and sillimanite in pelitic schists support a polymetamorphic history for these rocks. During prograde metamorphism garnet overgrew staurolite, followed by dehydration melting of muscovite and biotite in the stability field of kyanite, before the kyanite = Sillimanite reaction was crossed. Compositions of coexisting garnet, hornblende, biotite , and plagioclase in quartzofeldspathic gneiss and a few garnet and biotite crystals separated by plagioclase in pelitic schists yield T of 750 � 900�C, 8 � 10 kbar, based on calculations using THERMOCALC. Similar results (890�C, 9.6 kbar) were obtained using orthopyroxene - garnet � biotite � plagioclase thermobarometry corrected for retrograde exchange for a quartzofeldspathic granofels, whereas calculations for most pelitic schists yielded significantly lower P-T conditions with large scatter. Following peak metamorphism, the rocks underwent a stage of near isobaric cooling during which K-feldspar was replaced by muscovite, and garnet by sillimanite + biotite.
Most monazite crystals from a pelitic schist display patchy zoning for Th, Y and U, with some matrix crystals having as many as 5 zones with microprobe dates of 290 to 500 Ma. Monazite inclusions in garnet and Y � rich cores of some monazite matrix crystals yield the oldest dates of 446 � 8 Ma, whereas a few homogeneous matrix monazites yield dates of 361 � 8 Ma. These data suggest that the central Blue Ridge terrane reached peak conditions during the Taconic, but was re-metamorphosed at lower temperatures? during the Acadian.