NEW AMS 14C DATES OF A MULTICULTURAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE FROM THE PALEO-DELTAIC REGION OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA: CULTURAL AND GEO-ARCHAEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

Radiocarbon ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Nabanita Naskar ◽  
Kaushik Gangopadhyay ◽  
Susanta Lahiri ◽  
Punarbasu Chaudhuri ◽  
Rajveer Sharma ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT This study is on the absolute age dating of a multicultural site of Erenda, East Medinipur district, in coastal West Bengal, India. Charcoal samples were collected and measured using the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) facility at the Inter-University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi, India. These samples were collected from secured stratigraphic context of two excavated trenches. A careful collection of samples from two trenches provided us with the first calendar dates, 950 BCE and 1979 BCE, of protohistoric sites in coastal West Bengal. These calibrated calendar dates not only have wider significance in terms of archaeology but also methodological implications to understand the relevance of application of AMS from the dynamic coastal landscape in the humid tropics during the late Holocene period.

Radiocarbon ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaled Al-Bashaireh

This article presents accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates of organic inclusions of cement materials from the House XVII-XVIII Complex located in the Umm el-Jimal archaeological site, east Jordan, aiming at refining the unclear chronology of the house. Fine straws and small fragments of charcoal uncovered from preserved architectural lime mortars and plasters were dated without carrying out extensive excavations. The results indicate that the house most probably was initially plastered or built during the middle of the Byzantine period. The results agree with the historical and archaeological data indicating that Umm el-Jimal flourished during this period; therefore, it is probable that the house was established during this time to meet the housing demand for the increased number of its population.


2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Suárez ◽  
Guaciara M. Santos

On this paper we show records of Pleistocene fauna from the archaeological site of PayPaso 1, located near of the Quarai River. On this site we recovered two extinct species, Equus sp. (ancient horse) e Glyptodon sp. (giant armadillo), direct associated with lithic artifacts. Our results indicate that these extinct mammals lived in the beginning of the Holocene (9,600 – 9,100 years 14C BP), based on nine 14C age results obtained by AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) measurements. In this work, these results are compared with others in South America. Human adaptation, lithic technology, Pleistocene fauna extinction and climate change at the transition between Pleistocene-Holocene are also discussed.


Radiocarbon ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 473-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiromasa Ozaki ◽  
Mineo Imamura ◽  
Hiroyuki Matsuzaki ◽  
Takumi Mitsutani

In order to investigate the regional atmospheric radiocarbon offset, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C measurements were made on 5-yr increments of a Japanese wood sample dendrochronologically dated to 820–436 BC. The 14C data from the Japanese tree-ring samples were compared with the IntCal04 calibration curve (Reimer et al. 2004). In most parts, the differences between IntCal04 and 14C dates in the Japanese tree-ring samples were within experimental statistical errors. At around 680 BC, however, significant differences of up to 100 14C yr were observed. These differences may indicate either regional offsets in Japan or the short-term fluctuation of a subdecadal timescale in atmospheric 14C variations.


Radiocarbon ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 1278-1285
Author(s):  
Vladimir A Levchenko ◽  
Flarit A Sungatov

A suite of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates for the Ufa-II archaeological site in Bashkortostan, Russia, is obtained for the first time. Dating was done on charcoal samples from a sequence of cultural deposits collected during the 2011 digging season. An age-depth chronology is established using the Bayesian deposition General Outlier P_Sequence model. The oldest age for the site at the horizon immediately over the sterile ground was cal AD 137–237 (68% probability), corresponding to the beginning of site occupation. The youngest 14C date found was late 6th to early 7th century cal AD for the extensive planked boardwalks unearthed at the site. The 14C dates are in good agreement with archaeological determinations based on discovered artifacts.


Radiocarbon ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
T S Dye

Accelerator mass spectrometry dating of three 50g samples of marine turtle bone from the basal cultural stratum of the Tongoleleka archaeological site, Lifuka Island, Kingdom of Tonga, South Pacific yields results that agree with conventional 14C dates on marine shell. A method for calibrating these dates that takes into account the long distance migrations of marine turtles in the South Pacific is proposed. A sample size greater than 50g is recommended for routine AMS dating of marine turtle bone.


Radiocarbon ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. e1-e13
Author(s):  
Rajveer Sharma ◽  
Pankaj Kumar ◽  
Sunil Ojha ◽  
Satinath Gargari ◽  
Sundeep Chopra

ABSTRACTA new facility for radiocarbon dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) was established in early 2015 at the Inter-University Accelerator Centre in New Delhi, India. The facility uses a 500 kV National Electrostatic Corporation (NEC) Pelletron accelerator for AMS measurements on graphite produced using the automated graphitization equipment (AGE) interfaced with an elemental analyzer and the carbonate handling system (CHS). A precision of better than 1‰ in the ratio of 14C/12C for the modern carbon sample and the background level of 1 × 10–15 from dead carbon sample has been achieved. This is the first dedicated accelerator of India only for AMS activities. This AMS system has the capabilities to perform 10Be and 26Al measurements as well.


1992 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Taylor ◽  
Louis A. Payen ◽  
Peter J. Slota

The Calaveras skull, first reported in 1866, represents the earliest purported fossil human discovery in California and one of the earliest in the New World. The specimen is in the possession of the Peabody Museum, Harvard University. The validity of the original "Tertiary" age assignment was rejected by the first generation of professional American archaeologists early in the twentieth century. Radiocarbon analyses using both conventional decay counting and accelerator mass spectrometry indicate a late Holocene age for the Calaveras skull.


Radiocarbon ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Rajveer Sharma ◽  
Pankaj Kumar ◽  
Sunil Ojha ◽  
Satinath Gargari ◽  
Sundeep Chopra

ABSTRACT Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) activities at the Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC) in New Delhi, India, started with its 15UD Pelletron accelerator and cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) measurements of 10Be and 26Al. Realizing the demand of a radiocarbon (14C) AMS facility in India, a 500kV Pelletron accelerator based AMS system was installed in 2015. This facility was designated with the lab code IUACD for 14C measurements. 14C dates measured in 2015 and 2016 were published in the first radiocarbon date list (see text for details). The present list is the second 14C date list and consists of dates measured from January to December 2017.


Radiocarbon ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
E M Wild ◽  
C Neugebauer-Maresch ◽  
T Einwögerer ◽  
P Stadler ◽  
P Steier ◽  
...  

The open-air archaeological site at Krems-Hundssteig is a well-known Upper Paleolithic site located in Lower Austria. The site was discovered in the late 19th/early 20th centuries when a large number of archaeological remains were collected during the course of loess quarrying. Although no systematic excavation has ever been performed, Krems-Hundssteig has been described since its discovery as typical of the Aurignacian period in this region based on the numerous archaeological finds; accordingly, the culture has been named Kremsien by some authors. Surprisingly, the artifacts found in a recent excavation adjacent to this location showed solely Gravettian features, calling into question the original assignment to the Aurignacian. Although the earlier assignment was supported by a radiocarbon date of ∼35 kyr BP (Hahn 1977), new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates proved that the recently excavated cultural layer originates from the Gravettian period. Older paleosols were also detected by sondage drillings at some depth below it.The new results indicate that a large Aurignacian level and a substantial complex of Gravettian layers are present in this area. Therefore, it must be assumed that more than 1 cultural level was affected and destroyed by the historic loess quarrying, and that the assemblage of Krems-Hundssteig artifacts, traditionally ascribed to the Aurignacian, might be interspersed with Gravettian pieces.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (30) ◽  
pp. 315
Author(s):  
Luis Carlos Duarte Cavalcante

A Pedra do Cantagalo I é um sítio arqueológico localizado na área rural do município de Piripiri, estado do Piauí, Brasil. Consiste em um abrigo sob-rocha arenítica, cujas saliências e reentrâncias estão decoradas com mais de 1.950 pinturas rupestres representando figuras abstratas, propulsores de dardos, carimbos de mãos humanas, antropomorfos e zoomorfos, realizados em padrões policromáticos. Além da elevada densidade de inscrições pré-históricas e da policromia, esse sítio também se destaca pela recorrência dos motivos pintados e pela sobreposição deles entre si. Nos sedimentos superficiais foram encontrados fragmentos cerâmicos, líticos e ocres. Carvões residuais encontrados em fogueiras bem estruturadas, evidenciadas em recentes escavações neste abrigo, foram datados pelo método do 14C como sendo de 1.180 ± 30 anos antes do presente; em estratigrafia também foram evidenciados materiais cerâmicos, líticos e ocres vermelhos e amarelos. Neste artigo são reportadas as estratégias analíticas de campo e de laboratório utilizadas na investigação desse importante sítio arqueológico e dos testemunhos de atividade humana pré-histórica nele existentes ou dele coletados. Os exames físicos, a caracterização químico-mineralógica dos materiais, o monitoramento das condições ambientais e as prospecções no entorno foram primordiais. Abstract: Pedra do Cantagalo I is an archaeological site located in the rural area of the municipality of Piripiri, Piauí state, Brazil. It consists of a sandstone shelter decorated with more than 1,950 rupestrian paintings representing abstract figures, spear-throwers, human handprints, and anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures in polychromatic patterns. In addition to the high density of prehistoric inscriptions and polychrome paintings, this site also stands out due to the recurrence of painted motifs and to the overlapping of the paintings. Ceramic materials, lithics, and ochres were found in the sediments. Residual charcoals found in remnants of well-structured hearths, as recently evidenced from excavations in this shelter were AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) 14C-dated as being from 1,180 ± 30 years before present; in stratigraphy, ceramic materials, lithics, and red and yellow ochres were also evidenced. In this paper, the field and laboratory analytical strategies used in the investigation of this important archaeological site are reports as well as the evidence of prehistoric human activity contained within or collected from the site. The investigative techniques included physical examinations of the site, chemical-mineralogical characterization of the materials, monitoring of the environmental conditions and prospections in nearby areas.


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