scholarly journals A New Radiocarbon Pretreatment Method for Molluscan Shell Using Density Fractionation of Carbonates in Bromoform

Radiocarbon ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 1301-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M Russo ◽  
Jennifer A Tripp ◽  
Katerina Douka ◽  
Thomas F G Higham
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Separation Technique ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Density Fractionation ◽  
Pretreatment Method ◽  
Density Separation ◽  
Molluscan Shell ◽  
Archaeological Artifacts ◽  
Organic Remains

Coastal archaeological sites that lack organic remains for radiocarbon dating are often abundant sources of molluscan shells. As a substitute for materials such as bone and charcoal, shells can be analyzed with 14C dating to determine a site's age. Despite their being convenient, non-mobile archaeological artifacts, molluscan shells are plagued by several issues, including carbonate remodeling, in which aragonite in shells is converted to calcite as predicted by thermodynamics. We present here a carbonate density separation technique that addresses the issue of carbonate remodeling. Using a density fractionation with bromoform, aragonite concentrations are enriched in shells that have undergone significant remodeling. The technique has been applied to archaeological shells and has returned dates that are younger than those previously determined for the same shells.

Archaeozoology

2014 ◽  
pp. 474-488
Author(s):  
Juliet Clutton-Brock
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Primary Reason ◽  
Scientific Evaluation ◽  
Last Ice Age ◽  
Comparative Osteology ◽  
Organic Remains

Archaeozoology may be defined as the scientific evaluation of faunal materials retrieved from archaeological sites. These include all the organic remains left in the soil after the death and decay of animals but also the representation of animals in rock art and on portable materials. Zooarchaeology is a comparable term but differs in that the primary reason for study of the animals is archaeological rather than zoological. However, the two terms are often used as synonyms. A summary is given of the development of archaeozoology as a multidisciplinary science, followed by examples of investigations on mammalian remains that exemplify how comparative osteology, isotope analysis, molecular biology, radiocarbon dating, and searches of literature can all be used to reveal the roles played by the multiplicity of animal species that have been associated with human societies over millennia since the end of the last Ice Age.

scholarly journals Dating of Prehistoric Burial Mounds by 14C Analysis of Soil Organic Matter Fractions

Radiocarbon ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren M Kristiansen ◽  
Kristian Dalsgaard ◽  
Mads K Holst ◽  
Bent Aaby ◽  
Jan Heinemeier
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Science ◽  
Ams Dating ◽  
Buried Soil ◽  
Archaeological Artifacts ◽  
Burial Mounds ◽  
Organic Matter Fractions ◽  
Age Estimates ◽  
Organic Remains

Dating of prehistoric anthropogenic earthworks requires either excavation for archaeological artifacts or macroscopic organic matter suitable for 14C analysis. Yet, the former, in many cases, is undesirable and the latter is difficult to obtain. Here we present a soil science procedure, which has the potential to overcome these problems. It includes careful sampling of buried former soil surfaces, acid-alkali-acid fractionation of soil organic matter (SOM), and subsequent 14C AMS dating. To test the procedure, soil from one of the largest known burial mounds in Scandinavia, Hohøj, and 9 other Danish burial mounds were sampled. The 14C dates from extracted SOM fractions were compared to reference ages obtained by other methods. We show that humic acid fractions in 7 of the 10 mounds had the same age as the reference, or were, at maximum, 280 yr older than the reference ages. The best age estimates were derived from an organic-rich layer from the upper cm of buried soil or sod. Differences among SOM fraction ages probably indicate the reliability of the dating. Hohøj dated to approximately 1400 BC and, thus, was up to 500 yr older than other dated Scandinavian mounds of comparable size. The remaining investigated burial mounds were dated to between 1700 and 1250 BC. We conclude that combined sampling of buried soil surfaces, SOM fractionation, and 14C analysis allows for dating of archaeological earthworks when minimal disturbance is required, or if no macroscopic organic remains are found.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon Dating of Calcined Bones: Where Does the Carbon Come from?

Radiocarbon ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 601-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Zazzo ◽  
J-F Saliège ◽  
A Person ◽  
H Boucher
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Carbonate Content ◽  
The Past ◽  
Mineral Fraction ◽  
Different Temperatures ◽  
C Value ◽  
Paleodietary Reconstruction

Over the past decade, radiocarbon dating of the carbonate contained in the mineral fraction of calcined bones has emerged as a viable alternative to dating skeletal remains in situations where collagen is no longer present. However, anomalously low δ13C values have been reported for calcined bones, suggesting that the mineral fraction of bone is altered. Therefore, exchange with other sources of carbon during heating cannot be excluded. Here, we report new results from analyses on cremated bones found in archaeological sites in Africa and the Near East, as well as the results of several experiments aiming at improving our understanding of the fate of mineral and organic carbon of bone during heating. Heating of modern bone was carried out at different temperatures, for different durations, and under natural and controlled conditions, and the evolution of several parameters (weight, color, %C, %N, δ13C value, carbonate content, crystallinity indexes measured by XRD and FTIR) was monitored. Results from archaeological sites confirm that calcined bones are unreliable for paleoenvironmental and paleodietary reconstruction using stable isotopes. Experimental results suggest that the carbon remaining in bone after cremation likely comes from the original inorganic pool, highly fractionated due to rapid recrystallization. Therefore, its reliability for 14C dating should be seen as close to that of tooth enamel, due to crystallographic properties of calcined bones.

scholarly journals Some New Heritage Discoveries in The Central Highlands, Vietnam

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
La The Phuc ◽  
Nguyen Khac Su ◽  
Luong Thi Tuat ◽  
Vu Tien Duc ◽  
Bui Van Thom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cutting Tools ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
Conservation Strategy ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Neolithic Age ◽  
Archaeological Artifacts ◽  
Central Highlands ◽  
The Neolithic Age

A series of new heritage discoveries were found during several field-trips from November 2018 to May 2019 in whole area of The Central Highlands with supporting from the project, coded TN17/T06. The most remarkable discoveries are two archaeological sites: The first one is located on Ho Tre crater in Krong Ana district, Dak Lak province and the second one – along the Ba river ancient valley, in Phu Thien district, Gia Lai province. On Ho Tre crater, we collected many types of archaeological artifacts, including stone hand-axes in oval and short shapes, stone cores, flakes, grind-stones, making-fire stones (?), and several broken fragments pieces of pottery, which featured for the shape and technique types in the Neolithic Age. In archaeological sites in Phu Thien district, a series of stone tools, including uni-facial and bi-facial tools, rough-cutting tools such as side-chopper, end-chopper scrapers, spearhead tools, flake tools, etc., characterized as the shape and technique types in duration the Paleolithic Age were found. These findings play an important role in science to clarify development process of human history since pre-history up to now in Vietnam and in the region as well. Moreover, it is more significant to possibly establish a conservation strategy and to locally develop tourism. Keywords: Archaeological site, stone tool, Paleolithic, Neolithic, The Central Highlands.

scholarly journals Dating the Irrigation System of the Samarkand Oasis: A Geoarchaeological Study

Radiocarbon ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca C Malatesta ◽  
Sébastien Castelltort ◽  
Simone Mantellini ◽  
Vincenzo Picotti ◽  
Irka Hajdas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Modeling ◽  
Numerical Model ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Overland Flow ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Sedimentary Deposits ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Southern Flank

The oasis of Samarkand in the Middle Zeravshan Valley (modern Uzbekistan) was a major political and economic center in ancient western Central Asia. The chronology of its irrigation system was, until now, only constrained by the quality and quantity of archaeological findings and several different hypotheses have been proposed for it. We use a new approach combining archaeological surveying, radiocarbon dating, sedimentary analysis, and the numerical modeling of a flood event to offer new evidence for, and quantitative dating of, the development of irrigation system on the southern flank of the Middle Zeravshan Valley. We analyzed 13 bones and charcoals from 3 archaeological sites and obtained new 14C ages from Afrasiab (ancient Samarkand), a dwelling damaged by flooding in the 2nd century AD (site code: SAM-174) and the fortress of Kafir Kala. We established the origin of sedimentary deposits at the sites to infer the presence of the 2 most important canals of the southern flank: the Dargom and the Yanghiaryk. Finally, we show with a numerical model of overland flow that a natural flood was unlikely to have produced the damage observed at SAM-174. The combined results of the study indicate that the canals south of Samarkand existed, and were mainly developed, in the 2nd century AD and were not connected to the main feeding canal of Afrasiab at that time.

scholarly journals Suitability of Ostrich Eggshell for Radiocarbon Dating

Radiocarbon ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C Vogel ◽  
Ebbie Visser ◽  
Annemarie Fuls
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Carbon Contamination ◽  
Suitable Material ◽  
Ostrich Eggshell

Ostrich eggshell from archaeological sites remains largely free of more recent carbon contamination and as such is suitable material for radiocarbon dating. The carbonate fraction of the shell does, however, display an initial deficit in 14C, which causes the ages to appear 180 ± 120 yr too old.

scholarly journals Age Discrepancies with the Radiocarbon Dating of Sagebrush (Artemisia Tridentata Nutt.)

Radiocarbon ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phil R Geib
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Artemisia Tridentata ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Wood Charcoal ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Fuel Wood ◽  
Tree Wood ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
Age Discrepancy

When ancient hearths at open archaeological sites do not yield carbonized annual plant remains or other high-quality samples, wood charcoal is commonly used for radiocarbon dating. Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.), a shrub frequently used for fuel across much of the western United States, seems a potentially better candidate for 14C dating than tree wood since the possibility for significant age discrepancy might be less. A comparison of multiple assays from single features reveals that sagebrush can overestimate age more than even tree wood charcoal. A plausible cause of this appears to be persistence of the shrub on the ground surface for an extended interval after death, such that use as fuel almost invariably occurs hundreds of years after fixation of carbon. The potential for age discrepancy may decrease as population density increases because the demand for fuel wood would have resulted in a more rapid turnover of the fuel biomass. This is not true for Archaic period foragers of western North America when population levels were likely quite low and residential mobility quite high.

scholarly journals 14C Ages of Bone Fractions from Armenian Prehistoric Sites

Radiocarbon ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 569-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Cherkinsky ◽  
Christine Chataigner
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Organic Material ◽  
Separation Technique ◽  
Middle Paleolithic ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Bone Material ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Archaeological Artifacts ◽  
Good Agreement

Prehistoric cultures in Armenia are still poorly known; thus, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates are invaluable in constructing an accurate chronology. Bone samples have been collected from sites representing the Middle Paleolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze periods. Most of the bone samples are poorly preserved. We describe the separation technique for the extraction of both the bioapatite and collagen fractions. In many cases where the bone had very low organic material content, the collagen fractions yielded a younger age, although the ages of bioapatite fractions were found to be in good agreement with associated archaeological artifacts. In cases where bone was well preserved, both fractions exhibited ages in good agreement with the artifacts. The accuracy of 14C dating of bone material always depends on its degree of preservation, and each case should be carefully evaluated to determine which fraction is less contaminated in order to accurately date a burial event.

scholarly journals Development of Radiocarbon Dating Method for Degraded Bone Samples from Korean Archaeological Sites

Radiocarbon ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
K J Kim ◽  
W Hong ◽  
J H Park ◽  
H J Woo ◽  
G Hodgins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Content ◽  
Depth Profile ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
The Past ◽  
Dating Method ◽  
Study Support ◽  
Ultrafiltration Process

The development of radiocarbon dating for degraded bone samples collected at Korean archaeological sites has been successful through the characterization of raw bone C/N ratios and application of an ultrafiltration method. It was found that the C/N ratios of raw bone samples are inversely proportional to the carbon content and residue amount after gelatinization. We have examined a few dozen Korean archaeological bone samples for this study. Well-preserved bone samples are found to be physically dense. The range of C/N ratios of Korean raw bone samples ranged from 3.4 to 74. We found that the C/N ratios of degraded raw bone samples can be used to determine whether 14C samples are acceptable for normal pretreatment processing and eventual dating. The results of this study support that even if the C/N ratio of a degraded raw bone sample is 11, extraction of collagen for bone dating is feasible by a carefully designed ultrafiltration process. Our preliminary 14C dating results of a depth profile of Gunang-gul Cave, an archaeological site in Danyang, Korea, indicate that this site has been either geologically or anthropologically disturbed in the past, with 14C ages ranging from 28,910 ± 200 to 48,090 ± 1050 yr BP. The C/N ratios of the collagen samples of Gunang-gul were determined to be 3.2–3.6. Our study establishes a new guide for the pretreatment of degraded bone samples such as those collected in Korea for 14C dating.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document