Radiocarbon Dates from Bosumpra Cave, Abetifi, Ghana

1975 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 179-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew B. Smith
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Organic Material ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Analytical Description ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Moist Forest ◽  
Forest Regions ◽  
Marginal Forest ◽  
The University ◽  
University Of Ghana

In 1940 Professor Thurstan Shaw excavated a trench in the cave known as Bosumpra at Abetifi (6° 41′N:0° 44′W) on the borderline between the moist forest and the northern marginal forest (fig. 1). Bosumpra is one of the four main ‘abosom’ (lesser) gods of the Guan pantheon (Brokenshaw 1966, 156). The report (Shaw, 1944) showed that the cave was formerly inhabited by a people with a pottery-using microlithic culture and provided the first analytical description of the microlithic industries from the forest regions of West Africa. As the site was the first of its kind to be excavated, and the excavation was carried out before the advent of radiocarbon dating, there was no way of knowing what age this industry was, or how long the cave had been occupied, beyond placing it within the rubric of the so-called “Guinea Neolithic”.To attempt to clarify this problem a group of students from the Department of Archaeology at the University of Ghana and myself conducted the excavation of a small witness section (fig. 2) in the cave over New Year 1973/74 with the specific aim of collecting organic material for dating. We were fortunate in finding adequate amounts of charcoal at all levels. Two of these samples were submitted to Rikagaku Kenkyusho, Japan, for dating.

scholarly journals University of Wisconsin Radiocarbon Dates I

Radiocarbon ◽  
1965 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 399-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret M. Bender ◽  
Reid A. Bryson ◽  
David A. Baerreis
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
University Of Wisconsin ◽  
The University

A radiocarbon dating laboratory was installed at the University of Wisconsin in 1963 as part of a program of climatic research in which meteorologists, archaeologists, chemists, botanists, limnologists, geologists, and soil scientists are cooperating.

scholarly journals University of Alaska Radiocarbon Dates I

Radiocarbon ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
William S Reeburgh ◽  
M Springer Young
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Marine Science ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The University

The radiocarbon dating laboratory in the Institute of Marine Science at the University of Alaska was established in the fall of 1968 and became operational a year later. Most of the samples examined have been from Alaska and consist largely of wood and peat.

scholarly journals University of Lund Radiocarbon Dates I

Radiocarbon ◽  
1968 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soren Håkansson
Keyword(s):  
Boric Acid ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
Paraffin Wax ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Proportional Counters ◽  
The University

Plans for a radiocarbon dating laboratory at the University of Lund were initiated by Tage Nilsson and Holger Arbman in 1962. Work was begun in 1964 and at the end of 1965 most of the dating equipment was installed. Dating began in 1966 after careful testing of counting electronics and counters.The dating system has two 1-L copper-walled proportional counters of Östlund-Engstrand construction (for details see Stockholm V. p. 204, Fig. 1) surrounded by 2.5 cm of selected lead, followed by a ring of 23 cosmic-ray Geiger counters (model HZ-100, Zentralwerkstatt Göttingen). On all sides are at least 20 cm of iron. Above and on both long sides of the counters are 10 cm of paraffin wax with about 12% boric acid between the iron layers.

A Reassessment of the Routine Pretreatment Protocol for Radiocarbon Dating Cremated Bones

Radiocarbon ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Snoeck ◽  
Richard A Staff ◽  
Fiona Brock
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Acetic Acid ◽  
Sodium Hypochlorite ◽  
Organic Material ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Sodium Chlorite ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Calcined Bone

AbstractIn the late 1990s, it was demonstrated that reliable radiocarbon dates could be obtained directly from cremated bone. Many 14C laboratories have since used a protocol for pretreating cremated (calcined) bones that consists of consecutive treatments with bleach and acetic acid to remove organic matter and extraneous or diagenetic carbonate, respectively. In most instances, the bleach used is sodium hypochlorite, although in recent years the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU) has used acidified sodium chlorite instead. However, properly calcined (white) bones should not contain any organic material; hence, the bleach treatment is potentially unnecessary. This article describes studies investigating the effectiveness of bleach (and the specific bleach used) during pretreatment of calcined bone, and demonstrates that 14C dates on six cremated bone samples are statistically indistinguishable whether or not the initial bleach step is applied.

Radiocarbon Dates and New World Chronology

Antiquity ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 35 (140) ◽  
pp. 286-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Bushnell
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
New World ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The Past ◽  
University Of Cambridge ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

It is a commonplace of current archaeology that the publication of radiocarbon dates is revolutionizing our ideas of the past. Dr G. H. S. Bushnell, Curator of the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in the University of Cambridge, England, has already published in ANTIQUITY and elsewhere some of his views on the impact of radiocarbon dating on New World chronology. Here he studies the whole problem in detail. He adopts the useful convention of referring to a date already fully published in the Radiocarbon Supplement to the American Journal of Science simply by its laboratory designation and number {thus K-554 is reading no. 554 of the Copenhagen Laboratory), but in some cases, where the date is not fully published, he gives fuller information.

scholarly journals Hawaii Institute of Geophysics Radiocarbon Dates I

Radiocarbon ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Buddemeier ◽  
T. H. Hufen
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Research Center ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Ground Floor ◽  
Concrete Building ◽  
The University

The radiocarbon dating laboratory of the University of Hawaii was established with joint support of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, the Water Resources Research Center, the Department of Chemistry, and the Graduate Division. The laboratory is located in the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, on the ground floor of a four-story concrete building, and contains two separate radiocarbon counting systems.

scholarly journals University of Granada Radiocarbon Dates V

Radiocarbon ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilio Gonzalez-Gomez ◽  
Purificacion Sanchez-Sanchez
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Scintillation Counting ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Liquid Scintillation ◽  
Scintillation Counting ◽  
Boiling Temperature ◽  
Liquid Scintillation Spectrometer ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Standard Acid ◽  
Basic Procedure ◽  
The University

This paper includes some determinations of archaeological, art and palaeobotanical samples from Spain and Portugal, obtained at the University of Granada Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, mostly from 1986 to 1988. Pretreatment of charcoal and wood samples is a standard acid-basic procedure using 8% HC1 and 2% NaOH at boiling temperature. The collagen of bone samples is obtained by the Longin (1971) method.The method of dating is benzene synthesis and liquid scintillation counting as previously reported (González-Gómez, López-González & Domingo-García 1982; González-Gómez, Sánchez-Sánchez and Domingo-García 1985; González-Gómez, Sánchez-Sánchez and Villafranca-Sánchez 1986, 1987).14C activity was measured in a Packard Tri-Carb Mod 4640 liquid scintillation spectrometer, using 20 ml low 40K counting vials with 5 ml benzene and 10 ml PPO-toluene as scintillator with a background of ca. 9 cpm. Efficiency was approximately 70% using the part of spectrum above the end point of tritium.

scholarly journals University of Georgia Radiocarbon Dates I

Radiocarbon ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 468-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Noakes ◽  
Betty Lee Brandau
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Teaching And Research ◽  
University Of Georgia ◽  
Research Department ◽  
The University

The Geochronology Laboratory of the University of Georgia was established in the fall of 1969. The laboratory is housed in the basement of the Geology Building and is under the direction of the General Research Department. Radiocarbon dating facilities are the first to be developed in the laboratory. Other methods will be employed to date a wide spectrum of samples over extensive age ranges. Facilities of the laboratory are also available to colleges, universities, and institutions for teaching and research.

scholarly journals University of Granada Radiocarbon Dates VIII

Radiocarbon ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-303
Author(s):  
Cecilio González-Gómez ◽  
Elena Villafranca-Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Scintillation Counting ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Liquid Scintillation ◽  
Scintillation Counting ◽  
Boiling Temperature ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Standard Acid ◽  
Basic Procedure ◽  
The University

This paper includes determinations of archaeological, geological and paleobotanical samples from Spain and Brazil, measured at the University of Granada Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, mainly from 1991 to 1992. As previously reported (González-Gómez 1992), pretreatment of charcoal and wood samples is a standard acid-basic procedure using 8% HCl and 2% NaOH at boiling temperature. The collagen of bone samples was extracted by the Longin (1971) method. The method of dating is liquid scintillation counting of synthesized benzene.

scholarly journals University of Texas Radiocarbon Dates II

Radiocarbon ◽  
1964 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 138-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Tamers ◽  
F. J. Pearson ◽  
E. Mott Davis
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Synthesis ◽  
Liquid Scintillation Counting ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Liquid Scintillation ◽  
Scintillation Counting ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
University Of Texas ◽  
The University

The Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory of the University of Texas was reorganized in late 1962. The dates reported in this list were obtained from February to November, 1963. The laboratory uses liquid scintillation counting with benzene solutions (Tamers, Stipp, and Collier, 1961; Noakeset al., 1963). The chemical synthesis has been modified and improved in several ways in order to permit one worker to produce a sample per day.

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