scholarly journals Assessment of Infinite-Age Bones from the Upper Thames Valley, UK, as 14C Background Standards

Radiocarbon ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 845-853 ◽  
Author(s):  
G T Cook ◽  
T F G Higham ◽  
P Naysmith ◽  
F Brock ◽  
S P H T Freeman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Background Correction ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Environmental Research ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Chemistry Laboratories ◽  
Good Agreement

It is becoming increasingly clear that in order to generate accurate radiocarbon dates for bone collagen samples it is important to determine a sample-specific background correction to account for the greater complexity and higher number of steps in the pretreatment chemistry of this material. To provide suitable samples for the 14C community, 7 bone samples were obtained from contexts within British gravel quarries, which according to other dating techniques or stratigraphic information, should be of infinite age with respect to 14C. The bones were analyzed at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU) and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) to determine their suitability. In this paper, we show that 6 of the samples were indistinguishable from background. Both institutions measured finite ages for sample 387 from Oxey Mead that were statistically indistinguishable. Further work is required to establish whether this is because the bone was intrusive and of a younger age than expected or whether it is contaminated either postdepositionally or in the laboratory. We favor the former explanation because (1) the 2 chemistry laboratories use very different pretreatment schemes, (2) collagen yields were high, and (3) the laboratories produced ages that are in good agreement. The 6 “greater than” age samples will be made available to 14C laboratories to be used as background standards.

scholarly journals Assessment of Infinite-Age Bones from the Upper Thames Valley, UK, as 14C Background Standards

Radiocarbon ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 845-853
Author(s):  
G T Cook ◽  
T F G Higham ◽  
P Naysmith ◽  
F Brock ◽  
S P H T Freeman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Background Correction ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Environmental Research ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Chemistry Laboratories ◽  
Good Agreement

It is becoming increasingly clear that in order to generate accurate radiocarbon dates for bone collagen samples it is important to determine a sample-specific background correction to account for the greater complexity and higher number of steps in the pretreatment chemistry of this material. To provide suitable samples for the14C community, 7 bone samples were obtained from contexts within British gravel quarries, which according to other dating techniques or stratigraphic information, should be of infinite age with respect to14C. The bones were analyzed at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU) and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) to determine their suitability. In this paper, we show that 6 of the samples were indistinguishable from background. Both institutions measured finite ages for sample 387 from Oxey Mead that were statistically indistinguishable. Further work is required to establish whether this is because the bone was intrusive and of a younger age than expected or whether it is contaminated either postdepositionally or in the laboratory. We favor the former explanation because (1) the 2 chemistry laboratories use very different pretreatment schemes, (2) collagen yields were high, and (3) the laboratories produced ages that are in good agreement. The 6 “greater than” age samples will be made available to14C laboratories to be used as background standards.

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 AMS 14C Dating at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory

Radiocarbon ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Dunbar ◽  
G T Cook ◽  
P Naysmith ◽  
B G Tripney ◽  
S Xu
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Sample Selection ◽  
Sample Pretreatment ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Environmental Research ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
14C Dating ◽  
Commercial Activities ◽  
Main Emphasis

AbstractThis paper describes all the major procedures adopted by the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory. This includes sample pretreatment, graphite production, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurement, associated stable isotope measurements, data handling, and age calculations, but with the main emphasis being on the chemical pretreatment methods. All of the above enable the laboratory to provide a complete analytical service comprising advice on sample selection, preparation and analysis of samples, and Bayesian analysis of resulting 14C (and other) data. This applies to both our research and commercial activities. The pretreatment methods that we mainly focus on are used to remove contaminant carbon from a range of sample types or to isolate a particular chemical fraction from a sample prior to combustion/hydrolysis, graphitization, and subsequent AMS 14C measurement. The methods described are for bone (collagen extraction, with and without ultrafiltration), cremated bone, tooth enamel, charcoal, grain, carbon residues, shell, wood (including alpha-cellulose isolation), peat, sediments, textiles, fuel/biofuel, and forensic samples.

scholarly journals Eastern Europe’s “Transitional Industry”?: Deconstructing the Early Streletskian

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Dinnis ◽  
A. Bessudnov ◽  
N. Reynolds ◽  
T. Devièse ◽  
A. Dudin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Modern Human ◽  
East European Plain ◽  
Upper Palaeolithic ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
East European ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Layer V ◽  
Precise Relationship ◽  
Early Upper

AbstractThe Streletskian is central to understanding the onset of the Upper Palaeolithic on the East European Plain. Early Streletskian assemblages are frequently seen as marking the Neanderthal-anatomically modern human (AMH) anthropological transition, as well as the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic archaeological transition. The age of key Streletskian assemblages, however, remains unclear, and there are outstanding questions over how they relate to Middle and Early Upper Palaeolithic facies. The three oldest Streletskian layers—Kostenki 1 Layer V, Kostenki 6 and Kostenki 12 Layer III—were excavated by A. N. Rogachev in the mid-20th century. Here, we re-examine these layers in light of problems noted during Rogachev’s campaigns and later excavations. Layer V in the northern part of Kostenki 1 is the most likely assemblage to be unmixed. A new radiocarbon date of 35,100 ± 500 BP (OxA- X-2717-21) for this assemblage agrees with Rogachev’s stratigraphic interpretation and contradicts later claims of a younger age. More ancient radiocarbon dates for Kostenki 1 Layer V are from areas lacking diagnostic Streletskian points. The Kostenki 6 assemblage’s stratigraphic context is extremely poor, but new radiocarbon dates are consistent with Rogachev’s view that the archaeological material was deposited prior to the CI tephra (i.e. >34.3 ka BP). Multiple lines of evidence indicate that Kostenki 12 Layer III contains material of different ages. Despite some uncertainty over the precise relationship between the dated sample and diagnostic lithic material, Kostenki 1 Layer V (North) therefore currently provides the best age estimate for an early Streletskian context. This age is younger than fully Upper Palaeolithic assemblages elsewhere at Kostenki. Other “Streletskian” assemblages and Streletskian points from younger contexts at Kostenki are briefly reviewed, with possible explanations for their chronostratigraphic distribution considered. We caution that the cultural taxon Streletskian should not be applied to assemblages based simply on the presence of bifacially worked artefacts.

scholarly journals Freshwater reservoir offsets on radiocarbon-dated dog bone from the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River, USA

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7174
Author(s):  
John P. Hart ◽  
Robert S. Feranec ◽  
Timothy J. Abel ◽  
Jessica L. Vavrasek
Keyword(s):  
Native Americans ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Human Bone ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Canis Lupus Familiaris ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Dog Bone ◽  
Freshwater Reservoir ◽  
St Lawrence River

Isotopic analysis of dog (Canis lupus familiaris) bone recovered from archaeological sites as proxies for human bone is becoming common in North America. Chronological placement of the dogs is often determined through radiocarbon dating of dog bone. The Great Lakes, their tributaries, and nearby lakes and streams were important fisheries for Native Americans prior to and after sustained European presence in the region. Carbon entering the food web in freshwater systems is often not in full isotopic equilibrium with the atmosphere, giving rise to spuriously old radiocarbon ages in fish, other aquatic organisms, and their consumers. These freshwater reservoir offsets (FROs) have been noted on human and dog bone in several areas of the world. Here we report the results of multi-tracer Bayesian dietary modeling using δ15N and δ13C values on dog bone collagen from mid-fifteenth to mid-sixteenth-century Iroquoian village sites at the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River, New York, USA. Results indicate that fish was an important component of dog diets. A comparison of radiocarbon dates on dog bone with dates on deer bone or maize from the same sites indicate FROs ranging from 97 ± 24 to 220 ± 39 14Cyr with a weighted mean of 132 ± 8 14Cyr. These results suggest that dog bone should not be used for radiocarbon dating in the absence of modeling to determine fish consumption and that previously reported radiocarbon dates on human bone from the larger region are likely to have FROs given the known importance of fish in regional human diets.

The REBUS Experimental Programme for Burn-Up Credit

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre D’hondt ◽  
Peter Baeten ◽  
Leo Sannen ◽  
Daniel Marloye ◽  
Benoit Lance ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Reactor Physics ◽  
Fission Rate ◽  
Mox Fuel ◽  
Experimental Programme ◽  
Fuel Bundle ◽  
International Programme ◽  
Good Agreement

An international programme called REBUS for the investigation of the burn-up credit has been initiated by the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK-CEN and Belgonucle´aire with the support of EdF and IRSN from France and VGB, representing German nuclear utilities and NUPEC, representing the Japanese industry. Recently also ORNL from the U.S. joined the programme. The programme aims to establish a neutronic benchmark for reactor physics codes in order to qualify the codes for calculations of the burn-up credit. The benchmark exercise investigates the following fuel types with associated burn-up: reference fresh 3.3% enriched UO2 fuel, fresh commercial PWR UO2 fuel and irradiated commercial PWR UO2 fuel (54 GWd/tM), fresh PWR MOX fuel and irradiated PWR MOX fuel (20 GWd/tM). The experiments on the three configurations with fresh fuel have been completed. The experiments show a good agreement between calculation and experiments for the different measured parameters: critical water level, reactivity effect of the water level and fission-rate and flux distributions. In 2003 the irradiated BR3 MOX fuel bundle was loaded into the VENUS reactor and the associated experimental programme was carried out. The reactivity measurements in this configuration with irradiated fuel show a good agreement between experimental and preliminary calculated values.

scholarly journals The concept of socio-environmental transformations in prehistoric and archaic societies in the Holocene: An introduction to the special issue

The Holocene ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (10) ◽  
pp. 1517-1530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Müller ◽  
Wiebke Kirleis
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Environmental Research ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Detailed Data ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Archaeological Methods ◽  
Temporal And Spatial

Transformations of human societies and environments are closely interwoven. Due to improved possibilities of paleoecological reconstruction and archaeological methods, we are now in a position to empirically collect detailed data from a variety of records. The Collaborative Research Centre 1266 ‘Scales of Transformation’ has developed a concept in which both deductive and inductive transformation dimensions are compared on different temporal and spatial scales. This concept includes the connection between the environmental and social spheres, which are often inseparable. Accordingly, a holistic principle of socio-environmental research is developed, which is exemplified by the contributions to this special issue of The Holocene.

Radiocarbon Evidence for Initial Early Formative Period Occupation in Coastal Oaxaca, Mexico

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy David Hepp
Keyword(s):  
Formative Period ◽  
Human Bone ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Middle Formative ◽  
Early Formative

Seven AMS radiocarbon dates (1950–1525 cal BC) from controlled contexts demonstrate Early Formative period occupation in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico. These dated elements from the site of La Consentida include hearths, occupational surfaces, carbon adhering to pottery from a midden, and human bone collagen processed with XAD purification. They were excavated from primary contexts and do not represent redeposited materials. An eighth sample, dated to the Middle Formative period, is considered postoccupational. The diversity of dated deposits and features, their distribution, and their overlapping calibrated ranges indicate settlement by an initial Early Formative period village.

Secular changes in the heights of British people

1950 ◽  
Vol 137 (889) ◽  
pp. 443-452 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Secular Change ◽  
General Situation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Filial Generation ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Adolescents And Adults ◽  
Last Stage ◽  
Age Range ◽  
British People ◽  
Good Agreement

An inquiry has been completed recently involving comparisons of all the best records of heights of British adolescents and adults. They cover the period from about 1850 to the present day, and far more males than females are represented. The main object of the inquiry was to find out any changes there may have been in the age curve for height during the past hundred years. It is commonly supposed that the general situation regarding this question is known. The best records for British series of children are in good agreement in showing that height standards for particular ages were improving from decade to decade, if not from year to year. The latest generation was repeatedly found to have the highest mean heights for school years of age, and this secular trend was persistent. It has often been supposed that British people generally were becoming taller, so that the age curve for a filial generation would be found to be above that for the parental generation throughout the whole age range from birth to the oldest ages. But this is an inference based on the records for children and it might be incorrect. An alternative possibility is that there was a secular change in the rate of growth but that more rapid growth was associated with the attainment of maturity at a younger age; the faster growing children when mature might be no taller or shorter on the average than their parents were. The question could be examined directly by comparing the records collected at different times relating to the last stage of growth and adult years of life. The evidence has to be treated by making detailed comparisons of data for a considerable number of series and subseries of people. In this brief account of the inquiry it is only possible to indicate the more important general considerations involved and the principal results obtained. The records referred to are for a total of more than two million British men. The material is of a miscellaneous kind. It is due chiefly to various official and other bodies and to independent research workers whose activities were not co-ordinated. The need for a national anthropometric survey has often been advocated in this country, but one has never been established.

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