Radiocarbon dating archaeological bone typically requires 300-1000 mg material using standard protocols. We report the results of reducing sample size at both the pretreatment and C measurement stages for eight archaeological bones spanning the radiocarbon timescale at different levels of preservation. We adapted our standard collagen extraction protocol specifically for <100 mg bone material. Collagen was extracted at least twice (from 37-100 mg material) from each bone. Collagen aliquots containing <100 μg carbon were measured in replicate using the gas ion source of the AixMICADAS. The effect of sample size reduction in the EA-GIS-AMS system was explored by measuring C of collagen containing either ca. 30 μg carbon or ca. 90 μg carbon. The gas dates were compared to standard-sized graphite dates extracted from large amounts (500-700 mg) of bone material pretreated with our standard protocol. The results reported here demonstrate that we are able to reproduce accurate radiocarbon dates from <100 mg archaeological bone material back to 40,000 BP.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-41557-8 | DOI Listing |
Nat Astron
October 2024
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
The Moon's farside South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin is the largest and oldest visible impact basin in the inner Solar System. Determining the timing of this catastrophic event is key to understanding the onset of the lunar basin-forming epoch, with implications for understanding the impact bombardment history of the inner Solar System. Despite this, the formation age of the SPA basin remains poorly constrained.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFForensic Sci Int
January 2025
Forensic Medicine, Forensic Science and Sports Medicine Section, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, Piazza Lucio Severi, Perugia, Italy. Electronic address:
Radiocarbon analysis in bones, particularly through Bomb Pulse dating, is an essential tool in forensic investigations for estimating the postmortem interval of human remains. However, there are some limitations related to the interpretation of laboratory data, since this can differ from the Post Mortem Interval by many years, depending on the anatomical district and the bone part sampled, as well as the age of the individual and other parameters, since these elements influence bone turnover. In recent years, many studies have been conducted, but with non-standardized data and on limited samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Environ Contam Toxicol
January 2025
Institute of Coastal Environmental Chemistry, Inorganic Environmental Chemistry, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Max-Planck Str. 1, 21502, Geesthacht, Germany.
One group of elements attracting more and more attention are so-called technology-critical elements (TCEs). In comparison with legacy pollutants, the anthropogenic impact of TCEs on the environment might still be minor, but various applications introduce them to the most remote places in the world including the marine environment. One area prone to pollution is the Baltic Sea, partly due to the lack of water exchange with the North Sea.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiol Lett
January 2025
Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601, Japan.
Despite numerous studies on the rise and fall of terrestrial megafauna in the late Quaternary, knowledge about marine megafauna from this period remains limited. In this study, we performed radiocarbon dating and partial mitochondrial DNA sequencing from the skeletal remains of three species of small odontocetes (Pacific white-sided dolphins, Dall's porpoises and harbour porpoises) excavated from prehistoric archaeological sites around the Japanese shore dating back to 8500-1000 years ago (ya). Pacific white-sided dolphins that habituated the eastern coast of Hokkaido around 2000 ya belonged to different maternal groups than those from over 5000 ya and today.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Paleolit Archaeol
January 2025
Human Origins Research Unit, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands.
Unlabelled: The Châtelperronian and Uluzzian techno-complexes are identified in western Europe in the same stratigraphic position, between the late Middle Palaeolithic and other Upper Palaeolithic assemblages. Both industries include retouched artefacts with abrupt retouch and arched backs, and radiometric dating indicates that these two technocomplexes belong to the same window of time. Here, we provide a detailed, qualitative technological comparison of two Châtelperronian and two Uluzzian lithic assemblages based on a collaborative, first-hand examination of these collections.
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