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14C Dating of Cremated Bones: The Issue of Sample Contamination

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Mark van Strydonck ,
Mathieu Boudin  and
Guy De Mulder
Mark van Strydonck*
Affiliation:
Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, Jubelpark 1, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Mathieu Boudin
Affiliation:
Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, Jubelpark 1, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Guy De Mulder
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, Blandijnberg 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
*
Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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Recent comparative studies have proven the validity of radiocarbon dates of cremated bones. The issue of sample contamination has, however, been overlooked in most studies. Analyses of cremated bone samples has shown that in some cases, cremated bones are contaminated. This contamination is more distinct near the surface of the bones and depends on the compactness of the cremated bone as well as on the site conditions. δ13C is not a good estimator to discriminate between contaminated and uncontaminated bones. An acetic acid pretreatment is the most appropriate method to clean samples, but it is better to remove the surface and to avoid cremated bones that are not entirely white (cremation temp. <725 °).

Type
How Good Are 14C Ages of Bones? Problems and Methods Applied
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 51 , Issue 2 , 2009 , pp. 553 - 568
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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