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Comparative Radiocarbon Dating of Lignite, Pottery, and Charcoal Samples from Babeldaob Island, Republic of Palau

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Atholl Anderson ,
John Chappell ,
Geoffrey Clark  and
Sarah Phear
Atholl Anderson*
Affiliation:
Centre for Archaeological Research, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
John Chappell
Affiliation:
Centre for Archaeological Research, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
Geoffrey Clark
Affiliation:
Centre for Archaeological Research, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
Sarah Phear
Affiliation:
Centre for Archaeological Research, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
*
Corresponding author. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

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It is difficult to construct archaeological chronologies for Babeldaob, the main island of Palau (western Micronesia), because the saprolitic clays of the dominant terraced-hill sites and associated ceramic sherds often contain old carbon that originated in lignites. This has implications, as well, for chronologies of sedimentary sequences. Comparative analysis of the dating problem using lignite, pottery, and charcoal samples indicates that, in fact, there are both old and young sources of potential contamination. It is concluded that radiocarbon samples from Babeldaob need to be tested for appropriate carbon content rather than relying solely upon material identification.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 47 , Issue 1 , 2005 , pp. 1 - 9
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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