Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-mzp66 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-04T13:15:29.018Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Study of Bone Radiocarbon Dating Accuracy at the University of Arizona NSF Accelerator Facility for Radioisotope Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Thomas W Stafford Jr ,
A J T Jull ,
Klaus Brendel ,
Raymond C Duhamel  and
Douglas Donahue
Thomas W Stafford Jr
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry, Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, 85721.
A J T Jull
Affiliation:
NSF Accelerator Facility for Radioisotope Analysis, University of Arizona.
Klaus Brendel
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, 85724
Raymond C Duhamel
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, 85724
Douglas Donahue
Affiliation:
NSF Accelerator Facility for Radioisotope Analysis, University of Arizona.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Bone would seem to be an ideal material for 14C dating because this calcified tissue contains 20 weight per cent protein. Fossil bone, however, can lose most of its original organic matter and frequently contains contaminants having different 14C ages. Numerous 14C dates on bone have been available to archaeologists and geologists but many age determinations have been inaccurate despite over 30 years of research in the field following the first 14C age determinations on bone (Arnold & Libby, 1951). This situation remained unchanged until simple pretreatments were abandoned and more bone-specific fractions were isolated. The ideal solution is to use accelerator mass spectrometer 14C dating, which facilitates the use of milligram-sized amounts of highly purified compounds—an approach impossible to pursue using conventional 14C decay-counting methods.

Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 29 , Issue 1 , 1987 , pp. 24 - 44
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

References

Arnold, J R, and Libby, W F, 1951, Radiocarbon dates: Science, v 113, p 111–120.Google Scholar
Bada, J L, 1985, Aspartic acid racemization ages of California Paleoindian skeletons: Am Antiquity, v 50, p 645–647.Google Scholar
Bada, J L, Schroeder, R A and Carter, G F, 1974, New evidence for the antiquity of man in North America deduced by aspartic acid racemization: Science, v 184, p 791–793.Google Scholar
Bada, J L, Gillespie, R, Gowlett, J A Y and Hedges, REM, 1984, Accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon ages of amino acid extracts from California paleoindian skeletons: Nature, v 312, p 442–444.Google Scholar
Berger, R and Libby, W F, 1966, UCLA radiocarbon dates V: Radiocarbon, v 8, p 467–497.Google Scholar
Berger, R, Horney, A G and Libby, W F, 1964, Radiocarbon dating of bone and shell from their organic components: Science, v 144, p 999–1001.Google Scholar
Bischoff, J L and Childers, W M, 1979, Temperature calibration of amino acid racemization: age implications for the Yuha skeleton: Earth Planetary Sci Letters, v 45, p 172–180.Google Scholar
Bischoff, J L, Merriam, R, Childers, W M and Protsch, R, 1976, Antiquity of man in America indicated by radiocarbon dates on the Yuha burial site: Nature, v 261, p 128–129.Google Scholar
Bischoff, J L and Rosenbauer, J, 1981, Uranium series dating of human skeletal remains from the Del Mar and Sunnyvale sites: Science, v 213, p 1003–1005.Google Scholar
Broecker, W S, Kulp, L and Tucek, C S, 1956, Lamont natural radiocarbon measurements III: Science, v 124, p 154–165.Google Scholar
Childers, W M, 1974, Preliminary report on the Yuha burial, California: Anthropol Jour Canada, v 12, p 2–9.Google Scholar
Childers, W M, 1983, The interrelationships of geology, geography and archaeology in the Yuha desert Part III: The Yuha burial: Anthropol Jour Canada, v 21, p 122–127.Google Scholar
de Vries, H, 1959, Radiocarbon dating of the Piltdown skull and jaw: Nature, v 184, p 224–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donahue, D J, Jull, A J T, Zabel, T H and Damon, P E, 1983, The use of accelerators for radioisotope dating: Nuclear Instruments & Methods, v 218, p 425–429.Google Scholar
El-Daoushy, M F A F, Olsson, I U and Oro, F H, 1978, The EDTA and HCl methods of pretreating bones: Geol Fören Stockholm Förh, v 100, p 213–219.Google Scholar
Figgins, J D, 1933, A further contribution to the antiquity of man in America: Colorado Mus Nat Hist Proc, v 2, no. 2.Google Scholar
Gillespie, R and Hedges, REM, 1983, Sample chemistry for the Oxford high energy mass spectrometer in Stuiver, M and Kra, R S, eds, Internatl 14C conf, 11th, Proc: Radiocarbon, v 25, no. 2, p 771–774.Google Scholar
Gillespie, R, Hedges, REM and Wand, J O, 1984, Radiocarbon dating of bone by accelerator mass spectrometry: Jour Archaeol Sci, v 11, p 165–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haas, H and Banewicz, J, 1980, Radiocarbon dating; of bone apatite using thermal release of CO2 in Stuiver, M and Kra, R S, eds, Internatl 14C conf, 10th, Proc: Radiocarbon, v 22, no. 2, p 537–544.Google Scholar
Hassan, A A, Termine, J D and Haynes, C V Jr, 1977, Mineralogical studies on bone apatite and their implications for radiocarbon dating: Radiocarbon, v 19, no. 3, p 364–374.Google Scholar
Haynes, C V Jr, 1967a, Bone organic matter and radiocarbon dating, in Radiocarbon dating and methods of low level counting: Vienna, IAEA, p 163–168.Google Scholar
Haynes, C V Jr, 1967b, Carbon-14 dates on early man in the New World, in Martin, P S and Wright, H E, eds, Pleistocene extinctions: the search for a cause: New Haven, Yale Univ Press, p 267–286.Google Scholar
Haynes, C V Jr, 1968, Radiocarbon: Analysis of inorganic carbon of fossil bone and enamel: Science, v 161, p 687–688.Google Scholar
Haynes, C V Jr, 1974, Archaeological geology of some selected paleo-indian suites, in Black, C C, ed, History and prehistory of the Lubbock Lake site: Lubbock, The Mus Jour XV, W Texas Mus Assoc, p 133–139.Google Scholar
Haynes, C V Jr, 1982, Were Clovis progenitors in Beringia?, in Hopkins, D, Mathews, J, Schweiger, C and Young, S eds, Paleoecology of Beringia: New York, Academic Press, p 383–398.Google Scholar
Haynes, C V Jr, 1984, Stratigraphy and late Pleistocene extinctions in the United States, in Martin, P S and Klein, R G, eds, Quaternary extinctions, a prehistoric revolution: Tucson, Univ Arizona Press, p 345–353.Google Scholar
Hemmings, E T and Haynes, C V, 1969, The Escapule mammoth and associated projectile points, San Pedro Valley, Arizona: Jour Ariz Acad Sci, v 5, 184–188.Google Scholar
Ho, T Y, Marcus, L F and Berger, R, 1968, Radiocarbon dating of petroleum impregnated bone from tar pits at Rancho La Brea, California: Science, v 164, p 1051–1052.Google Scholar
Jull, A J T, Donahue, D J and Zabel, T H, 1983, Target preparation for radiocarbon dating by tandem accelerator mass spectrometry: Nuclear Instruments & Methods, v 218, 509–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jull, A J T, Donahue, D J, Hatheway, A L, Linick, T W and Toolin, L J, 1986, Production of graphite targets by deposition from CO/H2 for precision accelerator 14C measurements, in Stuiver, M and Kra, R S, eds, Internatl 14C conf, 12th, Proc: Radiocarbon, v 28, no.2A, p 191–197.Google Scholar
Krueger, H W, 1965, The preservation and dating of collagen in ancient bones, in Chatters, R M and Olson, E A, eds, Internatl conf on radiocarbon and tritium dating, 6th, Proc: Clearinghouse for Fed Sci: Techn Inf, Natl Bur Standards, Washington, DC, p 332–327.Google Scholar
Lahren, L and Bonnichsen, R, 1974, Bone foreshafts from a Clovis burial in southwestern Montana: Science, v 186, p 147–150.Google Scholar
Leonhardy, F D, ed, 1966, Domebo: a Paleo-Indian mammoth kill in the Prairie-plains: Lawson, Oklahoma, Great Plains Hist Assoc, Contr Mus Great Plains No. 1.Google Scholar
Leonhardy, F C and Anderson, A D, 1966, Archaeology of the Domebo site, in Leonhardy, F C, ed, Domebo: a Paleo-Indian mammoth kill site in the prairie-plains: Lawson, Oklahoma, Great Plains Hist Assoc, Contr Mus Great Plains No. 1, p 14–26.Google Scholar
Libby, W, 1955, Radiocarbon dating, 2nd ed: Chicago, Univ Chicago Press, 175p.Google Scholar
Linick, T W, Jull, A J T, Toolin, L J and Donahue, D J, 1986, Operation of the NSF-Arizona accelerator facility for radioisotope analysis and results from selected collaborative research projects: in Stuiver, M and Kra, R S, eds, Internatl 14C conf, 12th Proc: Radiocarbon, v 28, no. 2A, p 522–533.Google Scholar
Longin, R, 1971, New method of collagen extraction for radiocarbon dating: Nature, v 230, p 241–242.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masters, P M and Bada, J L, 1977, Racemization of isoleucine in fossil molluscs from Indian middens and interglacial terraces in southern California: Earth Planetary Sci Letters, v 37, p 173–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
May, I, 1955, Isolation of organic carbon from bones for C14 dating: Science, v 121, p 508–509.Google Scholar
Mehl, M G, 1966, The Domebo mammoth: vertebrate paleomortology, in Leonhardy, F C, ed, Domebo: A Paleo-Indian mammoth kill site in the prairie-plains: Lawson, Oklahoma, Great Plains Hist Assoc, Contr Mus Great Plains No. 1, p 27–30.Google Scholar
Münnich, K O, 1957, Heidelberg natural radiocarbon measurements I: Science, v 126, p 194–199.Google Scholar
Olson, E A (ms), 1963, The problem of sample contamination in radiocarbon dating: PhD dissert, Columbia Univ. Google Scholar
Olsson, I, 1959, Uppsala natural radiocarbon measurements I: Radiocarbon, v 1, p 87–102.Google Scholar
Olsson, I U, El-Daoushy, M F A F, Abd-El-Mageed, A I and Klasson, M, 1974, A comparison of different methods for pretreatment of bones. I: Geol Fören Stockholm Förh, v 96, p 171–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orr, P C, 1974, Notes on the archaeology of the Winnemucca Caves, 1952–1958: Nevada State Mus Anthropol Papers no. 16, p 46–59.Google Scholar
Protsch, R, 1975, The absolute dating of Upper Pleistocene SubSaharan fossil hominids and their place in human evolution: Jour Human Evol, v 4, p 297–322.Google Scholar
Sato, J, Sato, T, Otomori, Y and Suzuki, H, 1969, University of Tokyo radiocarbon measurements II: Radiocarbon, v 11, no. 2, p 509–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sinex, F M and Faris, B, 1959, Isolation of gelatin from ancient bones: Science, v 129, p 969.Google Scholar
Schoeninger, M Y and DeNiro, M J, 1982, Carbon isotope ratios of apatite from fossil bone cannot be used to reconstruct diets of animals: Nature, v 297, p 577–578.Google Scholar
Stafford, T W Jr (ms), 1984, Quaternary stratigraphy, geochronology, and carbon isotope geology of alluvial deposits in the Texas Panhandle: PhD dissert, Tucson, Univ Arizona.Google Scholar
Stafford, T W Jr, Duhamel, R C, Haynes, C and Brendel, K, 1982, Isolation of proline and hydroxyproline from fossil bone: Life Sci, v 31, p 931–938.Google Scholar
Stafford, T W Jr, Jull, A J T, Donahue, D, Brendel, K and Duhamel, R (ms), Studies on the radiocarbon dating of fossil bones by accelerator mass spectrometry and the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of dated fractions: Paper presented at Internatl 14C conf, 12th, June 24–28, 1985, Trondheim, Norway.Google Scholar
Stafford, T W Jr, Jull, A J T, Zabel, T H, Donahue, D J, Duhamel, R C, Brendel, K, Haynes, C V Jr, Bischoff, J L, Payen, L A and Taylor, R E, 1984, Holocene age of the Yuha burial: direct radiocarbon determinations by accelerator mass spectrometry: Nature, v 308, p 446–447.Google Scholar
Sullivan, C H and Krueger, H W, 1981, Carbon isotope analysis of separate chemical phases in modern and fossil bone: Nature, v 292, p 333–335.Google Scholar
Szabo, B J, 1980, Results and assessment of uranium-series dating of vertebrate fossils from Quaternary alluvium in Colorado: Artie Alpine Research, v 12, p 95–100.Google Scholar
Tamers, M A and Pearson, F J Jr, 1965, Validity of radiocarbon dates on bone: Nature, v 208, p 1053–1055.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taylor, D, 1969, The Wilsall excavations: an exercise in frustration: Montana Acad Sci Proc, v 29, p 147–150.Google Scholar
Taylor, R E, 1982, Problems in the radiocarbon dating of bone, in Currie, L, ed, Nuclear and chemical dating techniques: Washington, D C, Am Chem Soc, p 453–473.Google Scholar
Taylor, R E, 1983, Non-concordance of radiocarbon and amino acid racemization deduced age estimates on human bone, in Stuiver, M and Kra, R S, eds, Internatl 14C conf, 11th, Proc: Radiocarbon, v 25, no. 2, p 647–654.Google Scholar
Taylor, R E, Payen, L A, Gerow, B, Donahue, D, Zabel, T, Jull, T, and Damon, P, 1983, Middle Holocene age of the Sunnyvale human skeleton: Science, v 220, p 1271–1273.Google Scholar
Taylor, R E, Payen, L A, Prior, C A, Slota, P J Jr, Gillespie, R, Gowlett, J A J, Hedges, R E M, Jull, A J T, Zabel, T H, Donahue, D J and Berger, R, 1985, Major revisions in the Pleistocene age assignments for North American human skeletons by C-14 accelerator mass spectrometry: none older than 11,000 C-14 years BP: Am Antiquity, v 50, p 136–140.Google Scholar
Trautman, M A and Willis, E H, 1966, Isotopes, Inc. radiocarbon measurements V: Radiocarbon, v 8, p 161–203.Google Scholar
Vogel, J C and Waterbolk, , 1963, Groningen radiocarbon dates: Radiocarbon, v 5, p 163–202.Google Scholar
Vogel, J S, Southon, J R, Nelson, D E and Brown, T A, 1984, Performance of catalytically condensed carbon for use in accelerator mass spectrometry: Nuclear Instruments & Methods, v 223, p 289–293.Google Scholar
Wand, J O (ms), 1981, Microsample preparation for radiocarbon dating: PhD dissert, Oxford Univ. Google Scholar
Wehmiller, J F, 1977, Amino acid studies of the Del Mar, California, midden site: apparent rate constants, ground temperature models, and chronological implications: Earth Planetary Sci Letters, v 37, p 184–196.Google Scholar
Wormington, H M, 1959, Ancient man in North America: Denver, Denver Mus Nat Hist, Popular ser no. 4, 322 p.Google Scholar