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AMS Radiocarbon Dating of Bones at Arizona

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Austin Long ,
A T Wilson ,
R D Ernst ,
B H Gore  and
P E Hare
Austin Long
Affiliation:
NSF Accelarator Facility for Radioisotope Analysis and Geosciences Department, University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona 85721
A T Wilson
Affiliation:
NSF Accelarator Facility for Radioisotope Analysis and Geosciences Department, University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona 85721
R D Ernst
Affiliation:
NSF Accelarator Facility for Radioisotope Analysis and Geosciences Department, University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona 85721
B H Gore
Affiliation:
NSF Accelarator Facility for Radioisotope Analysis and Geosciences Department, University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona 85721
P E Hare
Affiliation:
NSF Accelarator Facility for Radioisotope Analysis and Geosciences Department, University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona 85721
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Abstract

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Modern bone contains ca 25% protein material, most of which is collagen. Amino acids separated from collagen isolated from bone are suitable for 14C dating of fossil bone, but attempts to carry out this procedure on bones seriously depleted in protein can yield erroneous 14C dates. Amino-acid analysis of fossil bone gives quantitative information on the degree of preservation of its organic component. Also, the relative abundance of the amino-acid components reveal the degree to which the collagen-like pattern has been altered. Alteration may be caused by addition of extraneous material. A 1mg sample of bone material is sufficient for this preliminary analysis. We have developed a series of acceptance criteria for whether a particular specimen is likely to yield the correct 14C age. 14C dating of fossil bones not seriously depleted in protein is a straightforward procedure and yields reliable dates.

Type
I. Sample Preparation and Measurement Techniques
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 31 , Issue 3: June 20-25, 1988 Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia , 1989 , pp. 231 - 238
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

References

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