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COMPOUND-SPECIFIC RADIOCARBON, STABLE CARBON ISOTOPE AND BIOMARKER ANALYSIS OF MIXED MARINE/TERRESTRIAL LIPIDS PRESERVED IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTTERY VESSELS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2020

Emmanuelle Casanova Open the ORCID record for Emmanuelle Casanova [Opens in a new window] ,
Timothy D J Knowles ,
Candice Ford ,
Lucy J E Cramp ,
Niall Sharples  and
Richard P Evershed Open the ORCID record for Richard P Evershed [Opens in a new window]
Emmanuelle Casanova
Affiliation:
Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol, BS8 1TS, UK
Timothy D J Knowles
Affiliation:
Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol, BS8 1TS, UK Bristol Radiocarbon Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1UU, UK
Candice Ford
Affiliation:
Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol, BS8 1TS, UK Present address: The University of Nottingham, School of Chemistry, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, 14UK
Lucy J E Cramp
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, 43 Woodland Road, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1UU, UK
Niall Sharples
Affiliation:
School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, Humanities Building, Colum Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU, UK
Richard P Evershed*
Affiliation:
Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol, BS8 1TS, UK Bristol Radiocarbon Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1UU, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: r.p.evershed@bristol.ac.uk
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Abstract

At archaeological sites located on islands or near the coast, the potential exists for lipid extracts of potsherds to contain fatty acids (FA) from both aquatic and terrestrial organisms, meaning that consideration must be given to marine reservoir effects (MRE) in radiocarbon (14C) analyses. Here we studied the site of Bornais (Outer Hebrides, UK) where a local MRE, ΔR of –65 ± 45 yr was determined through the paired 14C determinations of terrestrial and marine faunal bones. Lipid analysis of 49 potsherds, revealed aquatic biomarkers in 45% of the vessels, and δ13C values of C16:0 and C18:0 FAs revealed ruminant and marine product mixing for 71% of the vessels. Compound-specific 14C analysis (CSRA) of FAs yielded intermediate 14C ages between those of terrestrial and marine bones from the same contexts, confirming an MRE existed. A database containing δ13C values for FAs from reference terrestrial and marine organisms provided endmembers for calculating the percentage marine-derived C (%marine) in FAs. We show that lipid 14C dates can be corrected using determined %marine and ΔR values, such that pottery vessels from coastal locations can be 14C dated by CSRA of FAs.

Keywords

compound-specific radiocarbon analysislipid residuesmarine reservoir effectmixed marine/terrestrial correctionspottery vessels
Type
Conference Paper
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 62 , Issue 6: Proceedings of the 9th International Symposium , December 2020 , pp. 1679 - 1697
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Copyright
© 2020 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 9th Radiocarbon & Archaeology Symposium, Athens, GA, USA, 20–24 May 2019

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