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Improving the 14C Dating of Marine Shells from the Canary Islands for Constructing More Reliable and Accurate Chronologies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

José M Matos Martins ,
Alfredo Mederos Martín ,
Paulo J Cesário Portela  and
António M Monge Soares
José M Matos Martins*
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Radiocarbono, Instituto Superior Técnico, Polo de Loures, Campus Tecnológico e Nuclear, Estrada Nacional 10, 2686–953 Sacavém, Portugal Universidade do Algarve, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Alfredo Mederos Martín
Affiliation:
Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Paulo J Cesário Portela
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Radiocarbono, Instituto Superior Técnico, Polo de Loures, Campus Tecnológico e Nuclear, Estrada Nacional 10, 2686–953 Sacavém, Portugal
António M Monge Soares
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Radiocarbono, Instituto Superior Técnico, Polo de Loures, Campus Tecnológico e Nuclear, Estrada Nacional 10, 2686–953 Sacavém, Portugal
*
Corresponding author. Email: jmartins@itn.pt
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Abstract

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Radiocarbon dating of closely associated marine mollusk shells and terrestrial material (charred wood or bone) collected from archaeological contexts on Tenerife and Fuerteventura islands allowed us to quantify the marine 14C reservoir effect (ΔR) around the Canary Archipelago. Coastal Fuerteventura has a positive weighted mean ΔR value of +185 ± 30 14C yr, while for Tenerife a range of negative and positive values was obtained, resulting in a ΔR weighted mean value of 0 ± 35 14C yr. These values are in accordance with the hydrodynamic system present off the Canary Islands characterized by a coastal upwelling regime that affects the eastern islands (Fuerteventura and Lanzarote) but not the other islands of the archipelago, namely Tenerife. Because of this oceanographic pattern, we recommend the extrapolation of these results to the remaining islands of the archipelago, i.e. the first value must be used for the eastern islands, while for the central and western islands the acceptable ΔR value is 0 ± 35 14C yr.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 54 , Issue 3-4 , 2012 , pp. 943 - 952
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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