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Radiocarbon Dating of Bone Osteocalcin: Isolating and Characterizing a Non-Collagen Protein

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Henry O. Ajie ,
Isaac R. Kaplan ,
Peter V. Hauschka ,
Donna Kirner ,
Peter J. Slota Jr.  and
R. E. Taylor
Henry O. Ajie
Affiliation:
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024 USA
Isaac R. Kaplan
Affiliation:
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024 USA
Peter V. Hauschka
Affiliation:
Children's Hospital and Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 USA
Donna Kirner
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Riverside, California 92521 USA
Peter J. Slota Jr.
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Riverside, California 92521 USA
R. E. Taylor
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Riverside, California 92521 USA
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Abstract

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Osteocalcin, a non-collagen bone-matrix protein, has been examined as a possible source of autochthonous 14C data in fossil bones where collagen has been seriously degraded. Extraction procedures for osteocalcin yield a well-characterized product that can be clearly distinguished from collagen. The Gla content indicates that osteocalcin is present in the fossil bones at levels similar to the range present in modern bone. However, it appears to be extracted primarily as proteolytic polypeptide fragments rather than as an intact protein. Concordant 14C determinations are obtained on osteocalcin and gelatin extracts from the same bone when the collagen is relatively well preserved. However, increasing discordances in the 14C values of the osteocalcin and gelatin fractions are associated with reduced concentrations of the gelatin extract in the bone.

Type
I. Sample Preparation and Measurement Techniques
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 34 , Issue 3: Proceedings of the 14th International Radiocarbon Conference , 1992 , pp. 296 - 305
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

References

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