147 research outputs found
Bulk stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of food residues on pottery, stable carbon isotopes of lipids from pottery
No full text<p>Supplementary data for Philippsen, B. (2023) Changing diet in a changing world. In: Groß, D. and Rothstein , M. (eds) Changing Identities in a Changing World.</p>
14C, d13C and d15N for bones from the Femern project
No full textThis file contains basic information (species, 14C age, d13C and d15N) for animal bones analysed in the Femern project, as well as average d13C values for wood samples.
This is supplementary data for Philippsen, B. (2023) Changing diet in a changing world. In: Groß, D. and Rothstein, M. (eds) Changing Identities in a Changing World
Hard water and old food. The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating of food residues on pottery
Get PDFThis paper discusses the problem of the freshwater reservoir effect in the radiocarbon dating of different sample materials, in particular food crusts on pottery. Charred food residue can be used to directly date of the use of the pottery. However, this material is highly complex, which can lead to various dating errors
Reservoir Effects in a Stone Age Fjord on Lolland, Denmark
No full textABSTRACTOn the island of Lolland, southeast Denmark, an area of almost 300 ha is currently under archaeological investigation prior to the planned construction of a tunnel between Denmark and Germany under the Femern belt. The area investigated in the context of the “Femern project” includes a former fjord or lagoon, which was used both as an economic resource and as background for ritual activities in the Neolithic. The wetland conditions give excellent preservation conditions for organic material. A yet unsolved issue, however, is the question of reservoir effects. The local reservoir effect needs to be known for accurate radiocarbon (14C) dating of samples with possible aquatic carbon sources, such as human bones or food residues on pottery. Therefore, this paper attempts to calculate the local reservoir effect for the study area. I will discuss the possibilities and limitations when analyzing 14C dates from a rescue excavation. When applying the estimated reservoir corrections to a hoard of jaws and other bones, an interesting change in ritual activity at ca. 4000 cal BC can be observed. Furthermore, I examined 14C dates on bulk organic sediment and will discuss their implications for building chronologies and for reconstructing the environment of the Stone Age fjord. Finally, I will discuss the pitfalls and uncertainties associated with 14C dates for sea level reconstruction.</jats:p
The Chronology of Neolithic-Eneolithic in the Steppe Zone of the Volga Basin
Get PDFIntroduction. The steppe zone of the Volga basin is interesting in connection with the study of the Orlovskaya, Cis-Caspian, and Khvalinskaya cultures. These cultures have an important significance for the prehistorical archaeology of Eastern Europe. The Orlovskaya culture is characterized by the appearance of the most ancient ceramics in the region, early signs of domestication are connected with the Cis-Caspian culture but the earlier metal items were found in the Khvalinskaya culture. Together with the main features of these cultures, the important question is a determination of reliable boundaries of them. From 2007 more than 60 radiocarbon dates were obtained. The basis consisted of the materials of the Varfolomeevskaya site. The most of dates had been done on the organics from ceramics. That was under dispute. Methods and materials. During the last eight years, more than 30 radiocarbon dates were obtained on the different organic materials (charcoal, animal bones, and food charred crusts) from new open stratified sites – Algay and Oroshaemoe. This set of dates gave the possibility to develop a reliable chronological schema for the Neolithic-Eneolithic in the region under consideration. The comparison of dates on the different organic materials has been done. Results. The chronological framework of the Orlovskaya culture, the Cis-Caspian culture of transition period and the Eneolithic Khvalinskaya culture for the steppe zone of the Volga basin was determined. The place of the Orlovskaya cultural antiquities among of Neolithic cultures of neighboring regions was established. The age of transitional Neolithic-Eneolithic Cis-Caspian culture with the earliest pieces of evidence of domestication in Eastern Europe was definite. The chronological framework of the Khvalinskaya Eneolithic culture in the steppe zone was considered and made the comparison with the Cis-Caspian culture. Authors’ contribution. A.A. Vybornov is prepared the archaeological part of the article and did analysis and their interpretation of the radiocarbon dates on the Neolithic of the steppe zone of the Volga basin. F.F. Giljazov collected all dates of the Orlovskaya culture of the Algay and Oroshaemoe sites. N.S. Doga did an analysis of dates of the Cis-Caspian and Khvalinskaya cultures on these sites. M.A. Kulkova obtained the radiocarbon dates for different layers of the Algay and Oroshaemoe sites and did the correlations on the different organic materials. B. Philippsen obtained the AMS dates on charcoal, bones, charred crusts and did their correlation
A Whale as Old as Time
Get PDFDette prosjektet har som hensikt å demonstrere relevansen av å datere hvalbein fra arkeologisk kontekst og viktigheten av å benytte en artsspesifikk ∆R. Samt teste teorien at proteinet og fettet fra hvalbein vil gi ulike dateringer. Målet med oppgaven vil derfor være å radiokarbon datere kollagenet og lipidene tatt fra 20 beinprøver hentet fra de tre hvalartene Nordkaper (Eubalaena glacialis), Grønlandshval (Balaena mysticetus), og Gråhval (Eschrichtius robustus).
Når bein fra sjøpattedyr blir datert må det tas hensyn til marin reservoar effekten. Marin reservoareffekten varierer i både tid og rom, og det finnes også variasjon innad ulike arter. Dermed er det nødvendig å benytte lokale kalibreringsverdier kalt ∆R for å få korrekte dateringer. Ved å benytte en Grønlandshval prøve tatt fra kontekst hvor bruksperioden er kjent var det mulig å etablere en arts spesifikk ∆R verdi. Denne verdien er uttrykt som intervallet (-225, -20) eller som (-124 ± 59). Denne gjorde det mulig å korrigere Grønlandshval dateringene.
En annen faktor å vurdere er forfalsshastigheten til materialet som blir datert. Dette er spesielt relevant under datering av langlevende arter, slik som Grønlandshvalen. Proteinet, eller kollagenet, vil ha en betydelig innebygd alder som et resultat av hvalens alder. Mens fettet, eller lipidene, har en hurtigere forfalsshastighet og reflekterer tiden hvalen døde. Å sammenligne dateringen av disse har potensialet til å gi ny innsikt inn i hvordan alderen til arten påvirker dateringen. Lipid ekstraksjonen var vellykket på 7 av prøvene, men dateringene var langt eldre enn hva som skulle vært mulig. FTIR-spektroskopi viste at dette var grunnet finkornet sediment i prøven ble datert i stedet for lipidene. Derfor var det ikke mulig å sammenligne dateringene. Resultatet av dette prosjektet ble 19 daterte kollagenprøver. Seks av disse tilhørte Grønlandshvalen som ble ∆R korrigert og plassert i historisk kontekst. Forskjellen i resultatene før og etter ∆R-korrigering viser viktigheten av å benytte artsspesifikk ∆R.This thesis aims to demonstrate the relevance of radiocarbon dating whale bones discovered in archaeological contexts and the significance of a species-specific ∆R. It also aims to test the theory that whale bones’ protein and fat content would provide different ages. Its goal is, therefore, to radiocarbon date the collagen and lipid of 20 bone samples collected from the three species North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis), Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus), and North Atlantic Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus).
When radiocarbon dating the bones of marine mammals, you must take into account the marine reservoir effect. The marine reservoir effect varies temporally and spatially, and there is also variation within marine species. So, local corrections expressed as ∆R are necessary in order to get correct calendar dates. By using a Bowhead Whale from a known age context, it was possible to establish a species-specific ∆R value expressed as the interval ( -225, -20) or as (-124 ± 59). With this ∆R correction, it was possible to correct the dates of all the Bowhead samples.
Another thing to consider when radiocarbon dating is the turnover rate of the material that gets dated. This will be especially important to consider when dating long-lived species, such as some species of whale like the Bowhead Whale. The protein, or collagen, will have a significant inherent age due to the old age of the whale, whilst the fat, or lipid, is likely to have a fast turnover rate and reflect the time the whale died. Comparing the date of these two fractions has the possibility to provide insight into how the lifespan of a species affects its dating. While the lipid extraction was successful with 7 samples, they all resulted in significantly older dates than should have been possible. FTIR-spectroscopy showed that this is most likely due to finely-grained sediments being dated and not the actual lipid. Therefore, it was not possible to compare the fractions. The result of this project was 19 successfully dated collagen samples. Six of these were Bowheads and got ∆R corrected and placed in a historical context. The difference in dating results before and after ∆R correcting shows the significance of a species-specific ∆R
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