When Dental Enamel is Put to the Acid Test: Pretreatment Effects and Radiocarbon Dating

Radiocarbon ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 893-904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel J A Hopkins ◽  
Christophe Snoeck ◽  
Thomas F G Higham
Keyword(s):  
Hydrochloric Acid ◽  
Acid Solution ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Dental Enamel ◽  
Chemical Pretreatment ◽  
Acid Pretreatment ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Pretreatment Effects ◽  
High Level ◽  
Acid Test

AbstractThe influence of hydrochloric acid pretreatment on F14C and radiocarbon dates from dental enamel was investigated. Samples from modern equine incisors, a Roman cattle molar, and a Paleolithic woolly rhino molar were sampled and subsequently divided into five fractions. Each fraction was pretreated with a different acid solution, analyzed with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dated at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU). When compared to a control date (e.g. dentine collagen), better results were observed when increased concentrations of hydrochloric acid solution were used in the chemical pretreatment. This pilot study suggests that decontamination of younger samples may be possible. However, for more fossilized samples with a high level of contamination (e.g. from the European Paleolithic), acid pretreatment under the conditions used in this study does not remove all contamination.

scholarly journals Institut Fondamental D'Afrique Noire Radiocarbon Dates I

Radiocarbon ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 304-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheikh Anta Diop
Keyword(s):  
Sulfuric Acid ◽  
Hydrochloric Acid ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Chromic Acid ◽  
Barium Carbonate ◽  
Ammonium Hydroxide ◽  
Complete Oxidation ◽  
Foreign Material ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Inorganic Carbonate

We follow the same method of radiocarbon dating used in the Gif-Sur-Yvette dating laboratory. Samples are inspected and foreign material removed. Wood and charcoal samples are treated with 0.1N ammonium hydroxide and 0.1N hydrochloric acid. Shells are treated with 10% hydrochloric acid to eliminate surface contamination. Bone samples are treated with 0.1N ammonium hydroxide to remove humic acids and 10% HCl to remove inorganic carbonate and retain collagen for radiocarbon measurements. Sample CO2 is produced by combustion in oxygen. The stream of gases passes over CuO at 600°C to insure complete oxidation of C to CO2 and through traps containing, respectively, silver nitrate and sulfuric chromic acid solution for purification; barium carbonate is precipited from barium hydroxide bubblers. After filtering and drying, CO2 is liberated from barium carbonate by sulfuric acid. The CO2 is used to fill a 1.2L steel proportional counter at 740mm Hg. Age calculations are based on a 14C half-life of 5568 ± yr and 0.95 of activity of the NBS oxalic acid standard; ages are quoted in yr before 1950. Finite ages are quoted with 1σ criterion corresponding to the standard deviation based only on counting errors; the maximum age is quoted with 4 σ criterion above background.

Interpreting Radiocarbon Dates from the Paleolithic Layers of Theopetra Cave in Thessaly, Greece

Radiocarbon ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 1432-1442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yorgos Facorellis ◽  
Panagiotis Karkanas ◽  
Thomas Higham ◽  
Fiona Brock ◽  
Maria Ntinou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Middle Paleolithic ◽  
Chemical Pretreatment ◽  
Weizmann Institute ◽  
Acid Base ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Cosmogenic Isotopes ◽  
Dating Method ◽  
Age Limits

Theopetra Cave is a unique prehistoric site for Greece, as the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods are present here, bridging the Pleistocene with the Holocene. During the more than 20 yr of excavation campaigns, charcoal samples from hearths suitable for 14C dating were collected from all anthropogenic layers, including the Paleolithic ones. Most of the samples were initially dated using the ABA chemical pretreatment protocol in the Laboratory of Archaeometry of NCSR Demokritos, Greece, and the Radiocarbon Dating and Cosmogenic Isotopes Laboratory of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. The 14C results, which were not always consistent versus depth, showed that the earliest limit of human presence is ∼50,000 yr BP, thus reaching the age limits of the 14C dating method. However, 10 TL-dated burnt flint specimens unearthed from the lower part of the Middle Paleolithic sequence of the cave gave ages ranging between ∼110 and 135 kyr ago. These results are in disagreement with the 14C dates, as they support a much later date for these layers. In order to clarify the situation further, charcoal samples originating from hearths were conventionally dated in the Laboratory of Archaeometry of NCSR Demokritos using the ABA pretreatment. Additionally, hand-picked charcoal fragments also underwent 14C dating by AMS in the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit using the acid-base wet oxidation (ABOX-SC) pretreatment protocol. The 14C dates from the cave's Paleolithic layers obtained by both pretreatment protocols suggest a probable charcoal diagenesis affecting the 14C results of these very old samples. However, the dates obtained with ABOX-SC pretreatment are considered more reliable and in the younger stratigraphic part produced consistent results with the TL dating.

Accuracy of North American Human Skeleton Ages

1990 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Stafford ◽  
P.E. Hare ◽  
Lloyd Currie ◽  
A. J. T. Jull ◽  
Douglas Donahue
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
New World ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Conclusive Evidence ◽  
Chemical Pretreatment ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Fossil Bones ◽  
Fossil Proteins

AbstractAccelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates fail to provide conclusive evidence that all New World human fossils are younger than approximately 11,000 yr. Because fossil bones vary widely in preservation, their radiocarbon dates are not equally accurate. Molecular-level radiocarbon dating, which used individual amino acids to assess fossil diagenesis, revealed that dates on known-age, noncollagenous bone were underestimated by at least 2000 to 9000 yr. The significance is that >11,000-yr-old fossil bones with poor preservation would yield Holocene and not Pleistocene radiocarbon ages, regardless of what chemical pretreatment or 14C counting method was used. Irreplaceable evidence for Pleistocene-age fossils in the New World could be lost if the diagenesis of fossil bones is not evaluated before the bones are radiocarbon dated. In contrast, radiocarbon ages for collagenous fossils can be determined more accurately if 14C is measured in several individual amino acids that are isolated from collagenous bone protein. Molecular-level radiocarbon dating will greatly improve not only the accuracy of chronologies for human migrations and animal extinctions, but of all late Quaternary chronologies that are based upon the 14C dating of fossil proteins.

scholarly journals Dating correlated microlayers in oxalate accretions from rock art shelters: New archives of paleoenvironments and human activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (33) ◽  
pp. eabf3632
Author(s):  
Helen Green ◽  
Andrew Gleadow ◽  
Vladimir A. Levchenko ◽  
Damien Finch ◽  
Cecilia Myers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Rock Art ◽  
Chemical Pretreatment ◽  
System Behavior ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The Past ◽  
Synchronous Growth ◽  
The World ◽  
Sample Characterization ◽  
Northwestern Australia

Oxalate-rich mineral accretions, often found in rock shelters around the world, offer important opportunities for radiocarbon dating of associated rock art. Here, sample characterization and chemical pretreatment techniques are used to characterize the accretions, prescreen for evidence of open-system behavior, and address potential contamination. The results provide stratigraphically consistent sequences of radiocarbon dates in millimeter-scale laminated accretions, demonstrating their reliability for dating rock art, particularly symbolic markings commonly engraved into these relatively soft deposits. The age sequences are also consistent with correlations between distinctive patterns in the layer sequences visible in shelters up to 90 km apart in the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia, suggesting their synchronized formation is not entirely shelter specific but broadly controlled by variations in regional environmental conditions. Consequently, these accretions also offer potential as paleoenvironmental archives, with radiocarbon dating of layers in nine accretions indicating four, approximately synchronous growth intervals covering the past 43 ka.

SEM Evaluation of Fluoride Pretreatment Effects on Acid-Etching of Caries-Like Enamel Lesions In Vitro

1981 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 474-475
Author(s):  
M. John Hicks
Keyword(s):  
Dental Enamel ◽  
Preventive Measure ◽  
Acid Etching ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Adhesive Resin ◽  
Fluoride Treatment ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Pretreatment Effects ◽  
Preparation Techniques

Acid-etching of enamel surfaces has been performed routinely to bond adhesive resin materials to sound dental enamel as a caries-preventive measure. The effect of fluoride pretreatment on acid-etching of enamel has been reported to produce inconsistent and unsatisfactory etching patterns. The failure to obtain an adequate etch has been postulated to be due to fluoride precipitation products deposited on the enamel surface. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of fluoride pretreatment on acid-etching of carieslike lesions of human dental enamel.Caries-like lesions of enamel were created in vitro on human molar and premolar teeth. The teeth were divided into two fluoride treatment groups. The specimens were exposed for 4 minutes to either a 2% Sodium Fluoride (NaF) solution or a 10% Stannous Fluoride (SnF2) solution. The specimens were then washed in deionized-distilled water. Each tooth was sectioned into four test regions. This was carried out to compare the effects of various time exposures (0 to 2 minutes) and differing concentrations (10 to 60% w/w) of phosphoric acid (H3PO4) on etching of caries-like lesions. Standard preparation techniques for SEM were performed on the specimens.

SUITABILITY OF ACID-SOLUBLE AND ACID-INSOLUBLE LEATHER FRACTIONS IN RADIOCARBON DATING

Radiocarbon ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Alyssa M Tate ◽  
Brittany Hundman ◽  
Jonathan Heile
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Insoluble Fraction ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Chemical Pretreatment ◽  
Acid Base ◽  
The Past ◽  
Acid Soluble Collagen ◽  
Method Of Production ◽  
Insight Into

ABSTRACT Leather has been produced by a variety of methods throughout human history, providing researchers unique insight into multiple facets of social and economic life in the past. Archaeologically recovered leather is often fragile and poorly preserved, leading to the use of various conservation and restoration efforts that may include the application of fats, oils, or waxes. Such additives introduce exogenous carbon to the leather, contaminating the specimen. These contaminants, in addition to those accumulated during interment, must be removed through chemical pretreatment prior to radiocarbon (14C) dating to ensure accurate dating. DirectAMS utilizes organic solvents, acid-base-acid (ABA) and gelatinization for all leather samples. Collagen yield from leather samples is variable due to the method of production and the quality of preservation. However, evaluating the acid-soluble collagen fraction, when available, provides the most accurate 14C dates for leather samples. In instances where gelatinization does not yield sufficient material, the resulting acid-insoluble fraction may be dated. Here we examine the effectiveness of the combined organic solvent and ABA pretreatment with gelatinization for leather samples, as well as the suitability of the acid-insoluble fraction for 14C dating.

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