scholarly journals Radiocarbon AMS Dates for Paleolithic Cave Paintings

Radiocarbon ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (2B) ◽  
pp. 977-986 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Valladas ◽  
N Tisnérat-Laborde ◽  
H Cachier ◽  
M Arnold ◽  
F Bernaldo de Quirós ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Sample Size ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
The Other ◽  
Northern Spain ◽  
Southern France ◽  
Cantabrian Region ◽  
Cave Paintings ◽  
Basic Treatment ◽  
Ams Dates

Advances in radiocarbon dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) have made it possible to date prehistoric cave paintings by sampling the pigment itself instead of relying on dates derived from miscellaneous prehistoric remains recovered in the vicinity of the paintings. The work at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE) concentrated on prehistoric charcoal cave paintings from southern France and northern Spain. In most caves, pigment samples were collected from several paintings, and in some instances the sample size allowed for multiple independent measurements on the same figure, so that the coherence of the calculated dates could be tested. Before being dated, each specimen was subjected to a thermal treatment preceded by an acid and basic treatment of intensity commensurate with the sample size.Nine bison drawings from three caves in the Cantabrian region of Spain—two from Covaciella, three from Altamira, and four from El Castillo—were sampled and dated. The 27 dates fell between 13,000 and 14,500 BP, allowing us to attribute the drawings to the Magdalenian period. The 24 dates for 13 drawings in the Cosquer cave indicated two distinct periods of painting activity—one around 28,000 BP and the other around 19,000 BP. The Chauvet cave paintings turned out to be the oldest recorded to date, as five dates fell between 32,000 and 31,000 BP. After discussing the sample preparation protocol in more detail, we will discuss the ages obtained and compare them with other chronological data.

scholarly journals A Pretreatment Procedure for the AMS Radiocarbon Dating of Sub-Fossil Insect Remains

Radiocarbon ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
J A Tripp ◽  
T F G Higham ◽  
R E M Hedges
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
The Other ◽  
Roman Britain ◽  
Ams Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Maillard Reactions ◽  
Fossil Insect ◽  
Ams Dating ◽  
Acid Wash ◽  
Ams Dates

Two pretreatment methods for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating of insect remains were explored. One method involves a simple acid wash that removes carbonate, while the other is based on the industrial purification of chitin and results in isolation of polymeric chitosan. No contamination is observed from Maillard reactions during the deacetylation reaction used to isolate the chitosan. The methods were tested on Coleoptera samples from two Roman Britain sites. Our results demonstrate that both methods produce acceptable AMS dates that correspond well to the expected age of the deposits from which they came.

scholarly journals Jewish Averroists Between Two Expulsions (1306-1492): From Conflict to Reconciliation

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 215
Author(s):  
Basem MAHMUD
Keyword(s):  
Historical Context ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
The Other ◽  
Northern Spain ◽  
Jewish Communities ◽  
Southern France ◽  
Original Works ◽  
Intellectual Production

This article investigates the intellectual production of Jewish authors influenced by Averroes in the 14th and 15th Centuries in northern Spain and southern France. The primary objective is to determine the main features of Jewish Averroism in this period, and to understand it within its socio-historical context. The outcomes suggest that there was a relationship between the new social and political trends toward democratization and reconciliation in the heart of Jewish communities on one hand, and the growing interest in Averroes’ original works on the other. Original here means the works that are not commentaries or summaries of other works.

Dating Magdalenian Art in North Spain: The Current Situation

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
César González Sainz
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Present Situation ◽  
Lower Number ◽  
The Other ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Upper Palaeolithic ◽  
Absolute Dating ◽  
Stratigraphic Sequences ◽  
Cave Art

The graphic activity of Magdalenian human groups forms the most spectacular part of the archaeological record in Cantabrian Spain and, at the same time, represents probably the most expressive aspect of the culture of those Upper Palaeolithic hunters. Since the early 1990s, several projects have tried to fix more precisely the chronology of the cave art through the application of radiocarbon dating by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (Valladas et al. 1992, 2001; Moure Romanillo and González Sainz 2000; Fortea Pérez 2002). The present article attempts an integrated discussion of the results of the absolute chronology for Magdalenian cave art and the present situation of the most reliable parallels between this and the mobile art of the same period. It is well known that the ordering in time of cave art is rather more complex than that of decorated objects, which are dated by their archaeological context (and therefore both this context and the artefacts themselves can be dated by radiocarbon). In Cantabrian Spain, the approaches to dating cave art, especially for the Magdalenian depictions, are the series of superimpositions known on certain walls of a few caves, the analogy with stratified mobile art, and absolute dating, essentially for this period, radiocarbon dating by accelerator. Other procedures, such as the correlation with stratigraphic sequences, offer good results in pre-Magdalenian periods (Fortea 1994), but are limited in the period that interests us here to just a few cases, such as Cueva del Mirón, in relation with some rather modest depictions (González Morales and Straus, 2000). 1. Series of superimposed figures of different kinds have often been described, on panels in a limited number of cave sites. In Cantabrian Spain, the main examples are found in the caves of La Peña del Candamo, Tito Bustillo, Llonín, Altamira, El Castillo, La Pasiega, and La Garma Lower Passage—in other words, the main cave art centres, repeatedly used over long periods in the Upper Palaeolithic. These sites tend to differ quite clearly from the other cave art sites, which are more or less synchronic internally (they have a much lower number of depictions which, above all, are more homogeneous in style and techniques).

scholarly journals Radiocarbon Dating of Wood Using Different Pretreatment Procedures: Application to the Chronology of Rotoehu Ash, New Zealand

Radiocarbon ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (2A) ◽  
pp. 239-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
G M Santos ◽  
M I Bird ◽  
B Pillans ◽  
L K Fifield ◽  
B V Alloway ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Wet Oxidation ◽  
Acid Base ◽  
Acid Pretreatment ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Ams Dates

We compare radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) ages of wood samples subjected to a conventional acid-base-acid pretreatment with stepped combustion (ABA-SC) with results from the same samples subjected to an acid-base-wet oxidation pretreatment with stepped combustion (ABOX-SC) and cellulose extraction with stepped combustion (CE-SC). The ABOX-SC procedure has been shown previously to lead to lower backgrounds for old charcoal samples. Analyses of relatively uncontaminated “14C-dead” samples of wood suggest that backgrounds of 0.11 ± 0.04 pMC are obtainable for both the ABOX-SC and ABA-SC procedures. Where wood is significantly contaminated the ABOX-SC technique provides significantly better decontamination than either the ABA-SC technique or cellulose extraction alone, although CE-SC can produce comparably low backgrounds to the ABOX-SC procedure.We also report the application of the ABOX-SC, ABA-SC and CE-SC procedures to wood samples associated with the chronologically controversial Rotoehu Ash eruption, New Zealand. New 14C-AMS dates from wood sampled from below the Rotoehu Ash span an age range of 43–50 ka BP consistent with recently presented OSL dates of 42–44 ka obtained for palaeosols beneath the ash.

scholarly journals AMS Radiocarbon Dates of Kurgans Located On the Ust'-Yurt Plateau, Uzbekistan

Radiocarbon ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soren Blau ◽  
Vadim Yagodin
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Human Skeletal Remains ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Relative Dating ◽  
Ams Dates

Recent osteological analyses of archaeological human skeletal remains from the Ust'-Yurt Plateau, Uzbekistan, provided the opportunity to obtain samples for radiocarbon dating. The results of 18 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates are presented in this paper and provide the first absolute dates for late prehistoric and early historic archaeological sites in Uzbekistan. The AMS dates suggest that most sites are earlier than have been traditionally thought based on relative dating using artifact typologies.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon dating of ancient Japanese calligraphy sheets and the discovery of 45 letters of a lost manuscript

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 331-334
Author(s):  
H. Oda ◽  
H. Yasu ◽  
K. Ikeda ◽  
M. Sakamoto ◽  
Y. Yoshizawa
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Ninth Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Paper Sheet ◽  
Radiocarbon Age ◽  
Buddhist Scripture ◽  
The Tang Dynasty

Abstract The Miidera-gire is an ancient paper sheet with different, elegant calligraphy on both sides. One side contains a part of a Buddhist scripture from around the ninth to the twelfth century and written in cursive hand, while the other side contains a part of Monzen (an anthology of Chinese literary works). The paleographical style of this Monzen seems to be older than that of the Buddhist scripture and is similar to some Chinese manuscripts written in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907). However, amid these elegant calligraphic writings, there exist many copies and counterfeits that were written several centuries later. We, therefore, measured the radiocarbon age of the Miidera-gire by using accelerator mass spectrometry. The calibrated radiocarbon age indicated 666–776 [cal AD] (2σ error), thus leading to the conclusion that the Monzen was first written on the obverse side, and long afterwards, the Buddhist scripture was written on the reverse side. Since only a few incomplete books of Monzen were written before the ninth century, this calligraphy is one of the oldest of the existing Monzen manuscripts.

scholarly journals 5.2-5.8 ka BP Paleoenvironment of the Southern Slope of Mount Raizan, Japan

Radiocarbon ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (2B) ◽  
pp. 703-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitsuru Okuno ◽  
Shinji Nagaoka ◽  
Yoshitaka Hase ◽  
Yuichi Mori ◽  
Masahiko Konomatsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Mixed Forest ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
The Other ◽  
Southern Slope ◽  
Ams Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Slope Deposits

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating and paleoecological analysis of slope deposits at Mt Raizan provided seven 14C dates indicating that landslides occurred in that area at 6.0 to 6.3 cal ka BP and 6.5 cal ka BP. Plant macrofossils, pollen grains, and spores point to a mixed forest at that time, consisting of conifers and broad-leaved trees. On the other hand, insect fossil indicates slightly colder climate than that of the flora. This difference may be attributed to varied sensitivities of each proxy to climatic changes.

scholarly journals The Radiocarbon Dating and Authentication of Iron Artifacts

Radiocarbon ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 717-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
P T Craddock ◽  
M L Wayman ◽  
A J T Jull
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Last Millennium ◽  
Chemical Combination ◽  
Ams Dating ◽  
Iron Artifacts ◽  
Different Origins ◽  
Ams Dates

The continuing improvements in accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating technology mean that it is possible to work on ever smaller samples, which in turn, make an ever wider range of sample potentially available for dating. This paper discusses some of the difficulties arising with the interpretation of AMS dates obtained from carbon in iron. The overriding problem is that the carbon, now in chemical combination with the iron, could have come from a variety of sources with very different origins. These are now potentially an iressolvable mixture in the iron. For iron made over the last millennium, there are the additional problems associated with the use of both fossil fuel and biomass fuel in different stages of the iron making, leading to great confusion, especially with authenticity studies.

Marine Reservoir Correction for American Samoa Using U-series and AMS Dated Corals

Radiocarbon ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 851-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey T Clark ◽  
Seth Quintus ◽  
Marshall I Weisler ◽  
Emma St Pierre ◽  
Luke Nothdurft ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
American Samoa ◽  
Wood Charcoal ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Marine Samples ◽  
Colonization Period ◽  
Ams Dates

AbstractRadiocarbon dating of marine samples requires a local marine reservoir correction, or ΔR value, for accurate age calibrations. For the Samoan Archipelago in the central Pacific, ΔR values have been proposed previously, but, unlike some Polynesian archipelagoes, ΔR values seem not to vary spatially and temporally. Here, we demonstrate such variability by reporting a ΔR of –101±72 ΔR for the Manu‘a Group—the eastern-most islands in the archipelago—for the colonization period. This value is based on accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C and uranium-thorium (U-Th) series dating of individual coral branches from pre-2300 cal BP archaeological contexts. This figure differs from the previously proposed modern ΔR of 28±26 yr derived from dated historic, pre-1950, shell samples from the western islands of Samoa. Consequently, we recommend using the ΔR of –101±72 yr for the 1st millennium BC in Manu‘a, and 28±26 yr for calibrating dates within the 2nd millennium AD in the western islands (Savai‘i to Tutuila). Until more data from across the archipelago and from throughout the entire culture-historical sequence document ΔR variability, we recommend that researchers use both of these ΔR values to evaluate how the dates of marine-derived samples compare with AMS dates on identified, short-lived wood charcoal.

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