Nondestructive Radiocarbon Dating

Naturally Mummified Infant Bundle from SW Texas

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2592012
AutoresKaren L Steelman (0000-0003-3418-3645, Texas A&M University, autor de correspondencia), M W Rowe (0000-0001-9704-287X, Texas A&M University), Solveig A Turpin (The University of Texas at Austin), Tom Guilderson (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), Laura Nightengale, Laura H Nightengale
Año2004
Volumen69
Número4
Páginas741-750
Fecha de publicación2004-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0002-7316 • E-ISSN: 2325-5064
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/4128446
OpenAlexW1553928141
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas7

Plasma oxidation was used to obtain radiocarbon dates on six different materials from a naturally mummified baby bundle from the Lower Pecos River region of southwest Texas. This bundle was selected because it was thought to represent a single event and would illustrate the accuracy and precision of the plasma oxidation method. Five of the materials were clearly components of the original bundle with 13 dates combined to yield a weighted average of 2135 ±11 B.P. Six dates from a wooden stick of Desert Ash averaged 939 ± 14 B.P, indicating that this artifact was not part of the original burial. Plasma oxidation is shown to be a virtually nondestructive alternative to combustion. Because only sub-milligram amounts of material are removed from an artifact over its exposed surface, no visible change in fragile materials has been observed, even under magnification. The method is best applied when natural organic contamination is unlikely and serious consideration of this issue is needed in all cases. If organic contamination is present, it will have to be removed before plasma oxidation to obtain accurate radiocarbon dates

Archaeology · Artifact (error) · Biology · Bundle · Composite material · Geography · Mineralogy · Radiocarbon dating · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Materials Science · Paleontology · Paleopathology and ancient diseases