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14C and Marine Reservoir Effect in Archaeological Samples from the Northeast Gulf of California

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2016

David L Dettman ,
Douglas R Mitchell ,
Gary Huckleberry  and
Michael S Foster
David L Dettman
Affiliation:
Geosciences Department, University of Arizona, Gould-Simpson Building, Box 21077, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
Douglas R Mitchell
Affiliation:
Archaeological Consulting Services, Ltd., 424 W. Broadway Road, Tempe, Arizona 85282, USA
Gary Huckleberry
Affiliation:
Geoarchaeological Consultant, 3577 E. Nugget Canyon Place, Tucson, Arizona 85718, USA
Michael S Foster
Affiliation:
4505 E. Ute Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85044, USA
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Abstract

Previous studies of live-collected pre-weapons testing mollusk shells in the northern Gulf of California have demonstrated that the local radiocarbon reservoir effect (ΔR) is large and highly variable. To test the validity of this observation for paired charcoal and shell samples from archaeological contexts, we dated samples from four shell midden locations and six midden layers from the eastern shoreline of the Gulf of California near Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico. Dated charcoal samples were small twigs or brushy plants used to cook shellfish and the shells dated within each midden showed signs of burning. Ages range from approximately 5700 to 1900 cal BP. The offset between the modeled marine 14C age for calibrated ages of the middens and measured shell 14C age (ΔR) averaged 425 yr with a standard deviation of 115 yr.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 57 , Issue 5 , 2015 , pp. 785 - 793
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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