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Effect of Crystallinity of Apatite in Cremated bone on Carbon exchanges during burial and reliability of Radiocarbon Dating

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 August 2019

M Minami ,
H Mukumoto ,
S Wakaki  and
T Nakamura
M Minami*
Affiliation:
Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
H Mukumoto
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
S Wakaki
Affiliation:
Kochi Institute for Core Sample Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Kochi 783-8502, Japan
T Nakamura
Affiliation:
Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

This study characterized cremated bone to better understand isotope exchanges during burial, using archeological samples. The cremated bones of Jokei, a Buddhist monk (AD 1155–1213), found in an urn from the Jisho-in Temple, Nara Prefecture, Japan, were used for the analysis. 14C dates were determined for eight of Jokei bone fragments of different colors (black, gray, and white). The white fragments had the highest x-ray diffractometry (XRD) crystallinity index (CI) values (0.89–1.05), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) splitting factor values (IRSF) of 5.3–7.1, and the lowest Ba concentrations. The calibrated date of the white bone fragments is 1152–1216 cal AD, consistent with Jokei’s lifespan, showing these fragments yield reliable 14C ages. Meanwhile, the black and gray fragments, which probably experienced lower temperatures during cremation, had lower CI and IRSF values of 0.25–0.46 and 4.2–4.9, respectively, and higher Ba concentrations. The black and gray fragments tended to show unreliable younger 14C dates and higher 87Sr/86Sr values close to the soil value due to soil contamination. The results in this study indicate that it is important to check crystallinity of apatite and soil contamination using chemical indexing methods such as Ba capture, to clarify the reliability of 14C dates for cremated bone samples.

Keywords

bioapatitecremated bonecrystallinityradiocarbon
Type
Conference Paper
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 61 , Issue 6: Radiocarbon 2018 Conference Proceedings Trondheim, Norway, June 17–22, 2018 Part 2 of 2 , December 2019 , pp. 1823 - 1834
Copyright
© 2019 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 23rd International Radiocarbon Conference, Trondheim, Norway, 17–22 June, 2018

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