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AMS 14C Dating of Bones from Archaeological Sites in Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 December 2017

C Solis ,
G Pérez-Andrade ,
M Rodríguez-Ceja ,
E Solís-Meza ,
T Méndez ,
E Chávez-Lomelí ,
M A Martínez-Carrillo  and
M A Mondragón
C Solis*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ave. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
G Pérez-Andrade
Affiliation:
Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ave. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
M Rodríguez-Ceja
Affiliation:
Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ave. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
E Solís-Meza
Affiliation:
Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ave. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
T Méndez
Affiliation:
Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ave. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
E Chávez-Lomelí
Affiliation:
Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ave. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
M A Martínez-Carrillo
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ciencias. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Circuito de la Investigación Científica S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
M A Mondragón
Affiliation:
Centro de Física Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Departamento de Nanotecnología, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, 76230 Querétaro, QRO, México
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

Collagen associated with bone samples is frequently used for radiocarbon (14C) dating of bones recovered from archaeological sites. However, submersion and exposure to moisture favors the degradation of collagen, which leads to difficulty in reliably dating bones from tropical, humid, or previously submerged archaeological sites. In this paper, we characterized the preservation state of a series of bones, through parameters such as %C, %N, C/N ratio, and collagen recovery. We performed 14C analyses of three collagen fractions obtained through the pretreatment steps (total, ultrafiltered, and insoluble collagen) in order to link the preservation state and the reproducibility of 14C values obtained from the three fractions. Collagen ultrafiltration resulted in a decrease of C/N ratio, although collagen yield was reduced. When two or three collagen fractions were obtained, ages were reproducible and consistent with expected values, according to archaeological or hydrogeological criteria. The pretreatment steps were monitored by infrared spectroscopy in order to analyze the collagen fractions at the molecular level. The presence of collagen in the total and insoluble fractions was confirmed. Since many of the Mexican samples had poor ultrafiltered collagen yield (<3%) or nonexistent yield, our results show that if additional contextual information is carefully considered, the remnant collagen in the total and insoluble fraction can be dated, especially from sites where no other datable fraction exists.

Keywords

AMSboneinfrared spectroscopyMexicoradiocarbon dating
Type
Method Development
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 59 , Special Issue 6: 8th International Symposium, Edinburgh, 27 June – 1 July, 2016 Part 2 of 2 , December 2017 , pp. 1945 - 1954
Copyright
© 2017 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 8th Radiocarbon & Archaeology Symposium, Edinburgh, UK, 27 June–1 July 2016.

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