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Monitoring the Presence of Humic Substances in Wool and Silk by the Use of Nondestructive Fluorescence Spectroscopy: Quality Control for 14C Dating of Wool and Silk

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Mathieu Boudin ,
Pascal Boeckx ,
Peter Vandenabeele ,
Sylvia Mitschke  and
Mark VAN Strydonck
Mathieu Boudin*
Affiliation:
Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium. Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Laboratory of Applied Physical Chemistry, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Pascal Boeckx
Affiliation:
Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Laboratory of Applied Physical Chemistry, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Peter Vandenabeele
Affiliation:
Ghent University, Department of Archaeology, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Sylvia Mitschke
Affiliation:
Curt-Engelhorn Stiftung fur die Reiss-Engelhorn–Museen, C5 Zeughaus, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.
Mark VAN Strydonck
Affiliation:
Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.
*
Corresponding author: [email protected]; [email protected].
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Abstract

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Radiocarbon dating of degraded wool and silk provides 14C results of questionable reliability. In most cases, degraded wool/silk contains humic substances (HSs). Thus, a nondestructive fluorescence spectroscopy method, using a fiberoptic probe, was developed to monitor the presence of HSs in degraded wool and silk. This method can provide information about the presence of HSs before and after pretreatment and about the 14C age reliability. This study suggests considering with care wool/silk samples 14C dating wherein HSs are detected, because the conventional solvent pretreatment method using a NaOH wash is in most cases not sufficient to remove all humic substance contaminants. As a result, unreliable 14C dates can be provided.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 53 , Issue 3 , 2011 , pp. 429 - 442
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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