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Reliability of Bone Gelatin AMS Dating: Rattus Exulans and Marine Shell Radiocarbon Dates from Pauatahanui Midden Sites in Wellington, New Zealand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Nancy Beavan Athfield ,
Bruce McFadgen  and
Rodger Sparks
Nancy Beavan Athfield
Affiliation:
Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Bruce McFadgen
Affiliation:
New Zealand Department of Conservation, Science and Research Unit, PO Box 10420, Wellington, New Zealand
Rodger Sparks
Affiliation:
Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
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Abstract

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A suite of 6 bone gelatin accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates for Rattus exulans Peale and associated beta decay 14C dates for Austrovenus stutchburyi shell are presented for 4 middens at Pauatahanui, Wellington, New Zealand. Mean calibrated age ranges of Rattus exulans (520–435 BP and 350–330 BP at 95% confidence level) and shell (465–375 BP at 95% confidence level) from the 4 midden sites overlap. The agreement between Rattus exulans bone gelatin dates and associated shell provides an inter-sample comparison of 14C dating using both gas counting (beta decay) and AMS dating techniques. We examine the adequacy of the standard gelatinization treatment for bone samples, which has been employed consistently at the laboratory since 1995.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 41 , Issue 2 , 1999 , pp. 119 - 126
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

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