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14C Ages of Bone Fractions from Armenian Prehistoric Sites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Alexander Cherkinsky  and
Christine Chataigner
Alexander Cherkinsky*
Affiliation:
CAIS, University of Georgia, 120 Riverbend Road, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
Christine Chataigner
Affiliation:
Maison de I'Orient et de la Mediterranee, CNRS, University Lyon 2, 7 rue Raulin, Lyon 69007, France
*
Corresponding author. Email: acherkin@uga.edu
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Abstract

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Prehistoric cultures in Armenia are still poorly known; thus, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates are invaluable in constructing an accurate chronology. Bone samples have been collected from sites representing the Middle Paleolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze periods. Most of the bone samples are poorly preserved. We describe the separation technique for the extraction of both the bioapatite and collagen fractions. In many cases where the bone had very low organic material content, the collagen fractions yielded a younger age, although the ages of bioapatite fractions were found to be in good agreement with associated archaeological artifacts. In cases where bone was well preserved, both fractions exhibited ages in good agreement with the artifacts. The accuracy of 14C dating of bone material always depends on its degree of preservation, and each case should be carefully evaluated to determine which fraction is less contaminated in order to accurately date a burial event.

Type
Bone Dating and Paleodiet Studies
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 52 , Issue 2: 20th Int. Radiocarbon Conference Proceedings , 2010 , pp. 569 - 577
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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