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14C-AMS IN MEXICO AND PRE-COLUMBIAN ARCHAEOLOGY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2020

C Solís*
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 Chávez-Lomelí
Affiliation:
Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ave. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
A Alcántara
Affiliation:
Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ave. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico Dirección de Estudios Históricos, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH), Ignacio Allende 172, 14000Mexico City, Mexico
J Gazzola
Affiliation:
Dirección de Estudios Arqueológicos (INAH), Calle Lic. Verdad 3, 06060Mexico City, Mexico
J Balcells
Affiliation:
Specialist in Mayan archaeology, formerly at INAH Chiapas, Mexico
J C Jimenez
Affiliation:
Dirección de Antropología Física, Museo Nacional de Antropología, Reforma y Gandhi S/N, Polanco, 11560Mexico City, Mexico
Y de la Rosa
Affiliation:
Centro INAH Coahuila, Coahuila, México
M A Martínez-Carrillo
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito de la Investigación Científica S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510Mexico City, Mexico
*
*Corresponding author. Email: corina@fisica.unam.mx.

Abstract

The complex geographical scenario of Mexico allowed the cultural diversification and development of multiple cultures such as Tolteca, Teotihuacan, Mexica, and Maya, among others. Despite this rich cultural heritage, radiometric dating of Mexican cultural samples with radiocarbon (14C) began only in the 1980s and with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) in 2013. Analysis of 14C with AMS is the most widely used technique to date archaeological objects and cultural heritage. Since 2013, the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (LEMA) facility of the Institute of Physics at UNAM (IF-UNAM) has supported archaeological research in Mexico, but also investigation in other areas such as geology, physics, chemistry, and environmental sciences through the analysis of 14C, 10Be, 26Al, 129I, and Pu. The absolute dating with 14C continues to be the core of LEMA’s work, where different geographical scenarios of the country and climatic conditions present very diverse analytical challenges. This work presents a basic description of the AMS system of the LEMA laboratory and describes some applications that are currently being developed.

Type
Conference Paper
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press for the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 1st Latin American Radiocarbon Conference, Rio de Janeiro, 29 Jul.–2 Aug. 2019

References

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