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Radiocarbon Concentrations of Wood Ash Calcite: Potential for Dating

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Lior Regev ,
Eileen Eckmeier ,
Eugenia Mintz ,
Steve Weiner  and
Elisabetta Boaretto
Lior Regev
Affiliation:
Department of Structural Biology and the Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
Eileen Eckmeier
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon and Cosmogenic Isotopes Laboratory, Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel. INRES – Soil Science and Soil Ecology, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
Eugenia Mintz
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon and Cosmogenic Isotopes Laboratory, Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel.
Steve Weiner
Affiliation:
Department of Structural Biology and the Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
Elisabetta Boaretto*
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon and Cosmogenic Isotopes Laboratory, Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel. Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel.
*
Corresponding author. Email: elisabetta.boaretto@weizmann.ac.il.
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Abstract

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Ash is formed when plant calcium oxalate crystals (CaC2O4) decompose to form calcite (CaCO3). We found that ash does retain the original calcium oxalate radiocarbon concentration, but in addition, there is another minor 14C source. This is shown by the presence of a consistent small shift in the pMC and δ13C levels when comparing cellulose and ash from modern and archaeological woods. Possible mechanisms for 14C exchange during combustion or due to diagenesis are considered in order to define parameters for identifying better-preserved wood ash samples.

Type
Methods, Applications, and Developments
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 53 , Issue 1 , 2011 , pp. 117 - 127
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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