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Structural Characterization of Charcoal Exposed to High and Low Ph: Implications for 14C Sample Preparation and Charcoal Preservation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

N R Rebollo ,
I Cohen-Ofri ,
R Popovitz-Biro ,
O Bar-Yosef ,
L Meignen ,
P Goldberg ,
S Weiner  and
E Boaretto
N R Rebollo
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon Dating and Cosmogenic Isotopes Laboratory, Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
I Cohen-Ofri
Affiliation:
Department of Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
R Popovitz-Biro
Affiliation:
Chemical Research Support Unit, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
O Bar-Yosef
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge 02138, Massachusetts, USA
L Meignen
Affiliation:
UNSA, CEPAM-CNRS, Sophia Antipolis, 06560 Valbonne, France
P Goldberg
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston 02215, Massachusetts, USA
S Weiner
Affiliation:
Department of Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
E Boaretto*
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon Dating and Cosmogenic Isotopes Laboratory, Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
*
Corresponding author. Email: elisabetta.boaretto@wiezmann.ac.il
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Abstract

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Chemical and structural similarities between poorly preserved charcoal and its contaminants, as well as low radiocarbon concentrations in old samples, complicate 14C age determinations. Here, we characterize 4 fossil charcoal samples from the late Middle Paleolithic and early Upper Paleolithic strata of Kebara Cave, Israel, with respect to the structural and chemical changes that occur when they are subjected to the acid-base-acid (ABA) treatment. Differential thermal analysis and TEM show that acid treatment disrupts the structure, whereas alkali treatment results in the reformation of molecular aggregates. The major changes are ascribed to the formation of salt bridges at high pH and the disruption of the graphite-like crystallites at low pH. Weight losses during the treatments are consistently greater for older samples, implying that they are less well preserved. Based on the changes observed in vitro due to pH fluctuations, various methods for removing contamination, as well as a mechanism for preferential preservation of charcoal in nature, are proposed.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 50 , Issue 2 , 2008 , pp. 289 - 307
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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