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Using δ2H in Human Bone Collagen to Correct for Freshwater 14C Reservoir Offsets: A Pilot Study from Shamanka II, Lake Baikal, Southern Siberia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2018

Rick J Schulting Open the ORCID record for Rick J Schulting [Opens in a new window] ,
Christophe Snoeck ,
Ian Begley ,
Steve Brookes ,
Vladimir I Bazaliiskii ,
Christopher Bronk Ramsey  and
Andrzej Weber
Rick J Schulting*
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3TG, United Kingdom
Christophe Snoeck
Affiliation:
Research Unit: Analytical, Environmental & Geo-Chemistry, Dept. of Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, AMGC-WE-VUB, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Ian Begley
Affiliation:
Iso-Analytical, Phase 3, The Quantum, Marshfield Bank, Crewe CW2 8UY, United Kingdom
Steve Brookes
Affiliation:
Iso-Analytical, Phase 3, The Quantum, Marshfield Bank, Crewe CW2 8UY, United Kingdom
Vladimir I Bazaliiskii
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology and Ethnography, Irkutsk State University, Karl Marx Street 1, Irkutsk 664003, Russia
Christopher Bronk Ramsey
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3TG, United Kingdom
Andrzej Weber
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H4, Canada
*
*Corresponding author. Email: rick.schulting@arch.ox.ac.uk.
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Abstract

There is increasing awareness of the need to correct for freshwater as well as marine reservoir effects when undertaking radiocarbon (14C) dating of human remains. Here, we explore the use of stable hydrogen isotopes (δ2H), alongside the more commonly used stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen isotopes (δ15N), for correcting 14C freshwater reservoir offsets in 10 paired human-faunal dates from graves at the prehistoric cemetery of Shamanka II, Lake Baikal, southern Siberia. Excluding one individual showing no offset, the average human-faunal offset was 515±175 14C yr. Linear regression models demonstrate a strong positive correlation between δ15N and δ2H ratios, supporting the use of δ2H as a proxy for trophic level. Both isotopes show moderate but significant correlations (r2 ~ 0.45, p < 0.05) with 14C offsets (while δ13C on its own does not), though δ2H performs marginally better. A regression model using all three stable isotopes to predict 14C offsets accounts for approximately 65% of the variation in the latter (r2=0.651, p=0.025), with both δ13C and δ2H, but not δ15N, contributing significantly. The results suggest that δ2H may be a useful proxy for freshwater reservoir corrections, though further work is needed.

Keywords

Early Bronze AgeEarly Neolithicfisher-hunter-gatherersstable carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen isotopesfreshwater reservoir effects
Type
Environmental Context
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 60 , Special Issue 5: 2nd Radiocarbon in the Environment Conference, Debrecen, Hungary, July 3–7, 2017 Part 2 of 2 and Radiocarbon & Diet 2 International Conference Aarhus, Denmark, June 20–23, 2017 , October 2018 , pp. 1521 - 1532
Copyright
© 2018 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 2nd International Radiocarbon and Diet Conference: Aquatic Food Resources and Reservoir Effects, 20–23 June 2017, Aarhus, Denmark

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