Search results for "Dating"
showing 10 items of 288 documents
Spatial and temporal disparities in human subsistence in the Neolithic Rhineland gateway
2020
International audience; The Alsace region bordering the Rhine River was extensively occupied during the Neolithic by farming societies with domesticated animal. The first settlers were two sub-groups of the Linearbandkeramik who appeared to diverge in several respects, including: pottery styles, house orientations and funerary rituals. To explore whether this was reflected in food procurement practices investigations were performed of organic residues in nearly 900 pottery vessels from sites across the region. The results reveal lipid biomarker and stable carbon evidence for exploitation of plant and bee products, and most significantly, extensive domestic animal products including: non-rum…
Images of camels on a mammoth tusk from West Siberia
2020
International audience; This study introduces the engravings on a mammoth tusk from the lower reaches of the Tom River in WestSiberia. The tusk was found in 1988 during construction works and was later transferred to the Tomsk StateUniversity, but it remained almost unknown to specialists until now. Radiocarbon dating by AMS reported theage of the tusk as 13,100–13,005 Сal BP (95% confidence level). The surface of the tusk is engraved with imagesof two-humped camels arranged in two pairs. In addition, arrows and wounds within the contours of the animalscan be seen. The comparative analysis of the stylistic features of the camel figures shows that they correspond tothe age of the tusk itself, …
Stone-age subsistence strategies at Lake Burtnieks, Latvia
2018
Abstract Zvejnieki, on Lake Burtnieks in northeastern Latvia, is the largest known prehistoric cemetery in the eastern Baltic; > 300 inhumations, most dating to c.7000–3000 cal BC, have been excavated. Archaeozoological and artefactual evidence from graves and nearby settlement layers show that throughout this period, the community depended on wild resources for subsistence, with a particular emphasis on fishing. Dietary stable isotopes (δ 15 N and δ 13 C) from human remains show significant dietary variation within the Zvejnieki population, in terms of access to and dependence on freshwater and marine species (Eriksson 2006); we provide new stable isotope data for another 13 individuals. E…
AMS DATING OF HUMAN BONE FROM COVA DE LA PASTORA: NEW EVIDENCE OF RITUAL CONTINUITY IN THE PREHISTORY OF EASTERN SPAIN
2010
We present the results of 10 AMS radiocarbon dates for Cova de la Pastora (Alcoi, Alicante), a burial cave attributed to the Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic in eastern Spain. The direct dating of 10 human mandibles from Cova de la Pastora indicates that the cave was used as a burial place from the Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age. These dates reveal a continuity of ritual use not previously identified at the site. This case also serves to highlight the utility of revisiting historic excavations and museum collections with modern techniques to shed new light on the prehistoric human record.
New research on the development of high-resolution palaeoenvironmental proxies from geochemical properties of biogenic carbonates
2017
Abstract Geochemical signatures from biogenic carbonates are being increasingly employed as palaeoenvironmental proxies. In turn, many of these proxy archives including mollusc shells, corals, and otoliths have periodic growth structures, which allow the reconstruction of chronologically constrained records of palaeoenvironmental variability at unparalleled high temporal resolution. Studying the growth and chemistry of these periodic growth structures is known as sclerochronology. Biogenic hard parts accumulate in geological or archaeological deposits, and can be directly dated using radiometric and racemisation methods. They therefore offer the opportunity for high-resolution palaeoenviron…
Fossiliferous Holocene tufa of Mende (Lozère, southern France): implication for the Atlantic vegetation of the Causses Basin
2016
International audience; Tufas bearing plant macroremains are uncommon in the Causses Basin (southern France). Here, we report anew fossiliferous tufa deposits at Mende, in Lozère. This palaeontological site is the first Quaternary tufa from thenorthern part of the Causses Basin that yields such an abundance of plant macroremains. The radiocarbon dating showsthat these Holocene deposits are related to the Atlantic period. Geomorphology and mineralogy show that theplant-bearing deposit is a calcareous tufa only composed by calcite, deposited near to an outlet of cool water, linked tothe karstic hydrological system of the Causse de Mende. The flora exposed in this article is dominated by angio…
Highly-resolved radiocarbon measurements on shells from Kalba, UAE, using carbonate handling system and gas ion source with MICADAS
2019
Abstract The Mini Carbon Dating System (MICADAS) represents a flexible AMS system for measuring radiocarbon samples either in the form of graphite or CO2 gas. We used the possibility to attach a carbonate handling system (CHS) to the gas ion source (GIS) to measure smaller amounts of carbonates ( 3) are used to clean the system. We tested the CHS-GIS combination on heated and unheated archaeological shells of Anadara uropigimelana from Kalba, Sharjah Emirate, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Even though the amount of carbon in the samples was small (4–22 µg C) the performance of the CO2 dating system permits the comparison of trends in the 14C data to stable isotope measurements (δ18O and δ13C)…
Rich fen development in CE Europe, resilience to climate change and human impact over the last ca. 3500 years
2017
Here, for the first time in SE Poland, we document the long-term development of a rich fen and assess its sensitivity to climate change and human impacts over the last ca. 3500 years. Our results are based on a high-resolution, continuous plant macrofossil remains, mollusc and pollen record, complemented by geochemical, mineral magnetic and physical characterisation, and radiocarbon dating from Bagno Serebryskie rich fen located in SE Poland. Based on the palaeoecological data we distinguished five stages of wet habitat conditions: 5000–3300, 2800–2150, 1600–1100, 750–230, 150–10 cal yr BP and five dry periods at ca. 3300–2800, 2150–1600, 1100–750, 230–150, 10 to − 64 cal yr BP. The pollen …
Micro-PIXE/PIGE analysis of Palaeolithic mammoth ivory: Potential chemical markers of provenance and relative dating
2014
Abstract Micro-Proton Induced X-ray and Gamma-ray Emission (micro-PIXE/PIGE) provide non-destructive methods for the evaluation of the major, minor and trace element compositions of archaeological material. The current study applies micro-PIXE/PIGE analysis to mammoth ivory artefacts from four Palaeolithic sites (Abri Castanet, Vogelherd Cave, Grottes de la Verpilliere I and II) in France and Germany in order to assess the effectiveness of this approach to material older than 30,000 y BP. It has thus far not been established whether such methods of analysis can yield results of scientific and archaeological interest on ivory material that has undergone such extended periods of diagenesis. T…
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and petrographic analysis for dating Mesolithic and Neolithic pottery from Al Khiday (Sudan)
2016
Abstract Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) dating, like luminescence techniques, is based on the time-dependent accumulation of trapped charges at mineral defect centres. However, Fe(III) ions prevent the common Continuous Wave (CW-EPR) approach for dating pottery, which always contains iron. The Pulsed method (ED-EPR) allowed this limitation to be overcome, with recording of radiation-induced defect signals, as shown by increased signal intensity after artificial irradiation of samples. The method was applied to studying Mesolithic and Neolithic pottery from Al Khiday (Central Sudan), characterized by quartz-rich tempers and coming from dated contexts. As the occurrence of a natural ED…