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Direct Radiocarbon Dating of Pottery: Selective Heat Treatment to Retrieve Smoke-Derived Carbon
Abstract
I attempted to separate smoke-derived carbon from carbon derived from clay by variable-temperature burning. First, using liquid scintillation counting (LSC) and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), I dated experimental potsherds
containing these two sources of carbon. I used the same techniques to date archaeological samples. The results on archaeological sherds confirm the difficulty of establishing a standard procedure for pottery dating. Nevertheless, reliable dates on smoke-blackened potsherds are potentially obtainable with AMS dating of thin lamellas in the sherd surface following adequate NaOH treatment.
containing these two sources of carbon. I used the same techniques to date archaeological samples. The results on archaeological sherds confirm the difficulty of establishing a standard procedure for pottery dating. Nevertheless, reliable dates on smoke-blackened potsherds are potentially obtainable with AMS dating of thin lamellas in the sherd surface following adequate NaOH treatment.