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RESPONSE TO BEAVAN ATHFIELDS COMMENT ON DIET-DERIVED VARIATIONS IN RADIOCARBON AND STABLE ISOTOPES: A CASE STUDY FROM SHAG RIVER MOUTH, NEW ZEALAND
Abstract
Beavan Athfield (2006) has commented on our recent paper in this journal (Higham et al. 2005). In
our opinion, both in her response and in Beavan Athfield (2004) she misrepresents the evidence and
conclusions presented by Anderson (2000). She claims (Beavan Athfield 2006:117) that Andersons
(2000) Figure 6, which is reproduced as Beavan Athfields (2004) Figure 1, shows that ages of
ancient rat bone gelatin in 19951996 (NZA numbers 40006000) were exclusively earlier than
about 1000 BP, while those from 1997 onward (NZA numbers 7000+) were exclusively later than
about 1000 BP. Beavan Athfield asserts that this is the result of Anderson (2000) ignoring 9 published
accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) results from 19951996 that were younger than about
900 BP. These would be serious claims of poor scholarship, were they substantiated, but in fact,
Anderson (2000, 2004) never asserted that the AMS results were distributed so exclusively, nor did
he fail to take account of all published results.
our opinion, both in her response and in Beavan Athfield (2004) she misrepresents the evidence and
conclusions presented by Anderson (2000). She claims (Beavan Athfield 2006:117) that Andersons
(2000) Figure 6, which is reproduced as Beavan Athfields (2004) Figure 1, shows that ages of
ancient rat bone gelatin in 19951996 (NZA numbers 40006000) were exclusively earlier than
about 1000 BP, while those from 1997 onward (NZA numbers 7000+) were exclusively later than
about 1000 BP. Beavan Athfield asserts that this is the result of Anderson (2000) ignoring 9 published
accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) results from 19951996 that were younger than about
900 BP. These would be serious claims of poor scholarship, were they substantiated, but in fact,
Anderson (2000, 2004) never asserted that the AMS results were distributed so exclusively, nor did
he fail to take account of all published results.