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Reliability of bone gelatin AMS dating; Rattus exulans and marine shell radiocarbon dates from Pauatahanui midden sites in Wellington, New Zealand.
Abstract
A suite of 6 bone gelatin accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates for Rattus exulans Peale and associated beta decay (super 14) C dates for Austrovenus stutchburyi shell are presented for 4 middens at Pauatahanui, Wellington, New Zealand. Mean calibrated age ranges of Rattus exulans (520-435 BP and 350-330 BP at 95% confidence level) and shell (465-375 BP at 95% confidence level) from the 4 midden sites overlap. The agreement between Rattus exulans bone gelatin dates and associated shell provides an inter-sample comparison of (super 14) C dating using both gas counting (beta decay) and AMS dating techniques. We examine the adequacy of the standard gelatinization treatment for bone samples, which has been employed consistently at the laboratory since 1995.
Keywords
nitrogen;N 15 N 14;Austrovenus stutchburyi;Pauatahanui New Zealand;Rattus exulans;reliability;Wellington New Zealand;amino acids;accelerator mass spectra;Theria;Eutheria;Rodentia;middens;organic carbon;accuracy;mass spectra;spectra;organic acids;Mammalia;Australasia;New Zealand;North Island;archaeological sites;isotope ratios;Holocene;upper Holocene;Chordata;Tetrapoda;Vertebrata;soils;organic compounds;sample preparation;bones;Cenozoic;Quaternary;C 14;carbon;dates;isotopes;radioactive isotopes;shells;C 13 C 12;stable isotopes;absolute age