Centuries of marine radiocarbon reservoir age variation within archaeological Mesodesma Donacium shells from Southern Peru
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Abstract
Mollusk shells provide brief (<5 yr per shell) records of past marine conditions, including marine radiocarbon reservoir age (R) and upwelling. We report 21 14C ages and R calculations on small (∼2 mg) samples from 2 Mesodesma donacium (surf clam) shells. These shells were excavated from a semi-subterranean house floor stratum 14C dated to 7625±35 BP at site QJ-280, Quebrada Jaguay, southern Peru. The ranges in marine 14C ages (and thus R) from the 2 shells are 530 and 170 14C yr; R from individual aragonite samples spans 130±60 to 730±170 14C yr. This intrashell 14C variability suggests that 14C dating of small (time-slice much less than 1 yr) marine samples from a variable-R (i.e. variable-upwelling) environment may introduce centuries of chronometric uncertainty.
Suggested Citation
Jones, K.B., Hodgins, G.W., Etayo-Cadavid, M.F., Andrus, C.F., and Sandweiss, D., 2010, Centuries of marine radiocarbon reservoir age variation within archaeological Mesodesma Donacium shells from Southern Peru: Radiocarbon, v. 52, no. 3, p. 1207-1214, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200046282.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Centuries of marine radiocarbon reservoir age variation within archaeological Mesodesma Donacium shells from Southern Peru |
| Series title | Radiocarbon |
| DOI | 10.1017/S0033822200046282 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication Date | July 18, 2016 |
| Year Published | 2010 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | University of Arizona |
| Description | 8 p. |
| First page | 1207 |
| Last page | 1214 |