Richard Burleigh

Studies on amerindian dogs, 1: Carbon isotopes in relation to maize in the diet of domestic dogs from early Peru and Ecuador

Abstract Work initiated purely as a dating project in support of a craniometric and morphological investigation of domestic dogs from early Peru has proved to have much wider implications. The stable carbon isotoperatios ( 13 C/ 12 C) of hair samples from ten dogs show that maize formed a significant part of their diet. Radiocarbon dates for these remains have confirmed that they belong to the period well after the cultivation of maize was first established. Stable carbon isotope measurements can thus be used to test for the presence of maize as a dietary constituent at earlier sites even where there is otherwise only indirect evidence for its cultivation. Collagen from animal or human bone is a suitable alternative to hair for this purpose and the method has been successfully applied to collagen dating to c . 3000 BC from the Valdivia culture site of Real Alto, Ecuador, as well as to a series of early Peruvian dogs.

British Museum natural radiocarbon measurements VI.

Carbon-14 ages, archaeologic samples from Crete, Egypt, France, England, Jordan, Malta, Nigeria, West Pakistan and Yugoslavia; for reference to part V, see this Bibliography Vol. 33, No. 2, 06 E69-02569.

British Museum natural radiocarbon measurements VII.

Dates listed below are based on measurements made from June 1968 to May 1970 by the liquid scintillation technique using benzene. In general, the experimental procedure is as described previously (Barker, Burleigh, and Meeks, 1969a) with a few changes in detail. Data are now processed by computer using a comprehensive Algol program written by Andrew Barker, Kings College, Univ. of London. There is no need to standardize on any particular sample weight and, as the benzene synthesizer can also deal with samples in the range up to the equivalent of 9 gm of carbon in a single synthesis, the amount of sample available is now less critical. However, for older material, a minimum of 1 gm of carbon is required. Another factor contributing to efficiency of operation is the “bomb” technique for sample combustion (Barker, Burleigh, and Meeks, 1969b), also mentioned in the previous date list. Finally, during 1969, an MS20 double collection mass spectrometer was acquired and all dates (but not all those in this list) are now corrected for isotopic fractionation.

The survival of Myotragus balearicus Bate, 1909, into the Neolithic on Mallorca

The goat-like ruminant Myotragus balearicus, formerly held to have become extinct in the Pleistocene, has been shown by radiocarbon dating to have survived until the Neolithic period. -- AATA

On the relative geological ages of amber and copal

Radiocarbon analysis of selected amber and copal specimens yielded infinite radiocarbon ages for amber as expected, but all the copal samples proved to be recent (less than 100 years old), emphasizing the need to base the study of insect inclusions in copal on directly dated material. Some previously studied material assumed to be of Pleistocene age may need to be reassessed.

Studies On Amerindian Dogs, 2: Variation in Early Peruvian Dogs

Abstract Remains of dogs have been discovered in Peru for over a hundred years, but relatively little information is available on them. Dating evidence, especially by the radiocarbon method, suggests that the skulls of dogs considered in detail here range from 1030 BC to 1324 AD, with the majority belonging to the past two millennia. Craniometric information is presented on a series of early Peruvian specimens now preserved in Lima and London, representing the majority of material as yet unpublished, and the largest sample so far studied. Additional Peruvian data were also collected from the literature, as well as comparable information on some other Amerindian dog series. It has been possible to indicate that two distinct forms are represented in the Peruvian material.

Radiocarbon dates and the history of treponematoses in man

Five samples of Amerindian bones from California, Florida and Kentucky which showed evidence of treponemal infection or were contemporary with bones that did, were subjected to radiocarbon dating. The results indicate that the microorganism causing the disease existed in the New World in the time range of 1105-1370 A.D., i.e. well before European contacts with America. -- AATA

Radiocarbon Dating: Some Practical Considerations for the Archaeologist

Abstract The article is divided into four main sections in each of which a key aspect of radio-carbon dating is discussed with emphasis on the practical implications for users of dates. The four topics which the article attempts to deal with are, in turn, (i) the effect on the radiocarbon timescale of the variations in atmospheric 14 C now known to have occurred in the past and the role of other absorlute dating methods in investigating these, (ii) laboratory measurement of 14 C, (iii) selection of optimum samples for dating and (iv) some of the limitations of the final dates. The theme is essentially that the technical difficulties of radiocarbon measurement in the laboratory have been overcome to the extent that the physical measurements can now be made with high precision, that is to within ±1% or better, as a routine. Thus, it is more important than ever (a) that only reliable samples having very firm associations should be dated and (b) that pretreatment of such samples by the dating laboratory to remove any age contaminants should be completely effective. However, in addition to the recognized statistical limitations, the absolute accuracy of radio-carbon dating is limited by the past 14 C variations. Coupled with the requirements of proper association and pretreatment of samples is the long-term need to establish an overall correlation between radiocarbon and calendar years. At present this is still a matter for final agreement by the laboratories concerned. Meanwhile, when all possible steps have been taken to ensure the reliability of the date messurements, these can strictly only be compared with one another in terms of radiocarbon years bp. In practice this is often too restrictive but any attempts at calibration must be regarded as approximations for the time being. In this article the lower and upper case notation advocated in Antiquity 46 , 265, for radiocarbon and calendar years respectively has been followed.

British Museum natural radiocarbon measurements XVI.

The following list consists of dates for archaeologic and geologic samples mostly measured from June 1981 to June 1982. The dates were obtained by liquid scintillation counting of benzene using the laboratory procedures outlined in previous lists (see, eg, BM-VIII, R, 1976, v 18, p 16). Dates are expressed in radiocarbon years relative to AD 1950 based on the Libby half-life for 14C of 5570 yr, and are corrected for isotopic fractionation (613C values are relative to PDB). No corrections have been made for natural 14C variations (although in some instances approximate calibrated dates taken from the tables of R M Clark (1975) have been given in the comments where this aids interpretation of results). The modern reference standard is NBS oxalic acid (SRM 4990). Errors quoted with dates are based on counting statistics alone and are equivalent to ± 1 standard deviation (± lo-). Descriptions, comments, and references to publications are based on information supplied by submitters.

Insect infestation of stored egyptian lentils in antiquity

A sample of lentils infested by a previously unknown species of Bruchidae, which could not be dated from any historical evidence and had no detailed provenance, was subjected to radiocarbon dating. The date, after allowing for isotopic fractionation, of circa 215 B.C. places the sample into the earlier part of the Ptolemaic period. -- AATA