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The Present Status of Chemical Methods for Dating Prehistoric Bone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

S. F. Cook  and
R. F. Heizer
S. F. Cook
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley
R. F. Heizer
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley
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Extract

It is now over half a century since Carnot (1893) published his pioneer work dealing with the chemical analysis of fossil bone. In the intervening decades the problem has been investigated by occasional students who have approached the field from different directions. Recently interest in chemical methods has been intensified and the attention of archaeologists has been brought to a focus by the attempt of Oakley (1951) to utilize the fluorine content of human bones as a criterion of age. Also during the past few years a joint project has been pursued by the Departments of Anthropology and Physiology at the University of California (Berkeley) through the generosity of the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. Thus a considerable effort has been expended, and a reasonable volume of results are on record, with reference to the chemical changes which occur in fossil bone. At the present time it appears that a general survey of this work is in order, together with an appraisal of its value as a tool for the archaeologist and palaeontologist. Fairly comprehensive listings of published works on the subject of bone fossilization occur in Heizer (1950, 1952).

Type
Research Article
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , April 1953 , pp. 354 - 358
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1953

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