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Recognition of Bituminous Coal Contaminants in Radiocarbon Samples

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Kenneth B. Tankersley ,
Cheryl Ann Munson  and
Donald Smith
Kenneth B. Tankersley
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
Cheryl Ann Munson
Affiliation:
Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
Donald Smith
Affiliation:
Center for Applied Isotopes Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30605
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Abstract

Bituminous coal, previously suspected as a contaminant in radiocarbon samples, has now been demonstrated to be a source of dating error in archaeological and geological samples. Standard laboratory procedures are inadequate to recognize or remove coal from samples, but techniques for identifying coal particles include paleo-botanical and reflectance analyses, and possibly accelerator dating.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 52 , Issue 2 , April 1987 , pp. 318 - 330
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1987

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References

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