Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-jr42d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-20T00:45:16.043Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Radiocarbon in Marsh Periwinkle (Littorina Irrorata) Conchiolin: Applications for Archaeology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2019

Carla S Hadden ,
Kathy M Loftis ,
Alexander Cherkinsky ,
Brandon T Ritchison ,
Isabelle H Lulewicz  and
Victor D Thompson
Carla S Hadden*
Affiliation:
Center for Applied Isotope Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 USA
Kathy M Loftis
Affiliation:
Center for Applied Isotope Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 USA
Alexander Cherkinsky
Affiliation:
Center for Applied Isotope Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 USA
Brandon T Ritchison
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 USA
Isabelle H Lulewicz
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 USA
Victor D Thompson
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: hadden@uga.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In coastal and island archaeology, carbonate mollusk shells are often among the most abundant materials available for radiocarbon (14C) dating. The marsh periwinkle (Littorina irrorata) is one of these such species, ubiquitously found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States in both modern and archaeological contexts. This paper presents a novel approach to dating estuarine mollusks where rather than attempting to characterize the size and variability of reservoir effects to “correct” shell carbonate dates, we describe a compound-specific approach that isolates conchiolin, the organic matter bound with the shell matrix of the L. irrorata. Conchiolin typically constitutes <5% of shell weight. In L. irrorata, it is derived from the snail’s terrestrial diet and is thus not strongly influenced by marine, hardwater, or other carbon reservoir effects. We compare the carbon isotopes (δ13C and Δ14C) of L. irrorata shell carbonate, conchiolin, and bulk soft tissue from six modern, live-collected specimens from Apalachicola Bay, Florida, with samples that represent possible sources of carbon within their environment including surface sediments, marsh plant tissues, and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in water. Ultimately, this paper demonstrates that samples obtained from wet chemical oxidation of L. irrorata conchiolin produces accurate 14C dates.

Keywords

conchiolinmarine reservoir effectsshell midden
Type
Conference Paper
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 61 , Issue 5: Radiocarbon 2018 Conference Proceedings Trondheim, Norway, June 17–22, 2018 Part 1 of 2 , October 2019 , pp. 1489 - 1500
Copyright
© 2019 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 23rd International Radiocarbon Conference, Trondheim, Norway, 17–22 June, 2018

References

REFERENCES

Abbott, RT. 1974. American seashells; the marine molluska of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.Google Scholar
Alexander, SK. 1979. Diet of the periwinkle Littorina irrorata in a Louisiana salt marsh. Gulf and Caribbean Research 6(3):293–295.Google Scholar
Alves, EQ, Macario, K, Ascough, P, Bronk Ramsey, C. 2018. The worldwide marine radiocarbon reservoir effect: definitions, mechanisms, and prospects. Reviews of Geophysics 56(1):278–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ascough, P, Cook, G, Dugmore, A. 2005. Methodological approaches to determining the marine radiocarbon reservoir effect. Progress in Physical Geography 29(4):532–547.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balakrishnan, M, Yapp, CJ. 2004. Flux balance models for the oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of land snail shells. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 68(9):2007–2024.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergh, S. 2012. Subsistence, settlement, and land-use changes during the Mississippian period on St. Catherines Island, Georgia. PhD dissertation, University of Georgia.Google Scholar
Bowen, CE, Tang, H. 1996. Conchiolin-protein in aragonite shells of mollusks. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology 115(4):269–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, C. 2009. Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates. Radiocarbon 51(1):337–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, C. 2017. OxCal program, version 4.3.Google Scholar
Carriker, MR, Palmer, RE, Sick, LV, Johnson, CC. 1980. Interaction of mineral elements in sea water and shell of oysters (Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin)) cultured in controlled and natural systems. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 46(2):279–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cherkinsky, A, Culp, RA, Dvoracek, DK, Noakes, JE. 2010. Status of the AMS facility at the University of Georgia. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 268(7–8):867–870.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cherkinsky, A, Pluckhahn, TJ, Thompson, VD. 2014. Variation in radiocarbon age determinations from the Crystal River Archaeological Site, Florida. Radiocarbon 56(2):801–810.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cherkinsky, A, Prasad, GR, Dvoracek, D. 2013. AMS measurement of samples smaller than 300 μg at Center for Applied Isotope Studies, University of Georgia. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 294:87–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DePratter, CB. 1980. Shellmound Archaic on the Georgia coast [master’s thesis]. University of Georgia.Google Scholar
Ellis, GS, Herbert, G, Hollander, D. 2014. Reconstructing carbon sources in a dynamic estuarine ecosystem using oyster amino acid δ13C values from shell and tissue. Journal of Shellfish Research 33(1):217–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillikin, DP, Lorrain, A, Meng, L, Dehairs, F. 2007. A large metabolic carbon contribution to the δ13C record in marine aragonitic bivalve shells. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 71:2936–2946.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodfriend, GA. 1987. Radiocarbon age anomalies in shell carbonate of land snails from semi-arid areas. Radiocarbon 29(2):159–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodfriend, GA, Hood, DG. 1983. Carbon isotope analysis of land snail shells: implications for carbon sources and radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon 25(3):810–830.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodfriend, GA, Stipp, JJ. 1983. Limestone and the problem of radiocarbon dating of land-snail shell carbonate. Geology 11(10):575–577.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodyear, AC. 1988. On the study of technological change. Current Anthropology 29(2):320–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graven, HD, Gruber, N, Key, R, Khatiwala, S, Giraud, X. 2012. Changing controls on oceanic radiocarbon: new insights on shallow-to-deep ocean exchange and anthropogenic CO2 uptake. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 117(C10005):1–16. doi: 10.1029/2012JC008074.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hadden, CS, Cherkinsky, A. 2015. 14C variations in pre-bomb near-shore habitats of the Florida Panhandle, USA. Radiocarbon 57(3):469–477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hadden, CS, Cherkinsky, A. 2017a. Spatiotemporal variability in ΔR in the northern Gulf of Mexico, USA. Radiocarbon 59(2):343–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hadden, CS, Cherkinsky, A. 2017b. Carbon reservoir effects in eastern oyster from Apalachicola Bay, USA. Radiocarbon 59(5):1497–1506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hadden, CS, Loftis, KM, Cherkinsky, A. 2018. Carbon isotopes (δ13C and Δ14C) in shellcarbonate, conchiolin, and soft tissues in eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica). Radiocarbon 60(4):1125–1137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamilton, PV. 1978. Intertidal distribution and long-term movements of Littorina irrorata (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Marine Biology 46(1):49–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hua, Q, Barbetti, M, Rakowski, AZ. 2013. Atmospheric radiocarbon for the period 1950–2010. Radiocarbon 55(4):2059–2072.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kashiyama, YU, Ogawa, NO, Chikaraishi, YO, Kashiyama, NA, Sakai, SA, Tanabe, KA, Ohkouchi, NA. 2010. Reconstructing the life history of modern and fossil nautiloids based on the nitrogen isotopic composition of shell organic matter and amino acids. In: Tanabe, K, Shigeta, Y, Sasaki, S, Hirano, H, editors. Cephalopods: present and past. Tokyo: Tokai University Press. p. 67–75.Google Scholar
Key, RM, Kozyr, A, Sabine, CL, Lee, K, Wanninkhof, R, Bullister, JL, Feely, RA, Millero, FJ, Mordy, C, Peng, TH. 2004. A global ocean carbon climatology: results from global data analysis project (GLODAP). Global Biogeochemical Cycles 18(4):1–23. doi: 10.1029/2004gb002247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindauer, S, Hinderer, M, Steinhof, A, Uerpmann, HP. 2016. “Reservoir effects” due to different geological settings in the eastern United Arab Emirates. Poster presented at Radiocarbon and Archaeology 8th International Symposium, Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Marrinan, RA. 2010. Two late archaic period shell rings, St. Simon’s Island, Georgia. In: Thomas, DH, Sanger, MC, editors. Trend, tradition, and turmoil: what happened to the southeastern Archaic? New York: Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History No. 93. p. 71–102.Google Scholar
McConnaughey, TA, Gillikin, DP. 2008. Carbon isotopes in mollusk shell carbonates. Geo-Marine Letters 28(5–6):287–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, HB. 1937. The biology of Littorina littorea. Part I. Growth of the shell and tissues, spawning, length of life and mortality. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 21(2):721–742.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Odum, EP, Smalley, AE. 1959. Comparison of population energy flow of a herbivorous and a deposit-feeding invertebrate in a salt marsh ecosystem. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 45(4):617–622.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsen, J, Ascough, P, Lougheed, BC, Rasmussen, P. 2017. Radiocarbon dating in estuarine environments. In: Weckström, K, Saunders, KM, Gell, PA, Skilbek, G, editors. Developments in paleoenvironmental research: applications of paleoenvironmental techniques in Estuarine Studies. Dordrecht: Springer. p. 141–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palmiotto, A. 2011. A zooarchaeological synthesis of South Carolina’s prehistoric coastal sites. Southeastern Archaeology 30(1):166–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, BJ, Fry, B. 1987. Stable isotopes in ecosystem studies. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 18(1):293–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prasad, GVR, Cherkinsky, A, Culp, R. 2018. Effect of 12C beam saturation on the accuracy of δ13C measurements from AMS. Paper presented at 23rd International Radiocarbon Conference, Trondheim, Norway.Google Scholar
Prasad, GVR, Culp, R, Cherkinsky, A. 2019. δ13C correction of AMS data: values derived from AMS versus IRMS. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B. doi: 10.1016/j.nimb.2019.01.034.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Price, SE. 2009. Archaeology at orange beach: phase III data recovery at 1BA21, the Bayou St. John Site. Orange Beach, Baldwin County, Alabama: University of South Alabama Center for Archaeological Studies, Mobile.Google Scholar
Reimer, PJ, Bard, E, Bayliss, A, Beck, WJ, Blackwell, PG, Bronk Ramsey, C, Buck, CE, Cheng, H, Edwards, RL, Friedrich, M, Grootes, PM, Guilderson, TP, Haflidason, H, Hajdas, I, Hatté, C, Heaton, TJ, Hoffman, DL, Hogg, AG, Hughen, KA, Kaiser, KF, Kromer, B, Manning, SW, Niu, M, Reimer, RW, Richards, DA, Scott, EM, Southon, JR, Staff, RA, Turney, CSM, van der Plicht, J. 2013. IntCal13 and Marine13 radiocarbon age calibration curves 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon 55(4):1869–1887.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reimer, PJ. 2014. Marine or estuarine radiocarbon reservoir corrections for mollusks? A case study from a medieval site in the south of England. Journal of Archaeological Science 49:142–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reitz, EJ, Hadden, CS, Little, ME, Waselkov, GA, Andrus, CFT. 2013. Woodland seasonality on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Technical report prepared for the National Science Foundation project titled “Collaborative Research Project: Woodland Subsistence Seasonality on the Northern Gulf Coast” (Award #BCS 1026166–8).Google Scholar
Rick, TC, Henkes, GA. 2014. Radiocarbon variability in Crassostrea virginica shells from the Chesapeake Bay, USA. Radiocarbon 56:305–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rick, TC, Henkes, GA, Lowery, DL, Colman, SM, Culleton, BJ. 2012. Marine radiocarbon reservoir corrections (ΔR) for Chesapeake Bay and the Middle Atlantic Coast of North America. Quaternary Research 77:205–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, AI. 1979. The relationship between annual production: biomass ratios and lifespans for marine macrobenthos. Oecologia 38(2):193–202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shirley, TC, Findley, AM. 1978. Circadian rhythm of oxygen consumption in the marsh periwinkle, Littorina irrorata (Say, 1822). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology 59(4):339–342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silliman, BR, Bortolus, A. 2003. Underestimation of Spartina productivity in western Atlantic marshes: marsh invertebrates eat more than just detritus. Oikos 101(3):549–554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silliman, BR, Newell, SY. 2003. Fungal farming in a snail. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100(26):15643–15648.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stuiver, M, Polach, HA. 1977. Discussion: reporting of 14C data. Radiocarbon 19(3):355–363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sykes, GA, Collins, MJ, Walton, DI. 1995. The significance of a geochemically isolated intracrystalline organic fraction within biominerals. Organic Geochemistry 23(11–12):1059–1065.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanaka, N, Monaghan, MC, Rye, DM. 1986. Contribution of metabolic carbon to mollusc and barnacle shell carbonate. Nature 320:520–523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, JD, Reid, DG. 1990. Shell microstructure and mineralogy of the Littorinidae: ecological and evolutionary significance. In: Johannesson, K, Raffaelli, DG, Hannaford Ellis, CJ, editors. Progress in Littorinid and Muricid Biology. Dordrecht: Springer. p. 199–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, VD. 2018. Collective action and village life during the Late Archaic on the Georgia Coast. In: Birch, J, Thompson, VD, editors. The archaeology of villages in Eastern North America. University Press of Florida. p. 20–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, VD, Krus, A. 2018. Contemplating the history and future of radiocarbon dating in the American Southeast. Southeastern Archaeology 37:1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turnbull, JC, Graven, H, Krakauer, NY. 2016. Radiocarbon in the atmosphere. In: Schuur, EAG, Druffel, ERM, Trumbore, SE, editors. Radiocarbon and climate change: mechanisms, applications and laboratory techniques. Basel (Switzerland): Springer. p. 83–137.Google Scholar
Warren, JH. 1985. Climbing as an avoidance behaviour in the salt marsh periwinkle, Littorina irrorata (Say). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 89(1):11–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watanabe, S, Kodama, M, Fukuda, M. 2009. Nitrogen stable isotope ratio in the manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum, reflects eutrophication levels in tidal flats. Marine Pollution Bulletin 58(10):1447–1453.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhang, G, Fang, X, Guo, X, Li, L, Luo, R, Xu, F, Yang, P, Zhang, L, Wang, X, Qi, H, Xiong, Z. 2012. The oyster genome reveals stress adaptation and complexity of shell formation. Nature 490(7418):49–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhang, C, Zhang, R. 2006. Matrix proteins in the outer shells of molluscs. Marine Biotechnology 8(6):572–586.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed