Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c47g7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T15:40:53.976Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Radiocarbon Dating Blood Residues on Prehistoric Stone Tools1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

D E Nelson ,
T H Loy ,
J S Vogel  and
J R Southon
D E Nelson
Affiliation:
Archaeology Department, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
T H Loy
Affiliation:
British Columbia Provincial Museum, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, British Columbia
J S Vogel
Affiliation:
Archaeology Department, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
J R Southon
Affiliation:
Archaeology Department, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

We report here the first radiocarbon dating of blood residues on prehistoric stone tools. The residues found on two stone artifacts were subjected to various exploratory biochemical techniques to identify the species from which they were derived and to separate a suitable sample for dating by accelerator mass spectrometry. Although these techniques need much further development and detailed testing, the ages obtained in this first study were consistent with other data, indicating that the concept is viable. For the first time, the time of use of stone tools has been found directly, rather than by stratigraphic or other archaeologic inferential techniques.

Type
Notes and Comments
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , 1986 , pp. 170 - 174
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

References

Hjelmeland, L J, 1980, A nondenaturing zwitterionic detergent for membrane biochemistry-Design and synthesis: Natl Acad Sci USA, Proc, v 77, no. 11, p 6368–6370.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loy, T H, 1983, Prehistoric blood residues: Detection on tool surfaces and identification of species of origin: Science, v 220, p 1269–1271.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loy, T H, 1984, The archaeology of Muncho Lake, BC: Rept 83–25, Heritage Conservation Branch, Victoria, BC, Canada.Google Scholar
Loy, T H, in press a, Residue analysis of a chert blade, Colha, Belize, in Hester, T R, Shafer, H J and Eaton, J, eds, Archaeology at Colha, Belize: Continuing research during the 1983 and 1984 seasons: Center for Archaeol Research, Univ Texas, San Antonio.Google Scholar
Loy, T H, in press b, Recent advances in blood residue analysis, in Ambrose, W, ed, Australian archaeometry conf, 2nd, Proc: Australia Natl Univ, Canberra.Google Scholar
Loy, T H and Nelson, D E, in press, Potential applications of the organic residues on ancient tools, in Blackman, J and Olin, J, eds, Internatl archaeometry conf 1984, Proc: Smithsonian Inst, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Mitchell, D H and Loy, T H, 1981, An overview of Liard River Valley heritage resources: Univ Victoria, Victoria BC, Canada.Google Scholar
Nelson, D E, Southon, J R, Vogel, J S, Korteling, R G and Ku, T L, 1984, Progress in radioisotope dating; The SFU group, in Wolfli, W, Polach, H A and Andersen, H H, eds, Internatl conf on accelerator mass spectrometry, 3rd, Proc: Nuclear Instruments & Methods v B5 p 139–143.Google Scholar
Nelson, D E, Vogel, J S, Southon, J R and Brown, T A, 1986, Accelerator radiocarbon dating at SFU, in Stuiver, M and Kra, R S, eds, Internatl 14C conf, 12th, Proc: Radiocarbon, v 28, no. 2A, in press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Righetti, P G, 1983, Methods and theory of isoelectric focussing: Elsevier Biomed Press.Google Scholar
Vogel, J S, Southon, J R, Nelson, D E and Brown, T A, 1984, Performance of catalytically condensed carbon for use in accelerator mass spectrometry, in Wolfli, W, Polach, HA and Andersen, H H, eds, Internatl conf on accelerator mass spectrometry, 3rd, Proc: Nuclear Instruments & Methods, v B5, p 289–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar