The necessity of sample quality assessment in 14C AMS dating: The case of Cova des Pas (Menorca – Spain) (original) (raw)
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This work is focused on a project developed on El Mazo de la Castañera (Cantabria, Spain). The site is located in a temperate and humid region, with permanent vegetal coverage that limits observation of superficial evidence. In consequence there is a lack of open-air habitats: a problem linked to the low visibility of archaeological remains. For this reason, different methods should be used. Geophysical survey allows detecting non-visible archaeological evidence. After that, in order to check the accuracy of method a trial excavation was conducted in 2014 and 2015. Results were positive: open-air structures with organic fillings (charcoal and several planks in vertical position) have been discovered. Radiocarbon dating (AMS) provides a set of dates from Late Antiquity to Middle Age. Fechas radiométricas de contextos arqueológicos al aire libre: El Mazo de la Castañera (Cantabria, España) Resumen. Este trabajo se centra en un proyecto desarrollado en El Mazo de la Castañera (Cantabri...
European Journal of Archaeology, 2022
AMS radiocarbon dating has been widely applied in Palaeolithic art research and its value has been proven over the past three decades. Yet it still suffers from issues that need to be discussed and analysed to improve future sampling strategies and strengthen the interpretation of the results. This study presents new AMS dates for the parietal art in Cueva de Las Chimeneas in northern Spain, describes the quality of the samples, and discusses their reliability. The joint assessment of the dates and its comparison with previously obtained dates as well as stratified and dated portable art makes it possible to put forward a hypothesis about the time of creation of the cave's parietal art and the degree of synchrony or diachrony in its production. Consequently, it is proposed that the cave art at Las Chimeneas was created in the lower Magdalenian, between 19,000 and 17,500 cal BP.
ESR Dating of Tooth Enamel: Comparison with AMS 14C at El Castillo Cave, Spain
Journal of Archaeological Science, 1996
At El Castillo, in Cantabrian Spain, uncalibrated AMS 14 C dating has shown the transition from Mousterian to Aurignacian to occur at 39·3 1·6 ka . We found ESR tooth enamel ages from the basal Aurignacian level at El Castillo to be 36·2 4·1 ka (early and linear uptake). The enamel and dentine had very low U contents, but ESR ages are strongly dependent upon knowledge of the moisture content history of the sediments. Although the Aurignacian ESR age is 8% younger than the weighted average uncalibrated AMS 14 C age of 39·6 1·3 ka obtained from charcoal samples, we have shown that the methods agree within experimental uncertainty. However, since no precise 14 C calibration yet exists for this period of time, we are unable to specify which of the ages is more accurate, nor are we able ascribe the apparent age discrepancy to a particular deficiency in the ESR method.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2015
The cave known as La Peña de Candamo (Asturias, Northern Spain) was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2008. That same year a comprehensive study of the cave was resumed, which had not been undertaken since its discovery in 1914. Current research being carried out has made it possible to locate a new area decorated with paintings and carvings, and in which evidence of human occupation has also been detected. This area is called the "Gallery of Batiscias", located at the bottom of the cavity next to a small cone of clogged scree that seals off a now-blocked entry from the outside. Dating through Uranium series and 14 C, has enabled us to estimate the chronology of the archaeological evidence located in this area (lithic industry, ochres, bones and carbons), where the artistry was also carried out. Analyses have also allowed us to identify the Palaeolithic access points to this decorated gallery. In this regard, the U/Th Holocene age obtained for the speleothems that seal the corridor connecting the Great Hall to the Gallery of Batiscias indicates that circulation between the two areas was possible in the Palaeolithic age. In addition, the 28 ky dating obtained for the carbonate crust that seals the scree over the exit to the outside from the gallery shows that, as from that moment, access was only possible from the Great Hall.
14C and U/Th methods were used to date three thin carbonate layers deposited on decorated walls of Nerja Cave (Malaga, southern Spain) in order to constrain the age of the parietal non-figurative marks situated under these carbonate layers. Modern formations were also dated to estimate the detritic contribution for the U/Th method and the dead carbon proportion for 14C dating. We sampled two locations with ocher painting marks. In one case (mark 1), the good agreement between the ages obtained by the two methods suggests that the sample was not subjected to post-deposition alteration and that the results are reliable. In the other case (mark 2), the age discrepancy between the two methods reached 30,000 yr, indicating that geochemical alteration had affected the sample and that one or both results were inaccurate. The ages for mark 1 indicate that this type of non-figurative representation is older than 25,000 cal BP and that it can be associated with the oldest attested Paleolithic occupation of Nerja Cave.
Radiocarbon Dating the Late Upper Paleolithic of Cantabrian Spain: El Mirón Cave Date List IV
Radiocarbon, 2015
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