Reliability of AMS 14C dates of moss temper preserved in Neolithic pottery from the Scheldt river valley (Belgium) (original) (raw)
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Results and Methods in the Radiocarbon Dating of Pottery
Radiocarbon
The main problem with dating pottery by radiocarbon is that many different carbon sources, of different radiocarbon age, may contribute to the potsherd carbon content. Also, the process of firing is liable to destroy information that might help separate possible sources. We describe several pottery dating projects in which we have dated separate fractions (such as humics, lipids and classes of residual carbon). Although in some cases consistency between results is sufficient to accept that this approach can give a credible date, in other cases, no date has been possible, and general conclusions are difficult to make.
Radiocarbon, 54 (3-4), 2012
This article discusses 18 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates from the peat bog sites Sakhtysh 2a, Ozerki 5, and Ozerki 17 in the Upper Volga region. The aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the emergence and dispersal of early ceramic traditions in northern Eurasia and their connection to the Baltic. With 1 exception, all dates were obtained from charred residue adhering to the sherd. A possible reservoir effect was tested on 1 piece of pottery from Sakhtysh 2a by taking 1 sample from charred residue, and another sample from plant fiber remains. Although a reservoir effect was able to be ruled out in this particular case, 4 other dates from Sakhtysh 2a and Ozerki 5 seem too old on typological grounds and might have been affected by freshwater reservoir effects. Considering all other reliable dates, the Early Neolithic Upper Volga culture, and with it the adoption of ceramics, in the forest zone of European Russia started around 6000 cal BC.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2024
This study represents the first extensive residue analysis of prehistoric pottery from northern Belgium. It examines pottery use and culinary practices across the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition, from the late 6th to the early 4th millennium cal BC. Residue analyses were performed on more than 200 samples from nine archaeological sites, representing different cultural groups from this transitional phase. This includes the analysis of charred food residues encrusted on the vessel surfaces by elemental analysis-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), stereomicroscopic analysis and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), as well as the analysis of absorbed lipids by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS). This study provides the first evidence of ruminant dairy fats in Early Neolithic Limburg pottery, supporting the hypothesis that this pottery was produced and used by LBK farmers rather than hunter-gatherer populations. The first indigenous pottery of the Swifterbant culture was frequently used to process freshwater fish (often together with plant foods) and ruminant meat, although several of the studied vessels likely contained mixtures of resources which could also include porcine products. Ruminant dairy is nearly absent from this pottery. Similar results were obtained for pottery of the subsequent Michelsberg culture/Group of Spiere of the late 5th and early 4th millennium cal BC. The limited presence of ruminant dairy fats in this pottery contrasts with the findings for Middle Neolithic pottery from neighbouring regions, providing further evidence for the existence of regional variations in pottery use or culinary practices throughout prehistoric NW Europe. However, our current view of pottery use during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in northern Belgium might be biased by the difficulties in distinguishing between wild and domesticated ruminant adipose fats as well as in detecting plant foods through lipid residue analysis.
2013
Until now, the ceramics from the Neolithic sites near Swifterbant (prov. Flevoland/NL; c. 4300-4000 cal. BC) have been considered functionally homogeneous. Ceramic analysis suggests that two subgroups may be identified by a correlation between temper, wall thickness and decoration. This study aims to determine whether the proposed subgroups also represent functional categories using botanical analysis by means of Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and chemical residue analysis using Direct Temperature-resolved Mass Spectrometry (DTMS). It is concluded that ceramics from S3 can be divided into two subgroups, each with a specific use. Group 1 pots (n=6) are plant tempered pots used to cook meals without cereals, while group 2 pots (n=9) also contain stone grit temper and are used to cook meal including cereals. Looking at the results from a chronological perspective, it appears that with the introduction of cereals in the cooking process, traditional meals were transferred to a new type of pottery (group 1), while the nouvelle cuisine ended up in the traditional pots (group 2). This case study is a strong clue that the introduction of cereals in the diet of the Swifterbant people was an innovation embedded in meaningful action. As such, it is an important clue that this step in the process of Neolithisation was perceived as significant.
Freshwater Reservoir Effect in 14C Dates of Food Residue on Pottery
Radiocarbon, 2003
Radiocarbon dates of food residue on pottery from northern European inland areas seem to be influenced significantly by the freshwater reservoir effect (“hardwater” effect) stemming from fish and mollusks cooked in the pots. Bones of freshwater fish from Stone Age åmose, Denmark, are demonstrated to be 100 to 50014C yr older than their archaeological context. Likewise, food residues on cooking pots, seemingly used for the preparation of freshwater fish, are shown to have14C age excesses of up to 300 yr. It is probable that age excesses of similar or even larger magnitude are involved in food residue dates from other periods and regions. Since this effect cannot, so far, be quantified and corrected for,14C dating of food residue, which may potentially include material from freshwater ecosystems, should be treated with reserve.
Abstract : Pottery is the result of several operations that translate specific choices made by the potter. The use of a vegetal temper is observed for the Neolithic period in the north of France and Belgium, although it is not always possible to distinguish between accidental or deliberate additions. Macroscopic observation of plant material stored in ceramics enables us to identify common mosses, such as Neckera crispa, and more rarely seeds of wild flowers such as poppies. A corpus of 331 thin sections of pottery, from 26 Norman sites covering the beginning of the Neolithic period, was constituted in order to determine which plant species were used as additives for the recipients and to specify when these made their appearance (146 thin sections from the Early Neolithic and 185 thin sections from the Middle Neolithic). A plant recognition process using a polarizing petrographic microscope was developed to identify imprints observed in thin sections of pottery. Clay briquettes tempered with different plant species were fired to form an experimental thin sections database. A polarizing microscope was then used to observe moss, poppy, flax, and seed prints within these briquettes, in order to establish criteria for identifying and differentiating species. The morphological characteristics resulting from the experimental protocol were compared to vegetal additives in thin sections from Neolithic pottery. We were able to identify very fine prints produced by the mosses used in our reference samples, but were unable distinguish genera and species. Pottery tempered with mosses often presents globular forms, either voids or containing charred material, the cell tissues of which can sometimes be distinguished. These tissues, probably parenchymal cells, show strong similarities with stems of present day mosses. Some tempers present longitudinal sections with leaf additives and sometimes even with sectioned leaves. These enable us to specify moss identification to the genus or even species levels. The polarizing microscope observations have also enabled us to identify the presence of fragments of wood in a thin section. A total of 92 vases sampled contain within their fabric fine imprints bearing witness to the use of mosses. In Lower Normandy, proven use of this temper is identified mostly for the Middle Neolithic period, first on Cerny culture settlements and then more particularly on Chassean funerary and habitat sites. The use of this plant temper is not limited to a particular form or to a particular group of clay soil.
Radiocarbon, 2023
In the absence of wood, bone, and other organics, one possible candidate for determining the age of a site is the radiocarbon (14C) dating of pottery. In central Europe during the Early Neolithic, pottery was ubiquitous and contained substantial quantities of organic temper. However, attempts at the direct dating of organic inclusions raises a lot of methodological issues, especially when several sources of carbon contribute to the resulting radiocarbon age. Hence an alternative approach to dating of the early pottery is necessary. Here, we present a novel method of bulk separation of organic content from the grass-tempered pottery from Santovka (Slovakia). The procedure is based on the consecutive application of three inorganic acids, dissolving clay, silica content, and low molecular or mobile fractions to separate organic inclusions added to the pottery matrix during the formation of vessels. Radiocarbon dates obtained with this method are coherent and produce the shortest time span compared to other pretreatment methods presented in this study. The paired dates of grass-tempered pots with the 14C age of lipids extracted from the same pots point to a difference of 400-600 14C yr, however they are in line with the site's chronostratigraphic Bayesian model. Grasstempered pottery from Santovka (Slovakia) is dated to the first half of the 6th millennium cal BC, making it the earliest pottery north of the Danube. It seems feasible that ceramic containers from Santovka were produced by hunter-gatherers, and pottery predated the arrival of farming in the Carpathian region by a couple of centuries.
Radiocarbon Dates of the Earliest Neolithic in Central Europe
Radiocarbon, 1995
I discuss here a series of radiocarbon dates from sites of the earliest phase of the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) culture. The samples were collected during excavations directed by Prof. Jens Lüning (Frankfurt am Main) between 1979 and 1987. The samples were mainly charcoal, including cereals and food remains, but bones and potsherds containing organic temper were also included in the study. Although the results on cereal, bone and food remains were consistent, almost all differed from those measured on charred wood. From a series of dates measured by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) on organic temper in potsherds, variable amounts of sample contamination were observed, probably deriving from the natural organic components of the clay used in the ceramic production. By critically evaluating14C dates, individual activities on the sites were dated as accurately as possible. A chronological framework could then be established for the earliest phase of the LBK culture. The dating results ...
Direct Dating of Neolithic Pottery: Progress and Prospects [2002]
Documenta …, 2002
Pottery sherds can be dated by four methods: (i) stylistic features; (ii) luminescence analysis of minerals within the sherd; (iii) 14C assay of carbon on or within the sherd; and (iv) archaeomagnetic intensity of the sherd. Each method has its own sources of uncertainty. The results obtained by the various methods are reviewed, and the conclusion reached that a combination of at least two of the methods, where possible, is recommended in order to enhance confidence in the validity of the outcome.