Dating Thach Lac: cryptic CaCO3 diagenesis in archaeological food shells and implications for 14c

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dc.contributor.authorPetchey, Fiona
dc.contributor.authorPiper, Phillip J.
dc.contributor.authorDabell, Kathleen
dc.contributor.authorBrock, Fiona
dc.contributor.authorTurner, Helen
dc.contributor.authorDzung, Lam Thi My
dc.date.accessioned2022-09-21T09:46:40Z
dc.date.available2022-09-21T09:46:40Z
dc.date.issued2022-09-09
dc.description.abstractIn many locations around the world, shell radiocarbon dates underpin archaeological research. The dating of shell brings the chronological relationship between the sample and target event (e.g., hunting and food preparation) into congruence, while shells are valuable geochemical proxies for understanding past climate dynamics and environments. However, this information can be lost as the shell, composites of biopolymers and carbonate minerals (mostly calcite and or aragonite), undergo diagenetic alteration. While studies into Pleistocene-age carbonates are common in the radiocarbon literature, there has been little research into the impact of alteration on Holocene-age shells used to interpret recent societal developments. The limits of our understanding of these diagenetic changes became evident when dating Placuna placenta (naturally calcitic) and Tegillarca granosa (naturally aragonitic) shells from the site of Thach Lac in Vietnam. These shells returned ages significantly younger than associated charcoal and terrestrial bone at the site, but standard tests for secondary recrystallization (XRD and staining techniques) did not indicate any alteration. Further investigation revealed that cryptic recrystallization (i.e., of the same crystal structure) had occurred in both the calcite and aragonite shells. This finding suggests recrystallization may have an undetected impact on some shell radiocarbon dates.en_UK
dc.identifier.citationPetchey F, Piper P, Dabell K, et al., (2022) Dating Thach Lac: cryptic CaCO3 diagenesis in archaeological food shells and implications for 14c. Radiocarbon, Volume 64, Issue 5, October 2022, pp. 1093-1107en_UK
dc.identifier.issn0033-8222
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2022.63
dc.identifier.urihttps://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/18460
dc.language.isoenen_UK
dc.publisherCambridge University Pressen_UK
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/*
dc.subjectaragoniteen_UK
dc.subjectcalciteen_UK
dc.subjectcryptic recrystallizationen_UK
dc.subjectshellen_UK
dc.subjectVietnamen_UK
dc.titleDating Thach Lac: cryptic CaCO3 diagenesis in archaeological food shells and implications for 14cen_UK
dc.typeArticleen_UK

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