Use of three isotopes to calibrate human bone radiocarbon determinations from Kainapirina (SAC), Watom Island, Papua New Guinea

Abstract

In archaeological dating, the greatest confidence is usually placed upon radiocarbon results of material that can be directly related to a defined archaeological event. Human bone should fulfill this requirement, but bone dates obtained from Pacific sites are often perceived as problematic due to the incorporation of 14C from a range of different reservoirs into the collagen via diet. In this paper, we present new human bone gelatin results for 2 burials from the SAC archaeological site on Watom Island, Papua New Guinea, and investigate the success of calibrating these determinations using dietary corrections obtained from δ34S, δ15N, and δ13C isotopes. © 2005 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona.