Southern Methodist University Radiocarbon Date List II

Abstract

All samples described in this date list have been dated from November 1973 to January 1975. Only the benzene liquid scintillation installation was used during this time. For the combustion of soil and fossil bone samples containing a high content of sulfur ( ie , in the form of pyrite), a new CO 2 extraction and cleaning system was built. The gases released by the combustion are dried in ice and dry ice traps, passed through hot copper oxide and bubbled through KOH solution. Following the combustion, the K 2 CO 3 precipitate is acidified in the same vessel where it formed and the released CO 2 is again dried in a dry ice trap and by passing it through ascarite. This CO 2 gas is quite clean and can be brought to the original system where the gas volume is measured. Further processing is as previously described (Haynes and Haas, 1974).