AMS radiocarbon dating of bones at Arizona

Abstract

Modern bone contains ca 25% protein material, most of which is collagen. Amino acids separated from collagen isolated from bone are suitable for 14C dating of fossil bone, but attempts to carry out this procedure on bones seriously depleted in protein can yield erroneous 14C dates. Amino-acid analysis of fossil bone gives quantitative information on the degree of preservation of its organic component. Also, the relative abundance of the amino-acid components reveal the degree to which the collagen-like pattern has been altered. We have developed a series of acceptance criteria for whether a particular specimen is likely to yield the correct 14C age. -from Authors