Journal
RADIOCARBON
Volume 59, Issue 2, Pages 343-353Publisher
UNIV ARIZONA DEPT GEOSCIENCES
DOI: 10.1017/RDC.2016.65
Keywords
reservoir age; marine shell; Gulf of Mexico
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, NSF [BCS 1026167]
- University of Georgia Center for Archaeological Sciences Norman Herz Grant
- CAIS
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Strombus alatus and Busycon sinistrum are large marine gastropods that are frequently recovered from archaeological contexts in southeastern North America. We previously proposed a reservoir age offset (Delta R) for B. sinistrum from the northern Gulf of Mexico region based on known-age pre-bomb 20th-century specimens. We also reported significant variability in radiocarbon both among and within S. alatus specimens, which precluded a reliable estimation of Delta R for this taxon. In this paper, we present a complementary data set from archaeological contexts to re-evaluate marine reservoir effects in the northern Gulf Coast region at multiple spatial and temporal scales. The new data set consists of a total of 13 C-14 age determinations from well-associated marine (B. sinistrum and S. alatus) and terrestrial (Odocoileus virginianus) samples from a closed context at the Bayou St. John (1BA21) archaeological site. We suggest a slightly updated.R value of -2 +/- 53 C-14 yr for late Holocene- age B. sinistrum from the northern Gulf Coast region. S. alatus, and possibly other species of strombid conchs, are poor candidates for C-14 dating due to the highly variable C-14 content observed within and among specimens. Though subregional variability in inputs of C-14-depleted waters is likely, life-history factors related to ontogenetic niche and/or habitat shifts appear to be a major influence in shell C-14 for S. alatus.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available