Der Süßwasser Reservoireffekt in der C-Datierung:neue Analysen und Mesolitische Kochexperimente

Summary

Cooking experiments in copies of Mesolithic pottery were performed to obtain food crust reference material for radiocarbon dating, stable isotope analysis and lipid analysis. Thick food crusts are often observed in the archaeological record. The formation of these food crusts is time and energy consuming when using ingredients such as fish, meat and plants. However, mixtures containing milk and/or starchy ingredients from these crusts quite easily. It is therefore suggested that the Mesolithic pottery was, among other things, used to prepare starchy ingredients. It is possible to extract lipids from both the ceramic sherds and the food crusts. These lipids can be radiocarbon dated, and their fatty acid composition can be analysed. Food crusts on pottery are often heavily affected by reservoir effect, regardless of the location of the site. On coastal sites, a marine reservoir effect of about 400 years can be expected for fully marine food crusts. Freshwater reservoir effects, in contrast, can be up to several thousand years. For future studies, it is thus planned to identify and date terrestrial lipids from pottery or food crusts.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• EXARC Experimental Archaeology Collection

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): EXARC Experimental Archaeology Collection Manager

Record Identifiers

ExArc Id(s): 14010

Notes

Rights & Attribution: The information in this record was originally compiled by Dr. Roeland Paardekooper, EXARC Director.