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Detecting stratigraphical issues using direct radiocarbon dating from small-mammal remains |
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| Authors: | Juan Rofes Sophie Cersoy Antoine Zazzo Aurelien Royer Pierre-Yves Nicod Veronique Laroulandie Mathieu Langlais Yvan Pailler Celine Leandri Franck Leandri Matthieu Lebon Anne Tresset |
| Affiliation: | 1. Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE, UMR 7209), Sorbonne Universités, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Paris, France;2. Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation (CRC), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, Paris, France;3. Biogéosciences, UMR 6282 CNRS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, EPHE, Dijon, France;4. Laboratoire d'archéologie préhistorique et anthropologie, Université de Genève, Institut F.-A. Forel, Geneva, Switzerland;5. PACEA, UMR 5199 du CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France;6. INRAP, UMR 8215 Trajectoires, LTSER France, Zone Atelier ‘Brest-Iroise’, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, Technopôle Brest-Iroise, Plouzané, France;7. DRAC, Service de l'Archéologie de Corse, Ajaccio, France UMR 5608, TRACES, Maison de la Recherche, Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France;8. Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique (HNHP), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7194 CNRS, Université Perpignan Via Domitia, Paris, France;9. Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE, UMR 7209), Sorbonne Universités, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Paris, France Deceased. |
| Abstract: | Frequently preserved in archaeological and palaeontological sites, the tiny size of small-mammal remains favours percolations into underlying layers along stratigraphic sequences. This is one of the various post-depositional processes that may affect the integrity of the original deposits and therefore the subsequent scientific interpretations. Recent developments in sample preparation offer the possibility of detecting intrusive episodes through the absolute dating of minute amounts of bone (down to 10 mg), meaning that isolated elements (such as mandibles in this case) are sufficient to obtain reliable radiocarbon dates if collagen is moderately to well preserved. The radiocarbon dates obtained here for small-mammal bones (recovered from pre-Bølling to recent deposits) and their comparison with previous dates obtained from other sources (large-mammal bones, charcoal, botanical samples, etc.), with different protocols and instruments, illustrate the potential of small-mammal dating to reveal (and eventually contribute a solution to) stratigraphical issues in different archaeological contexts. |
| Keywords: | absolute dates archaeology intrusive episodes small mammals stratigraphic sequences |