DO WEAK OR STRONG ACIDS REMOVE CARBONATE CONTAMINATION FROM ANCIENT TOOTH ENAMEL MORE EFFECTIVELY? THE EFFECT OF ACID PRETREATMENT ON RADIOCARBON AND δ¹³C ANALYSES

In hot environments, collagen, which is normally targeted when radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating bone, rapidly degrades. With little other skeletal material suitable for 14 C dating, it can be impossible to obtain dates directly on skeletal materials. A small amount of carbonate occurs in hydroxyapatite, the mineral phase of bone and tooth enamel, and has been used as an alternative to collagen. Unfortunately, the mineral phase is often heavily...