In archaeological dating, the greatest confidence is usually placed upon radiocarbon results of material that can be directly related to a defined archaeological event. Human bone should fulfill this requirement, but bone dates obtained from Pacific sites are often perceived as problematic due to the incorporation of 14C from a range of different reservoirs into the collagen via diet. In this paper, we present new human bone gelatin results for 2 burials from the SAC archaeological site on Watom Island, Papua New Guinea, and investigate the success of calibrating these determinations using dietary corrections obtained from d34S, d15N, and d13C isotopes.

After benzene synthesis, radiocarbon dating samples are usually stored for 34 weeks before counting to allow an eventual radon contamination to decay to a negligible level. This paper presents a technique that can minimize, and often eliminate, this delay by using a simple single-phototube liquid scintillation counting system, specifically designed for 14C dating. Radon contamination is assessed by pulses of 214Po (a 222Rn decay product, half-life 0.16 microseconds), identified through pulse-time analysis. For each 214Po pulse, 0.49 beta particle pulses of 214Pb and 214Bi fall in the 14C counting window, and the 214Po pulses are used to correct the 14C count rate. A 14C sample (count rate 11.6 cpm) was measured continuously for 16 days. It was then doped with radon, which increased the first 24-hr count rate in the 14C channel by 3.8 cpm, and the sample was measured for 27 more days. Radon did not measurably affect the 14C-corrected count rate. Counting a sample for 2 min reveals whether it needs storing. If the radon concentration is low, the sample can be measured immediately without degrading accuracy.

Rodger Sparks Retires, VIRI Results Needed, Upcoming Conferences

Radioactive nuclides such as radiocarbon can be good tracers for investigating the circulation of underground carbon and water. Volcanic gas can be sampled reliably for 14C analysis and prepared for analysis by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). In this paper, we establish a method for the measurement of 14C in volcanic gas, and measure the amounts of 14C in various volcanic gases. Samples of fumarolic gas from some Japanese volcanoes were found to contain 0.5 to 4.2 pMC, while those from White Island in New Zealand contained 2.6 pMC. Dissolved gas from Lake Nyos, Cameroon, contained 0.4 to 4.8 pMC. The data indicate a mixing process between surface carbon and deep carbon.

Archaeological investigations in the Republic of Palau, Micronesia, have produced 409 radiocarbon age determinations from cultural contexts, indicating a range of Palauan occupation from about 3000 yr ago into the modern era. However, these dates are scattered among numerous sources (many difficult to obtain) and are presented in a number of different formats and calibrations. The goal of this paper is to compile a usable, systematic database of all of these Palauan cultural 14C assays. This database will be suitable for developing and evaluating chronological models, an effort being undertaken as a separate paper. Prior to constructing prehistoric colonization and cultural chronologies for Palau, the validity of each assay and the relative adequacy in sample size per cultural and environmental zones must be examined. After systematic recalibration, the reliability of the dates is evaluated in light of sample material, cultural context, and site formation processes. A method for dating monumental earthwork complexes through site formation analysis is presented. Sets of 237 valid and 58 potentially valid 14C dates remain to develop chronological models. The representation of Palaus environmental zones, site types, and regions within the dating pool is examined and compared to ensure meaningfulness in these chronological models. Newly obtained 14C age determinations are also provided.

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates of pollen concentrate were obtained from multistage syngenetic ice wedges of cross-sections from the Late Pleistocene Bison site, located along the Lower Kolyma River (68 degrees 34'N, 158 degrees 34'E), from ~43,600 to ~26,200 BP, and 3 AMS 14C dates of pollen concentrate in ice wedges from the Seyaha site cross-section, located on the east coast of the Yamal Peninsula (70 degrees 10'N, 72 degrees 34'E), from ~22,400 to ~25,200 BP. Pollen concentrate samples were prepared using a special pretreatment procedure. Pollen and spores from ice-wedge ice signalize a regional pollen rain. Therefore, 14C-dated extracts of pollen and spores from ice-wedge ice enable an adequate reconstruction and chronology of landscape dynamics on a regional scale. The pollen and spores were well preserved despite numerous redepositions in the penecontemporaneous structure in which they were found. Thus, a comparison with dates on other fractions from the same sample is necessary. The youngest date is the most reliable among the intersample AMS 14C dates from the ice and permafrost sediments.

We present a Holocene radiocarbon chronology of hunter-gatherer occupation based on contemporaneous samples of charcoal and Mytilus californianus shell recovered from 7 archaeological sites near Bodega Bay, California, USA. A series of 127 14C ages reveals a chronological sequence that spans from 8940-110 cal BP (1 sigma). This sequence serves as a foundation for the interpretation of behavioral change along the northern California coast over the last 9000 yr, including the adaptive strategies used by human foragers to colonize and inhabit coastal areas of this region. These 14C ages will also permit us to explore major dimensions of temporal change in Holocene ocean conditions (via marine reservoir corrections) and their potential effect on the resources available to ancient hunter-gatherers.