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Freshwater Radiocarbon Reservoir Effects at the Burial Ground of Minino, Northwest Russia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 January 2016

R E Wood ,
T F G Higham ,
A Buzilhova ,
A Suvorov ,
J Heinemeier  and
J Olsen
R E Wood*
Affiliation:
1Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia 2Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
T F G Higham
Affiliation:
2Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom 3Keble College, Oxford, United Kingdom
A Buzilhova
Affiliation:
4Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia 5Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
A Suvorov
Affiliation:
6Vologda State Museum, Vologda, Russia
J Heinemeier
Affiliation:
7AMS 14C Dating Centre, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
J Olsen
Affiliation:
7AMS 14C Dating Centre, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
*
Corresponding author. Email: rachel.wood@anu.edu.au.
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Abstract

If ancient carbon is incorporated into lakes and rivers, it can be transferred along the foodchain where it can cause radiocarbon dates to appear erroneously old. This effect is known as the 14C freshwater reservoir effect (FRE), and causes particular problems when dating human remains. Several studies have attempted to use carbon and/or nitrogen stable isotopes to predict the size of the FRE, with mixed success. We have examined whether the FRE at the Mesolithic-Neolithic burial ground of Minino, northwest Russia, is correlated with these stable isotope systems. To assess the size of the FRE, 9 pairs of human bone and burial goods were dated, such as spears and pendants made of herbivore bone. In addition, further human and faunal bones were analyzed for carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. Although these stable isotopes suggest that freshwater resources dominated the protein intake of those buried at Minino, no relationship between stable isotopes and the FRE was found. Instead, we found that the FRE was relatively consistent at 490 ± 80 14C yr. With caution, this can be subtracted from burials at Minino to provide a low-resolution chronology for the burial ground. We demonstrate that it is not possible to assume that a relationship exists between stable isotopes and 14C, and each population thought to be affected by a FRE must be examined individually.

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Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 55 , Issue 1 , 2013 , pp. 163 - 177
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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