Quality controlled radiocarbon dating of bones and charcoal from the early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) of Motza (Israel)
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Radiocarbon dating of early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) deposits at the site of Motza, Israel, was achieved by first prescreening many charcoal and bone samples in order to identify those that are in the most suitable state of preservation for dating. For assessing bone preservation, we determined the collagen contents, and by infrared spectroscopy the collagen purity. The collagen samples of the best preserved bones were then further characterized by their C/N ratios and amino acid compositions. Prescreening of the charcoal samples involved monitoring the changes in infrared and Raman spectra during the acid-alkali-acid treatments. In some samples, we noted that the clay content increased with additional alkali treatments. These samples were rejected, as this could result in erroneous dates. No differences were observed in the 14 C dates between charcoal and bone collagen samples. The dates range from 10,600–10,100 cal BP, which is consistent with dates for the early PPNB from other sites. This is of much interest in terms of better understanding where and when domestication of animals began in this period, and how agriculture spread throughout the Levant.
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Charred seeds were pretreated with an acid-base-acid (ABA) procedure to remove all contaminants, following the methods of Yizhaq et al. (2005) and Rebollo et al. (2008).
“Charred seeds were pretreated with an acid-base-acid (ABA) procedure to remove all the contaminants, following the methods of Yizhaq et al. (2005) and Rebollo et al. (2008).”
From Absolute Chronology of Megiddo, Israel, in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages: High-Resolution Radiocarbon Dating (2014) · cites this paper as Yizhaq et al. (2005)
The Charcoal Purification section describes an acid-alkali-acid cleaning procedure, so the paper supports the methodological reference in part. It applies that procedure to charcoal, not charred seeds, and the Discussion says most removable humic acid was extracted but residual fluorescence remained; it does not establish removal of all contaminants. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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Research works printed but not linked: 18
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Yizhaq, M., Mintz, G., Cohen, I., Khalaily, H., Weiner, S., & Boaretto, E.
- Affiliations
- Weizmann Institute of Science (IL)
- Israel Antiquities Authority (IL)
- Corresponding author
- Boaretto, Elisabetta
- Venue
- Radiocarbon
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2005
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 193-206
- ISSN
- 0033-8222 (ISSN-L)
- 1945-5755
- OpenAlex
- W1839041501
- Cited by
- 129
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 3.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Radiocarbon (publishedVersion)
- UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona) (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (0115488)
- Harvard University
- Arizona State University
- University of Cambridge
- La Trobe University
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil and Environmental Studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Archaeological and Geological Studies
- Keywords
- Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, bone collagen, charcoal, radiocarbon dating, amino acid composition, clay contamination, animal domestication, ancient agriculture, Levant
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