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Comparative Radiocarbon Dating of Lignite, Pottery, and Charcoal Samples from Babeldaob Island, Republic of Palau

2005; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 47; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s0033822200052139

1945-5755

Atholl Anderson, John Chappell, Geoffrey Clark, Sarah Phear,

Geology and Paleoclimatology Research

It is difficult to construct archaeological chronologies for Babeldaob, the main island of Palau (western Micronesia), because the saprolitic clays of the dominant terraced-hill sites and associated ceramic sherds often contain old carbon that originated in lignites. This has implications, as well, for chronologies of sedimentary sequences. Comparative analysis of the dating problem using lignite, pottery, and charcoal samples indicates that, in fact, there are both old and young sources of potential contamination. It is concluded that radiocarbon samples from Babeldaob need to be tested for appropriate carbon content rather than relying solely upon material identification.