Using accelerator mass spectrometry for radiocarbon dating of textiles
Since 1981 we have operated an NSF Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) Facility at the University of Arizona. The AMS method allows us to use very small samples of carbon, <1 mg for radiocarbon dating in contrast to earlier counting techniques. This has opened a vast array of applications of radiocarbon dating that was difficult to do before AMS because of sample size limitations of decay counting. Some of the many applications of AMS include paleoclimatic studies, archaeological research and the age of first settlement of North America by man, dating of art works and artifacts, fall times and terrestrial residence ages of meteorites, production of {sup 14}C in lunar samples by galactic and solar cosmic rays, studies of in situ {sup 14}C produced by cosmic ray spallation in rocks and ice, and studies of {sup 14}C in groundwater dissolved inorganic carbon and dissolved organic carbon. At our laboratory, we have also successfully applied AMS {sup 14}C to dating of many types of textiles, including silks and linens, art works, documents and artifacts fabricated from wood, parchment, ivory, and bone. The results for many of these samples are often important in questions of the authenticity of these works of art and artifacts. Our studies have encompassed a wide range of art works ranging from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Shroud of Turin, and the Chinese silk trade to the works of Raphael, Rembrandt, and Picasso. Recently, we also dated the Vinland Map, a controversial document that shows the eastern coast of North America apparently using information from Viking voyages.
- OSTI ID:
- 552695
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-971125-; ISSN 0003-018X; TRN: 98:001901
- Journal Information:
- Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Vol. 77; Conference: 1997 American Nuclear Society (ANS) winter meeting, Albuquerque, NM (United States), 16-20 Nov 1997; Other Information: PBD: 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
RADIOCARBON DATING
Investigations of paleoclimate variations using accelerator mass spectrometry