Collagen Fingerprinting: A New Screening Technique for Radiocarbon Dating Ancient Bone.

ABSTRACT: Collagen is the dominant organic component of bone and is intimately locked within the hydroxyapatite structure of this ubiquitous biomaterial that dominates archaeological and palaeontological assemblages. Radiocarbon analysis of extracted collagen is one of the most common approaches to dating bone from late Pleistocene or Holocene deposits, but dating is relatively expensive compared to other biochemical techniques. Numerous analytical methods have previously been investigated for the purpose of screening out samples that are unlikely to yield reliable dates including histological analysis, UV-stimulated fluorescence and, most commonly, the measurement of percentage nitrogen (%N) and ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C:N). Here we propose the use of collagen fingerprinting (also known as Zoo

SUBMITTER: Harvey VL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4777535 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature