Abstract
Unlike wood charcoal, as found admixed to other cultural remains, ostrich eggshells can be of more direct significance in 14C dating, especially if they were processed to form, eg, eggshell beads. Normally the time span between laying the egg and working the shell beads is short enough to be negligible for 14C dating purposes. Another advantage of eggshell dating is that the carbonate of the shell seems to keep exceptionally well over the millennia, whereas, especially in surface sites in a desert environment, organic material such as wood, charcoal or bone protein tends to decompose. With few comparative test samples, we thought ostrich egg samples would yield 14C dates somewhat too young. The deviation is, however, balanced by performing 13C analyses and a correction for isotope fractionation of ca 350yr.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
