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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
earth and planetary sciences
Stable carbon isotope ratios from archaeological charcoal as palaeoenvironmental indicators
Chemical Geology, Volume 247, No. 3-4, Year 2008
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Description
The potential to provide environmental proxies using stable carbon isotopes from modern and archaeological charcoal is explored. Experiments on modern Podocarpus (Yellowwoods) show that δ13C values of stems, branches and charcoal preserve proxy environmental conditions, including rainfall, humidity and temperature. An additional experiment showed that combustion temperature affects the carbon isotope signature of charcoal. Burning at 450 °C to 500 °C depletes δ13C values with respect to the original wood, but the charcoal retains the seasonal and inter-annual isotopic trends recorded during the growth of the tree. The δ13C of Podocarpus charcoal from three levels from the Middle Stone Age site of Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, was compared with modern analogues from two different environments, Seaton Park (KwaZulu-Natal) and the Baviaans Kloof (Eastern Cape). Other environmental proxies from levels dated from > 70 ka and ~ 48 ka, show that environmental conditions changed from warmer and wetter to colder and drier and finally becoming warmer and drier. The isotope data is consistent with this reconstruction. The results from this series of experiments indicate that it is possible to obtain meaningful palaeoenvironmental information from δ13C values of archaeological charcoal. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Hall, Grant
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of the Witwatersrand
South Africa, Pretoria
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
Woodborne, Stephan M.
South Africa, Pretoria
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
Scholes, Mary C.
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of the Witwatersrand
Statistics
Citations: 77
Authors: 3
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.chemgeo.2007.11.001
ISSN:
00092541
Research Areas
Environmental
Study Approach
Quantitative
Study Locations
South Africa