Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory Core Support for Archaeometry

在美国，亚利桑那大学开创了串联加速器质谱仪（TAMS）放射性碳测年的先河。这项技术对考古学家和其他科学家来说很重要，因为它允许测量极小的样本。朗博士的实验室负责为TAMS和传统的beta计数机准备样本。在三年的额外支持下，该实验室将继续自己的研究，并为用户社区提供服务功能。它将进行一系列专门的研究项目。该实验室开发了从骨骼中提取和净化有机成分的技术。这些样品已被证明提供可靠的TAMS日期。这种对骨骼工作的关注将继续下去。重点还将放在北美早期栽培的年代，以阐明史前农业的发展。测年在考古研究中是至关重要的，TAMS技术的发展提供了一个重大突破，因为它放宽了对样本大小的要求。由于亚利桑那州的工作，许多新问题可以解决，许多问题已经得到了回答。在这个过程中，很明显，一个主要问题在于样品制备；日期不能比放在机器里的样品更好。朗博士的实验室已经并将继续在这一领域取得重大进展。这个项目很重要，因为它不仅为考古学家提供了基本和必要的服务，也为从事广泛学科工作的科学家提供了服务。

Within the United States, the University of Arizona has pioneered Tandem Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (TAMS) radiocarbon dating. This technique is important to archaeologists and other scientists because it permits extremely small samples to be measured. Dr. Long's laboratory is responsible for preparing samples for both the TAMS and conventional beta counting machines. With an additional three years of support, this laboratory will both continue its own research and provide a service function to the user community. It will pursue a series of specialized research projects. The laboratory has developed techniques for extracting and purifying organic components from bone. Such samples have been shown to give reliable TAMS dates. This focus on bone work will continue. Emphasis will also be placed on dating early cultigens from North America to elucidate the prehistoric development of agriculture. Dating is crucial in archaeological research, and the development of TAMS technique has provided a major breakthrough because of relaxed sample size requirements. Many new questions could be addressed and many have been answered because of the Arizona work. In the process it has become clear that a major problem lies in sample preparation; dates can be no better than the samples placed in the machine. Dr. Long's laboratory has made and continues to make major strides in this area. This project is important because it provides a basic and necessary service not only to archaeologists but also to scientists working in a wide range of disciplines.