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Mussels with Meat: Bivalve Tissue-Shell Radiocarbon Age Differences and Archaeological Implications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Ricardo Fernandes ,
Stefanie Bergemann ,
Sönke Hartz ,
Pieter M Grootes ,
Marie-Josée Nadeau ,
Frank Melzner ,
Andrzej Rakowski  and
Matthias Hüls
Ricardo Fernandes*
Affiliation:
Leibniz Laboratory for Radiometric Dating and Isotope Research, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany Graduate School Human Development in Landscapes, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
Stefanie Bergemann
Affiliation:
Graduate School Human Development in Landscapes, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
Sönke Hartz
Affiliation:
Stiftung Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesmuseen Schloss Gottorf, Schleswig, Germany
Pieter M Grootes
Affiliation:
Leibniz Laboratory for Radiometric Dating and Isotope Research, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany Graduate School Human Development in Landscapes, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
Marie-Josée Nadeau
Affiliation:
Leibniz Laboratory for Radiometric Dating and Isotope Research, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany Graduate School Human Development in Landscapes, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
Frank Melzner
Affiliation:
Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research (GEOMAR), Department of Marine Ecology, Kiel, Germany
Andrzej Rakowski
Affiliation:
Leibniz Laboratory for Radiometric Dating and Isotope Research, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
Matthias Hüls
Affiliation:
Leibniz Laboratory for Radiometric Dating and Isotope Research, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
*
Corresponding author. Email: rfernandes@gshdl.uni-kiel.de
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Abstract

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Local reservoir ages are often estimated from the difference between the radiocarbon ages of aquatic material and associated terrestrial samples for which no reservoir effect is expected. Frequently, the selected aquatic material consists of bivalve shells that are typically well preserved in the archaeological record. For instance, large shell middens attest to the importance of mussel consumption at both coastal and inland sites. However, different physiological mechanisms associated with tissue and shell growth may result in differences in reservoir effects between the surviving component (shell) and the component relevant to dietary reservoir effects in consumers (tissue). The current study examines bivalve tissue-shell age differences both from freshwater and marine contexts close to archaeological sites where human consumption of mollusks has been attested. Results exhibited significant 14C age differences between bivalve tissue and shell in a freshwater context. In a marine context, no significant bivalve tissue-shell age differences were observed. The results also showed that riverine and lacustrine shells show large and variable freshwater reservoir effects. The results have important implications for establishing local reservoir effects especially in a freshwater environment. For good a priori knowledge of expected 14C differences in organic and inorganic water, carbon is thus necessary. Furthermore, the high variability in freshwater shell 14C ages implies the need for representative sampling from the archaeological record.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 54 , Issue 3-4 , 2012 , pp. 953 - 965
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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