MARINE RESERVOIR EFFECT OF SPERMACETI, A WAX OBTAINED FROM THE HEAD OF THE SPERM WHALE: A FIRST ESTIMATION FROM MUSEUM SPECIMENS
ABSTRACT Spermaceti is a waxy substance found in the head cavities of sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus and P. catodon ). This substance had a variety of commercial applications from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century, such as candles, soap, cosmetics and other compounds. S...
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2022
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/rdc.2022.79 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033822222000790 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/rdc.2022.79 2024-09-15T18:30:30+00:00 MARINE RESERVOIR EFFECT OF SPERMACETI, A WAX OBTAINED FROM THE HEAD OF THE SPERM WHALE: A FIRST ESTIMATION FROM MUSEUM SPECIMENS Beck, Lucile Caffy, Ingrid Delqué-Količ, Emmanuelle Dumoulin, Jean-Pascal Hain, Stéphane Moreau, Christophe Perron, Marion Sieudat, Marc Thellier, Bruno Van Hove, Charlotte 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/rdc.2022.79 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033822222000790 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Radiocarbon volume 64, issue 6, page 1607-1616 ISSN 0033-8222 1945-5755 journal-article 2022 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/rdc.2022.79 2024-07-31T04:02:57Z ABSTRACT Spermaceti is a waxy substance found in the head cavities of sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus and P. catodon ). This substance had a variety of commercial applications from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century, such as candles, soap, cosmetics and other compounds. Spermaceti was also occasionally used as wax for modeling sculptures. In order to date such artworks the marine reservoir effect (MRE) has to be considered. The chemical library of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris, France) contains samples of spermaceti studied by the French chemist M. E. Chevreul (1786–1889) at the beginning of the 19th century. Eight samples of substances preserved in their original containers were 14 C dated. According to the whaling practices and the publications of Chevreul, we estimated that the spermaceti samples came from whales caught between 1805 and 1815. AMS 14 C dating results are from 550 to 1180 ± 30 BP, R values between 393 and 1023 (± 34) 14 C yr and ΔR between –168 and 504 (± 60) 14 C yr. The values presented here are the first ever obtained for spermaceti. However, being based on museum specimens, further measurements on crude material would be necessary to refine these results. Article in Journal/Newspaper Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale Cambridge University Press Radiocarbon 64 6 1607 1616 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
ABSTRACT Spermaceti is a waxy substance found in the head cavities of sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus and P. catodon ). This substance had a variety of commercial applications from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century, such as candles, soap, cosmetics and other compounds. Spermaceti was also occasionally used as wax for modeling sculptures. In order to date such artworks the marine reservoir effect (MRE) has to be considered. The chemical library of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris, France) contains samples of spermaceti studied by the French chemist M. E. Chevreul (1786–1889) at the beginning of the 19th century. Eight samples of substances preserved in their original containers were 14 C dated. According to the whaling practices and the publications of Chevreul, we estimated that the spermaceti samples came from whales caught between 1805 and 1815. AMS 14 C dating results are from 550 to 1180 ± 30 BP, R values between 393 and 1023 (± 34) 14 C yr and ΔR between –168 and 504 (± 60) 14 C yr. The values presented here are the first ever obtained for spermaceti. However, being based on museum specimens, further measurements on crude material would be necessary to refine these results. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Beck, Lucile Caffy, Ingrid Delqué-Količ, Emmanuelle Dumoulin, Jean-Pascal Hain, Stéphane Moreau, Christophe Perron, Marion Sieudat, Marc Thellier, Bruno Van Hove, Charlotte |
spellingShingle |
Beck, Lucile Caffy, Ingrid Delqué-Količ, Emmanuelle Dumoulin, Jean-Pascal Hain, Stéphane Moreau, Christophe Perron, Marion Sieudat, Marc Thellier, Bruno Van Hove, Charlotte MARINE RESERVOIR EFFECT OF SPERMACETI, A WAX OBTAINED FROM THE HEAD OF THE SPERM WHALE: A FIRST ESTIMATION FROM MUSEUM SPECIMENS |
author_facet |
Beck, Lucile Caffy, Ingrid Delqué-Količ, Emmanuelle Dumoulin, Jean-Pascal Hain, Stéphane Moreau, Christophe Perron, Marion Sieudat, Marc Thellier, Bruno Van Hove, Charlotte |
author_sort |
Beck, Lucile |
title |
MARINE RESERVOIR EFFECT OF SPERMACETI, A WAX OBTAINED FROM THE HEAD OF THE SPERM WHALE: A FIRST ESTIMATION FROM MUSEUM SPECIMENS |
title_short |
MARINE RESERVOIR EFFECT OF SPERMACETI, A WAX OBTAINED FROM THE HEAD OF THE SPERM WHALE: A FIRST ESTIMATION FROM MUSEUM SPECIMENS |
title_full |
MARINE RESERVOIR EFFECT OF SPERMACETI, A WAX OBTAINED FROM THE HEAD OF THE SPERM WHALE: A FIRST ESTIMATION FROM MUSEUM SPECIMENS |
title_fullStr |
MARINE RESERVOIR EFFECT OF SPERMACETI, A WAX OBTAINED FROM THE HEAD OF THE SPERM WHALE: A FIRST ESTIMATION FROM MUSEUM SPECIMENS |
title_full_unstemmed |
MARINE RESERVOIR EFFECT OF SPERMACETI, A WAX OBTAINED FROM THE HEAD OF THE SPERM WHALE: A FIRST ESTIMATION FROM MUSEUM SPECIMENS |
title_sort |
marine reservoir effect of spermaceti, a wax obtained from the head of the sperm whale: a first estimation from museum specimens |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/rdc.2022.79 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033822222000790 |
genre |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
genre_facet |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
op_source |
Radiocarbon volume 64, issue 6, page 1607-1616 ISSN 0033-8222 1945-5755 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/rdc.2022.79 |
container_title |
Radiocarbon |
container_volume |
64 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
1607 |
op_container_end_page |
1616 |
_version_ |
1810471972731092992 |