Improving the 14c dating of marine shells from the Canary Islands for constructing more reliable and accurate chronologies

• Published in: Radiocarbon
• Main Authors: Matos Martins, Jose M., Mederos Martin, Alfredo, Cesario Portela, Paulo J., Monge Soares, Antonio M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Univ Arizona Dept Geosciences 2012
• Subjects: Institute radiocarbon-dates; Coastal waters; North-Atlantic; Upwelling region; Age calibration; Reservoir; Holocene; Samples; Ocean; Bp; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/12059; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200047585

Radiocarbon dating of closely associated marine mollusk shells and terrestrial material (charred wood or bone) collected from archaeological contexts on Tenerife and Fuerteventura islands allowed us to quantify the marine C-14 reservoir effect (Delta R) around the Canary Archipelago. Coastal Fuerteventura has a positive weighted mean Delta R value of +185 +/- 30 C-14 yr, while for Tenerife a range of negative and positive values was obtained, resulting in a Delta R weighted mean value of 0 +/- 35 C-14 yr. These values are in accordance with the hydrodynamic system present off the Canary Islands characterized by a coastal upwelling regime that affects the eastern islands (Fuerteventura and Lanzarote) but not the other islands of the archipelago, namely Tenerife. Because of this oceanographic pattern, we recommend the extrapolation of these results to the remaining islands of the archipelago, i.e. the first value must be used for the eastern islands, while for the central and western islands the acceptable Delta R value is 0 +/- 35 C-14 yr.