MARINE RESERVOIR EFFECT OF SPERMACETI, A WAX OBTAINED FROM THE HEAD OF THE SPERM WHALE: A FIRST ESTIMATION FROM MUSEUM SPECIMENS

• Published in: Radiocarbon
• Main Authors: Beck, Lucile, Caffy, Ingrid, Delque-Količ, Emmanuelle, Dumoulin, Jean-Pascal, Hain, Stéphane, Moreau, Christophe, Perron, Marion, Sieudat, Marc, Thellier, Bruno, van Hove, Charlotte
• Other Authors: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Laboratoire de mesure du carbone 14 (LMC14 - UMS 2572), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces; environment; Physeter macrocephalus; Sperm whale
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03866897; https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2022.79

International audience 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.