Radiocarbon dating a bone that turned out to be a root, 2 weeks wasted

Spent two weeks cleaning and prepping what I thought was a deer femur from a dig near Flagstaff, only to realize it was a modern tree root that had stained exactly like bone. The lab results came back and the date was 2019, which made me question every step I took before sending it off. Has anyone else had a sample that looked perfect but was totally organic garbage, and how do you spot it faster next time?

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2 Comments

nelson.cameron23d agoMost Upvoted

Laughing at myself because I've absolutely done this, but with a piece of charcoal that turned out to be a burned pine cone from like 2008. You spend all that time babying the sample, wearing the gloves, sketching the stratigraphy, and then the lab just goes "yeah, that's a root, bud." I've started doing the sniff test now, which sounds dumb, but fresh roots have this damp, earthy smell that old bone just doesn't have. Also, I'll poke a tiny corner with a hot needle, if it melts or burns, it's plant material, bone will just scorch. Sorry about your two weeks, but welcome to the club where we've all been fooled by the lying dirt.

kevinc8423d ago

Hot needle trick seems like overkill for field work, honestly.