Re-dating the Lower Pecos Canyonlands SMM (Skiles) mummy burial, dating a red-colored deerskin strap
dc.contributor.author
Rowe, Marvin W.
dc.contributor.author
Blinman, Eric
dc.contributor.author
Wacker, Lukas
dc.contributor.author
Welte, Caroline
dc.date.accessioned
2021-10-21T14:49:59Z
dc.date.available
2021-10-18T04:01:17Z
dc.date.available
2021-10-21T14:49:59Z
dc.date.issued
2021-12
dc.identifier.issn
2352-409X
dc.identifier.issn
2352-4103
dc.identifier.other
10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103197
en_US
dc.identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/510227
dc.description.abstract
An early 1980s University of Texas (UT) radiocarbon (14C) decay-based assay of colon contents from mummy SMM recovered from southwest Texas (41VV656) placed the death at 1150 ± 70 14C years ago. This mummy of a “relatively tall, gracile adult male” was discussed in some detail in a comprehensive paper on Late Archaic mortuary practices in the Lower Pecos River region. The megacolon of the mummy was described as a condition that is usually associated with Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. A red colored deerskin strap had encircled the mummy, restraining the distended colon, and a portion of the strap was submitted for additional radiocarbon dating to test the reliability of the original UT date. Using low energy plasma radiocarbon sampling (LEPRS) at the Office of Archaeological Studies, Center for New Mexico Archaeology, we extracted CO2 by oxidation of organic material from four pieces of the strap and obtained eight 14C dates at the ETH-Zürich MICADAS AMS facility. Multiple samples were prepared to deal with the possibility of contamination from lacquer/shellac/varnish that was probably applied during the 1930s and of contamination from decades of handing. Our best estimate of the age of that burial is an average of four dates on a piece of the strap where all surfaces had been physically removed to avoid potential surface contamination. This average is 780 ± 30 14C years BP, 370 years more recent than the previous UT determination. It is likely that the original radiocarbon date is incorrect, and the difference is consistent with two other redatings of UT 14C dated contexts where more recent assays have been roughly 400 years younger when compared to the UT laboratory dates.
en_US
dc.language.iso
en
en_US
dc.publisher
Elsevier
en_US
dc.subject
Mummy SMM
en_US
dc.subject
Radiocarbon dates
en_US
dc.subject
Plasma oxidation carbon extraction
en_US
dc.subject
Dating discrepancy
en_US
dc.subject
Nondestructive 14C dating
en_US
dc.title
Re-dating the Lower Pecos Canyonlands SMM (Skiles) mummy burial, dating a red-colored deerskin strap
en_US
dc.type
Journal Article
ethz.journal.title
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
ethz.journal.volume
40
en_US
ethz.journal.issue
Part A
en_US
ethz.pages.start
103197
en_US
ethz.size
7 p.
en_US
ethz.identifier.wos
ethz.identifier.scopus
ethz.publication.place
Oxford
en_US
ethz.publication.status
published
en_US
ethz.leitzahl
ETH Zürich::00002 - ETH Zürich::00012 - Lehre und Forschung::00007 - Departemente::02330 - Dep. Erd- und Planetenwissenschaften / Dep. of Earth and Planetary Sciences::02704 - Geologisches Institut / Geological Institute::03868 - Eglinton, Timothy I. / Eglinton, Timothy I.
ethz.leitzahl
ETH Zürich::00002 - ETH Zürich::00012 - Lehre und Forschung::00007 - Departemente::02010 - Dep. Physik / Dep. of Physics::02532 - Institut für Teilchen- und Astrophysik / Inst. Particle Physics and Astrophysics::08619 - Labor für Ionenstrahlphysik (LIP) / Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics (LIP)
ethz.leitzahl.certified
ETH Zürich::00002 - ETH Zürich::00012 - Lehre und Forschung::00007 - Departemente::02330 - Dep. Erd- und Planetenwissenschaften / Dep. of Earth and Planetary Sciences::02704 - Geologisches Institut / Geological Institute::03868 - Eglinton, Timothy I. / Eglinton, Timothy I.
ethz.leitzahl.certified
ETH Zürich::00002 - ETH Zürich::00012 - Lehre und Forschung::00007 - Departemente::02010 - Dep. Physik / Dep. of Physics::02532 - Institut für Teilchen- und Astrophysik / Inst. Particle Physics and Astrophysics::08619 - Labor für Ionenstrahlphysik (LIP) / Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics (LIP)
ethz.date.deposited
2021-10-18T04:01:26Z
ethz.source
SCOPUS
ethz.eth
yes
en_US
ethz.availability
Metadata only
en_US
ethz.rosetta.installDate
2021-10-21T14:50:06Z
ethz.rosetta.lastUpdated
2022-03-29T14:24:31Z
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true
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true
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Journal Article [130185]