A compound-specific radiocarbon dating protocol for archaeological pottery at the ORAU

Journal article

Radiocarbon dating is essential for establishing robust chronologies in archaeological and paleoenvironmental contexts spanning the last 55,000 years. Pottery, pervasive in the archaeological record, offers a crucial framework for dating human activity during the Holocene. Traditionally, radiocarbon dating of pottery has relied on targeting carbonaceous inclusions such as organic temper or measuring stratigraphically associated materials like bone and charcoal. Inaccuracies can arise, however, if the targeted fraction does not reflect the timing of vessel use or if stratigraphic associations are uncertain. An alternative involves radiocarbon dating of lipid residues, particularly fatty acids absorbed into the ceramic matrix during the processing and storage of plant and animal-derived resources. This approach holds promise for delivering highly accurate measurements directly correlating to vessel use. At the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, efforts have been made to develop this methodology through compound-specific radiocarbon dating of pottery, employing a gas chromatography (GC)-preparative fraction collector (PFC) approach. Here, we describe the protocol and present preliminary findings, including analyses conducted on pottery samples sourced from an archaeological site with an established chronology.

Authors: Ma, Q; Lai, KL; Bentley, MR; Chivall, D; Wood, R

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Journal: Radiocarbon: An International Journal of Cosmogenic Isotope Research
• Pages: 1-10
• Publication date: 2026-04-06
• Acceptance date: 2025-11-06
• DOI: 10.1017/rdc.2026.10192
• EISSN: 1945-5755
• ISSN: 0033-8222
• Language: English
• Keywords: dibutyl phthalate; radiocarbon dating; ceramics; compound-specific; lipids