Open AccessThe 14 C age of the Toten‘ mammoth, eastern Norway
Author(s) -
FOLLESTAD BJØRN A.,
OLSSON INGRID U.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
boreas
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.95
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1502-3885
pISSN - 0300-9483
DOI - 10.1111/j.1502-3885.1979.tb00814.x
Subject(s) - mammoth , geology , archaeology , porosity , mineralogy , paleontology , geography , geotechnical engineering
A mammoth tusk find from Toten in Oppland, eastern Norway, has been re‐dated by the EDTA method. On examining the tusk for heavy metals, the porous parts were found to have the highest concentration. This fact, together with earlier experience from selecting bone samples for 14 C dating, favour the choice of the hard non‐porous parts. The influence of possible minor contaminants remaining after pretreatment is discussed. Because of high cosmic‐ray intensity the background deviated from the normal stable value. The variations were studied carefully. The final result is that the net activity of the bone is so close to zero that it is questionable whether the age is ‘finite’. It is concluded that the tusk is older than 28,000 years.