Comparative Radiocarbon Analysis of Wood Components: Validation of the Catalytic Peroxide Oxidation Method and Dendrochronological Control
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The article provides an improved protocol for sample preparation of wood for radiocarbon dating using the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), based on catalytic peroxide oxidation of organic substances (CPO). The study was carried out using the material from two chronological groups: 1) samples of modern pine (Kolyvan, Ust-Kan) for methodological verification of the approach and 2) archaeological larch from the Ulandryk IV burial ground to verify the result consistency with the independent dendrochronological data. To quantitatively assess the discrepancies in radiocarbon ages between wood, charcoal, and cellulose, a comparative radiocarbon dating and carbon isotope analysis was performed on the same samples using three types of materials: 1) untreated wood, 2) charcoal produced in the laboratory by pyrolysis, and 3) cellulose extracted using the CPO method. It was established that cellulose dating provides high consistency with dendrochronological dates, whereas analysis of untreated wood leads to systematic errors. To improve the reliability of determinations, the isotopic control is recommended: determining the isotopic shift δ¹³C of cellulose to detect the presence of contaminants that could potentially distort the age of the objects.
Authors: O. V. Ershova, K. A. Babina, E. V. Parkhomchuk
Subfield: Paleontology
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7208727100
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