African Baobabs with False Inner Cavities: The Radiocarbon Investigation of the Lebombo Eco Trail Baobab

Patrut, Adrian; Woodborne, Stephan; Reden, Karl F. von; Hall, Grant; Hofmeyr, Michele; Löwy, Daniel A.; Patrut, Roxana T.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0117193

Cited by 38 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…A study sampling wood from different aspects of a baobab tree with false cavities from Mozambique reveals that extant portions of the tree can be >1,300 years old (Patrut et al 2011;Patrut et al 2015). The study showed that single baobab trees can yield radiocarbon ages separated by hundreds of years, depending on the aspect of the tree that is sampled.…”

Section: Old Woodmentioning

confidence: 98%

Accuracy vs. Precision: Understanding Potential Errors from Radiocarbon Dating on African Landscapes

Wright¹

2017

Afr Archaeol Rev

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The application of radiocarbon dating to determine the geochronology of archaeological sites is ubiquitous across the African continent. Accelerator mass spectrometry has made radiocarbon dating the most precise method to determine the death of living organisms that occurred within the last 50,000 years. However, the method is not without limitations and this review article provides Africanist archaeologists with cautionary insights as to when, where, and how to utilize radiocarbon dates. Specifically, the review will concentrate on the potential of carbon reservoirs and recycled organic remains to inflate apparent age estimates, diagenesis of carbon isotopes in variable pH ecologies, and hot-humid climates and non-climate-controlled archives that can compromise the efficacy of samples. Legacy radiocarbon ages must be critically examined for what method was used to generate the age, and calibration radiocarbon ages from critical periods of African prehistory lack precision to resolve significant debates. A multipronged dating strategy and careful selection of radiocarbon sample materials are advocated from the earliest stages of research design.Résumé L'application de la datation par le carbone 14 pour déterminer la géochronologie des sites archéologiques est. omniprésente à travers le continent africain. La spectrométrie de masse a rendu la datation par le carbone 14 la méthode la plus précise pour déter-miner la mort d'organismes vivants ayant eux lieux au cours des 50,000 dernières années. Cependant, la méthode n'est. pas sans limites. Cette revue fournit les archéologues africanistes avec des appréciations et des mises en garde sur l'utilisation des âges radiocarbone. Plus précisément, cette revue se concentrera sur la possibilité que les estimations d'âge apparentes soient exagérées par la présence de réservoirs de carbone et de restes organiques recyclées, sur la diagenèse d'isotopes de carbone dans les écologies de pH variables, et sur les climats chauds et humides ainsi que les archives sans température contrôlée qui peuvent compromettre l'efficacité des échantillons. Les âges radiocarbone basés sur des données anciennes doivent être rigoureusement examinés pour en déduire la méthode employée dans la détermination d'âge. Egalement, les âges radiocarbone de calibration, issue de périodes critiques de la préhistoire africaine, manque la précision nécessaire pour résoudre des débats importants. Une stratégie de datation multiple et une sélection rigoureuse des matériaux d'échantillons de radiocarbone sont conseillées dès les premières étapes de la conception de la recherche.

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Section: Old Woodmentioning

confidence: 98%

Accuracy vs. Precision: Understanding Potential Errors from Radiocarbon Dating on African Landscapes

Wright¹

2017

Afr Archaeol Rev

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“…Then, CO 2 was reduced to graphite on iron catalyst, under hydrogen atmosphere. Finally, the resulting graphite samples were analysed by AMS [4,18,19].…”

Section: Sample Preparationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The research is based on our approach which also allows to investigate and date standing and live specimens. This approach involves the AMS radiocarbon dating of small wood samples collected from inner cavities and/or from deep incisions/entrances in the stems, fractured stems and from the outer part/exterior of large baobabs [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

African Baobabs with a Very Large Number of Stems and False Stems: Radiocarbon Investigation of the Baobab of Warang

Patrut¹,

Garnaud²,

Ka³

et al. 2017

Studia UBB Chemia

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ABSTRACT. The article presents the AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating results of the baobab of Warang, Senegal. The investigation of the baobab revealed that it consists of 18 partially fused stems, which represents the largest number of stems reported for an African baobab. Three stems build the ring that closes a false cavity, while 15 stems grow outside the ring. Seven wood samples were collected from the false cavity and from the outer part of other stems. The dating results evinced that the stems belong to four different generations, out of which the first generation is around 500 years old. We also documented the presence of false stems, which emerge from a large adjacent stem, are triangular in horizontal section and act as an anchor. The baobab of Warang possesses 12 ordinary stems and 6 false stems.

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“…We documented the open and closed ring-shaped structures, which are the most important architectures that enable African baobabs to reach old ages and large sizes. We also identified the presence of false cavities, which are large natural empty spaces between several fused stems disposed in a closed ring-shaped structure, which have never been filled with wood [9][10][11][12][13]. The oldest dated A. digitata specimens were found to have ages greater than 2000 yr [14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Final Radiocarbon Investigation of Platland Tree, the Biggest African Baobab

Patrut¹,

Woodborne²,

Patrut³

et al. 2017

Studia UBB Chemia

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ABSTRACT. The article discloses the main results of our new investigation of Platland tree, a.k.a. Sunland baobab, the largest known African baobab. Our recent research was motivated by the three successive splits of 2016 and 2017, which determined the collapse and demise of the stems that have built the main unit of the tree. According to our new findings concerning the architecture of large and old baobabs, we established that Platland tree has a double closed-ring shaped structure and consists of two units/rings that close two separate false cavities. The larger unit was composed of five fused stems, out of which four toppled and died, while the fifth stem is already broken. The smaller unit, which is still standing, consists of three fused stems. We also determined that the larger unit had an age of 800 yr, while the smaller unit is 1100 yr old.

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African Baobabs with False Inner Cavities: The Radiocarbon Investigation of the Lebombo Eco Trail Baobab

Cited by 38 publications

References 19 publications

Accuracy vs. Precision: Understanding Potential Errors from Radiocarbon Dating on African Landscapes

Accuracy vs. Precision: Understanding Potential Errors from Radiocarbon Dating on African Landscapes

African Baobabs with a Very Large Number of Stems and False Stems: Radiocarbon Investigation of the Baobab of Warang

Final Radiocarbon Investigation of Platland Tree, the Biggest African Baobab

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