Tests for Diagenesis in Tooth Enamel: ESR Dating Signals and Carbonate Contents

We have tested whether tooth enamel might be altered during burial by focusing on the carbonate content and electron spin resonance (ESR) signals used for dating. Since oxidized carbon atoms (CO2or CO3moieties) in the apatite lattice give rise to the ESR dating signal as a function of absorbed radiation dose, inward or outward carbonate mobility would induce changes in the radiation sensitivity of the ESR dating signal. We used manometry and …