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Amino acid racemization dating of fossil bones, I. inter-laboratory comparison of racemization measurements

J.L. Bada·E. Hoopes·D. Darling·G. Dungworth·H.J. Kessels·K.A. Kvenvolden·D.J. Blunt
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Abstract

Enantiomeric measurements for aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and alanine in twenty-one different fossil bone samples have been carried out by three different laboratories using different analytical methods. These inter-laboratory comparisons demonstrate that D/L aspartic acid measurements are highly reproducible, whereas the enantiomeric measurements for the other amino acids show a wide variation between the three laboratories. At present, aspartic acid measurements are the most suitable for racemization dating of bone because of their superior analytical precision.

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J.L. Bada, E. Hoopes, D. Darling, G. Dungworth, H.J. Kessels, K.A. Kvenvolden, D.J. Blunt. 1979. Amino acid racemization dating of fossil bones, I. inter-laboratory comparison of racemization measurements. https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821x(79)90210-3

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