Eversheds new technique allows researchers to directly radiocarbon date animal fat residue on pottery. His team is able to isolate compounds from samples of pottery that weigh as little as two grams and to detect the minuscule amount of fatty-acid carbon remaining in the residues left by milk, cheese, or meat.

Can clay pottery be carbon dated?

When pottery and ceramic could be carbon dated. As datable carbon concentration in pottery could be at level of 0.5% - 2.0% it is required to concentrate it and transform into counting media.

How is Clay dated?

The dating procedure involves measuring the mass of a sample of ceramic and then heating it to around 500 degrees Celsius in a furnace, which removes the water. The re-fired ceramic is then weighed immediately, using a highly accurate microbalance, to determine precisely the rate of water recombination.