Beta Analytic Lab Updates

We hope you have had a fruitful field season! Questions about complex samples? Our support team is always available to discuss your radiocarbon dating needs and advise on a dating strategy that helps you make the best use of your budget.

Interesting Findings

Llamas on the Land: Production and Consumption of Meat at Chavín de Huántar, Peru published in December 2016 by Silvana A. Rosenfeld and Matthew P. Sayre in Society for American Archaeology

The results from analysis of a large camelid sample from the La Banda sector of the Middle Formative (1000-500 BCE) Peruvian site of Chavín de Huántar demonstrate that imported ch’arki (dried meat) was not the main source of camelid meat for consumption at the site, as previously thought. The new zooarchaeological evidence from the La Banda sector shows that multiple production strategies occurred at Chavín de Huántar demonstrating the socioeconomic complexity of the people who lived and worked around the monumental center.

The Methuselah of plant diaspores: Sphagnum spores can survive in nature for centuries published in April 2017 by Zhao-Jun Bu, Sebastian Sundberg, Lu Feng, Hong-Kai Li, Hong-Yan Zhao and Hong-Chun Li in New Phytologist

The authors of this study analyzed the viability of Sphagnum spore in peat cores of up to 0.5 m in depth from two peatland microhabitats located at Hani Peatland in northeast China, a 17 km2 transitional mire. The peat core chronology was established using three dating methods: radiocarbon (14C), caesium-137 (137Cs), lead-210 (210Pb). The results show that a high percentage of the c. 170 and 680 year-old spores from cores taken from a hummock and a hollow, respectively, were still able to germinate, and this shows that Sphagnum can form an extremely long-term persistent spore bank.

Service Upgrades at Beta Analytic

Translated analytical reports coming soon
Following the launch earlier this year of our new calibration reports that give likelihoods for each calibrated range using the high probability density range (HPD) method, we will soon be reporting results online in German, Spanish, French, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Turkish, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Japanese.

Updates on our secure online results portal
We have been busy making our secure online portal even more convenient for you.

  • You can now add colored tags to your archive to separate reports by project, publication or excavation.
  • With our new online tracking system, you will soon be able to track the progress of your samples from submittal of the online form, to receipt of samples, analysis in the lab and publication of results.

Reminder: online sample form
We encourage you to use our online sample form, which makes it easy for you to submit sample information and special instructions to our lab team and securely transfer payment information.

Drop by our Booth to Meet our Team at:

– ACRA 2017, Philadelphia, PA – September 7-10, 2017
– Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG) 60th Annual Meeting, Colorado Springs, CO – September 9-17, 2017
– 75th Annual Plains Anthropological Conference, Bismarck, ND – October 4-7, 2017
– Midwest Archaeological Conference, Indianapolis, IN – October 19–21, 2017
– GSA 2017, Seattle, WA – October 22-25, 2017
– SEAC, Tulsa, OK – November 8-11, 2017
– AGU Fall Meeting 2017, New Orleans, LA – December 11-15, 2017

What can Beta Analytic do for you?

  • Fast turnaround times (3-14 business days) help you make educated decisions on the field
  • ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited Quality Assurance reports: unquestionable data for high-end publication
  • Analyse only the most suitable samples with our expert lab consultation
  • Peace of mind when shipping samples internationally with our local forwarding facilities