Marine Reservoir Effects Deduced from 14C Dates on Pottery Residues, Bones, and Molluskan Shells from the Hamanaka 2 Archaeological Site, Rebun Island, Hokkaido, Japan

This article investigates the marine reservoir effects from apparent age differences among molluskan shells, birds, and sea mammals from the Hamanaka 2 archaeological site, Rebun Island, Japan, which was occupied during the latter half of the Late Jomon period (1300-1200 cal BC). The radiocarbon ages were younger in the order of charred wood < marine molluskan shells < Alcidae < Japanese sea lion <= charred materials on potsherds. According to data from molluskan shells from the site, the local marine reservoir correction (Delta R) for the Soya Warm Current, which flows near Rebun Island, was 172 +/- 39 C-14 yr Delta R values of bone collagen for Alcidae (a family of seabirds) and Japanese sea lion were 289 and 389 C-14 yr, respectively. A Delta R value of 447 +/- 55 C-14 yr was obtained on charred material from the inner surfaces of potsherds at Hamanaka 2. The different reservoir effects relate to the differences in the diets or habitats of the shellfish, sea lion, and seabird remains at the site.