Nitrogen Dating

A relative dating technique used on bone, based on the gradual reduction of nitrogen in bone as collagen is broken down into amino acids and leached away. Bone collagen decomposes, releasing nitrogen, at a fairly uniform slow rate. Nitrogen is present in bone in a proportion of approximately 4 percent. The relative ages of bones in similar burial environments can be compared by looking at the remaining nitrogen content; it is relative since the rate of decline is affected by local environmental factors such as temperature or chemical constituents in the find deposit. Nitrogen concentrations are determined by chemical analysis.

One of the methods of bone dating. After burial, the collagen component of bone gradually decomposes. This occurs at a slow, relatively uniform rate. Bones of similar age, which have been buried under similar conditions, possess roughly the same amount of collagen surviving undecomposed. Nitrogen is one of the essential elements of collagen and the nitrogen content of ancient bone may be used as an index of the extent to which collagen has decomposed. The relative ages of bones from the stratigraphical context can thus be determined by comparison of their nitrogen content.