Radiocarbon dating of the historic Livingstone Tree at Chiramba, Mozambique

View/ Open
Date
2020Author
Patrut, Adrian
Concept link
Patrut, Roxana T.
Concept link
Slater, Michael J.
Concept link
Rakosy, Laszlo
Concept link
Lowy, Daniel A.
Concept link
von Reden, Karl F.
Concept link
Metadata
Show full item recordCitable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/26500As published
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbchem.2020.3.11DOI
10.24193/subbchem.2020.3.11Keyword
AMS radiocarbon dating; Adansonia digitata; tropical trees; age determination; closed ring-shaped structure; false cavityAbstract
The article reports the AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating results of the Livingstone Tree, a large African baobab on the right bank of the Zambezi, near Chiramba, Mozambique. In 1858, David Livingstone, who discovered the baobab, carved his monogram on the walls of its inner cavity. In 1996, the historic baobab was uprooted when a cyclone struck the area. Several wood fragments were extracted from the remains of the toppled tree. Five samples which originate from these fragments were subsequently dated by radiocarbon. The oldest sample had a radiocarbon date of 1598 ± 17 BP, that corresponded in 1996 to a calibrated age of 1490 ± 35 calendar years. According to this value, the Livingstone Tree at Chiramba becomes one of the oldest known African baobabs, with an age of over 1500 years. The Livingstone Tree had a closed ring-shaped structure, that consisted of 4 fused stems around a false cavity and also 2 additional stems outside the ring.
Description
Author Posting. © Studia Chemia, 2020. Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Seria Chemia is an Open Access Journal (read, download, copy, distribute, print for research use, search, or link to the full texts of articles). The definitive version was published in Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Seria Chemia 65, no. 3 (2020): 149-156, doi:10.24193/subbchem.2020.3.11.
Collections
Suggested Citation
Patrut, A., Patrut, R. T., Slater, M. J., Rakosy, L., Lowy, D. A., & Von Reden, K. F. (2020). Radiocarbon dating of the historic Livingstone Tree at Chiramba, Mozambique. Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Chemia, 65(3), 149-156.Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
African baobabs with false inner cavities : the radiocarbon investigation of the Lebombo Eco Trail Baobab
Patrut, Adrian; Woodborne, Stephan; von Reden, Karl F.; Hall, Grant; Hofmeyr, Michele; Lowy, Daniel A.; Patrut, Roxana T. (Public Library of Science, 2015-01-26)The article reports the radiocarbon investigation results of the Lebombo Eco Trail tree, a representative African baobab from Mozambique. Several wood samples collected from the large inner cavity and from the outer part ... -
AMS radiocarbon dating of large za baobabs (Adansonia za) of Madagascar
Patrut, Adrian; Patrut, Roxana T.; Danthu, Pascal; Pock-Tsy, Jean-Michel Leong; Rakosy, Laszlo; Lowy, Daniel A.; von Reden, Karl F. (Public Library of Science, 2016-01-13)The article reports the radiocarbon investigation of Anzapalivoro, the largest za baobab (Adansonia za) specimen of Madagascar and of another za, namely the Big cistern baobab. Several wood samples collected from the large ... -
Radiocarbon investigation of the pedunculate oak of Botosana, Romania
Patrut, Adrian; Robu, Nicolae; Savu, Vasile; Patrut, Roxana T.; Rakosky, Laszlo; Ratiu, Ileana-Andreea; Lowy, Daniel A.; Margineanu, Dragos; von Reden, Karl F. (Studia Chemia, 2018)The article discloses the AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating results of the pedunculate oak of Botoşana. Four wood samples were extracted from its trunk. Five segments extracted from these samples were ...