Extraction of carbon from bone hydroxy apatite as CO 2 by heating in an oxygen atmosphere is an alternative method to hydrolysis of the bone. Heating in specific steps allows separation of CO 2 fractions from different sources, including weakened or sound bone material and secondary deposits. Pretreatments to remove most secondary carbonate and much of the collagen are necessary. Thermogravimetric (weight loss) curves and CO 2 release patterns during heating show that the temperature interval for collection of the most reliable CO 2 sample for dating purposes lies between 800 and 950°C. Age dates run on such samples support this conclusion.
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Haas et al. (1980) studied this question.
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