RADIOCARBON DATING OF MAKURI LÊ BOOM,  A VERY OLD AFRICAN BAOBAB FROM  NYAE NYAE, NAMIBIA

Roxana T.  PATRUT; Adrian  PATRUT; Demetra  RAKOSY; Laszlo  RAKOSY; Daniel A.  LÖWY; Jenő  BODIS; Karl F.  REDEN, von

doi:10.24193/subbchem.2020.2.12

RADIOCARBON DATING OF MAKURI LÊ BOOM, A VERY OLD AFRICAN BAOBAB FROM NYAE NYAE, NAMIBIA

Authors

Roxana T. PATRUT Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Email: roxanapatrut@yahoo.com. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8691-2160
Adrian PATRUT Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Babeş-Bolyai University; Raluca Ripan Institute for Research in Chemistry, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Email: apatrut@chem.ubbcluj. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9862-6735
Demetra RAKOSY AG Spatial Interaction Centre, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Leipzig, Germany. Email: demetra.rakosy@idiv.de. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8010-4990
Laszlo RAKOSY Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Email: laszlo.rakosy@ubbcluj.ro. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7793-6996
Daniel A. LÖWY Valor Hungariae, Department of Science and Innovation, Budapest, Hungary. Corresponding author: apatrut@chem.ubbcluj. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2210-6757
Jenő BODIS Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Babeş-Bolyai University; Raluca Ripan Institute for Research in Chemistry, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Corresponding author: apatrut@chem.ubbcluj. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7080-124X
Karl F. REDEN, von Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, NOSAMS Facility, Woods Hole, USA. Email: kvonreden@whoi.edu. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6413-9018

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbchem.2020.2.12

Keywords:

AMS radiocarbon dating, Adansonia digitata, tropical trees, dendrochronology, age determination, multiple stems

Abstract

The article reports the AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating results of Makuri Lê boom, a very large African baobab from Nyae Nyae Conservancy, Namibia. The investigation of this superlative baobab shows that it consists of 12 independent stems of different dimensions, which belong to three generations. Makuri Lê boom has an open ring-shaped structure, a type of architecture which allows baobabs to reach very large sizes and old ages. The oldest sample has a radiocarbon date of 1602 ± 17 BP, which corresponds to a calibrated age of 1520 ± 35 calendar yr. By this value, Makuri Lê boom becomes one of the oldest dated baobabs and angiosperms with accurate dating results.

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STUDIA UBB CHEMIA, Volume 65 (LXV), No. 2, June 2020

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Published

2020-06-30

How to Cite

PATRUT, R. T. ., PATRUT, A. ., RAKOSY, D. ., RAKOSY, L. ., LÖWY, D. A. ., BODIS, J. ., & REDEN, von, K. F. . (2020). RADIOCARBON DATING OF MAKURI LÊ BOOM, A VERY OLD AFRICAN BAOBAB FROM NYAE NYAE, NAMIBIA. Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Chemia, 65(2), 149–159. https://doi.org/10.24193/subbchem.2020.2.12