BOLETÍN DE LA SOCIEDAD GEOLÓGICA MEXICANA Vol 61, Núm. 2, 2006, P. 177-183 http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2009v61n2a4

 Palaeometry: Non–destructive analysis of fossil materials

 Paleometría: análisis no destructivo de material fósil

 Francisco Riquelme^1,*, José Luis Ruvalcaba–Sil² and Jesús Alvarado–Ortega¹

¹ Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Circuito de la Investigación S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación Coyoacán, D.F., 04510, México.
² Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, Apartado postal 20–364, Mexico, D.F. 01000.

* This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 Abstract

Palaeometry involves the combined use of different non–destructive analytical techniques on the study of fossil and subfossil materials. This work reports the results of the first Palaeometric analysis using Visible Fluorescence Induced by the UV–Light and PIXE (Particle Induced X–ray Emission spectrometry) applied on fossil samples from Tlayúa quarry, Mexico (Tlayúa Formation, Early Cretaceous, Albian). This paper provides a short discussion on the results implications for the understanding of the fossilization process occurred on Tlayúa. Also, results suggest the presence of characteristic fossil fingerprints for the exceptional preservation of fossils for this Konservat–Lagerstätte, determined by the contents of elements such as Calcium, Phosphorus, Manganese, Iron and Arsenic.

Keywords: Fluorescence inducted by UV–Light, PIXE, Tlayúa, Konservat–Lagerstätte.