Comparison of FUN relative dating with radiocarbon dating in saline environments on the basis of the study of mommies found in Chehrabad salt mine

In this research, the bone samples of mommies no. 2, 3, and 5 of Chehrabad salt mine, Zanjan, which have been dated previously by radiocarbon dating method, were dated by fluorine, uranium, and nitrogen (FUN) relative dating method. To identify and measure fluorine, uranium and nitrogen in the samples, UV-Vis spectrophotometer, ICP-MS, and, CHNS and Kjeldahl analytical methods were respectively used. It was cleared that mommy no. 5 was the first one buried, then mommy no. 3, and finally mommy no. 2, where this order is in good agreement with the one obtained previously by radiocarbon absolute dating method. In the next step, the normalization of the data distribution was investigated by SPSS statistical software, and, linear regression, logistic graph, student’s t-test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the results obtained. The results showed that the results of FUN analysis have direct relationship with radiocarbon dating results. This study showed the high precision and accuracy of FUN relative dating method in archaeological sites, and its good agreement with radiocarbon dating in well-preserved archaeological environments.