Dating of Early Hominid Sites by the Racemization and       Accelerator Mass Spectrometry of Protein Amino Acids in     Ostrich Eggshells
{'Code': '04040400', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'SBE', 'LongName': 'Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'BCS', 'LongName': 'Division Of Behavioral and Cognitive Sci'}}
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The eggshells of the African Ostrich (Struthio camelus) are                     frequently found in association with cultural remains in sites                  throughout Africa, the Near East and Asia.  Proteinaceous                       material involved in secretion of the calcite matrix of the                     eggshells is retained with almost no loss over time spans in                    excess of 100,000 years, despite nearly complete hydrolysis into                the constituent amino acids.  Laboratory simulation of extreme-                 leaching environments confirms that effectively no leaching of                  amino acids from the eggshells occurs.  Ostrich eggshells thus                  offer the closest approximation to a perfect closed system of any               material yet studied.  The method has potential to provide                      chronological control for the critical period in hominid                        development beyond the range of radiocarbon dating back to                      approximately 200,000 years or more.  The PI will evaluate the                  isoleucine epimerization reaction in ostrich eggshells by                       measuring D/L ratios in eggshell from stratified sites and in                   independently-dated material, as well as in a series of elevated-               temperature experiments, and will use these data to refine a                    computer-simulation of non-linear epimerization kinetics.  The                  construction of a reliable model to convert D/L ratios into                     absolute age, and the development of a rapid procedure for the                  isolation of milligram quantities of amino acids from carbonate                 fossils will provide significant improvements in the dating of                  Old World hominid sites.
{'FirstName': 'Gifford', 'LastName': 'Miller', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'H', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Gifford H Miller', 'EmailAddress': 'gmiller@colorado.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000318100', 'StartDate': '07/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'University of Colorado at Boulder', 'CityName': 'Boulder', 'ZipCode': '803090001', 'PhoneNumber': '3034926221', 'StreetAddress': '3100 MARINE ST', 'StreetAddress2': 'STE 481 572 UCB', 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Colorado', 'StateCode': 'CO', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '02', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'CO02', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'SPVKK1RC2MZ3', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
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{'Code': '139300', 'Text': 'ARCHAEOMETRY'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1988&All=true', 'xml': '8805555.xml'}