14C-AMS IN MEXICO AND PRE-COLUMBIAN ARCHAEOLOGY.

The complex geographical scenario of Mexico allowed the cultural diversification and development of multiple cultures such as Tolteca, Teotihuacan, Mexica, and Maya, among others. Despite this rich cultural heritage, radiometric dating of Mexican cultural samples with radiocarbon (¹⁴C) began only in the 1980s and with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) in 2013. Analysis of ¹⁴C with AMS is the most widely used technique to date archaeological objects and cultural heritage. Since 2013, the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (LEMA) facility of the Institute of Physics at UNAM (IF-UNAM) has supported archaeological research in Mexico, but also investigation in other areas such as geology, physics, chemistry, and environmental sciences through the analysis of ¹⁴C, ¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al, ¹²⁹I, and Pu. The absolute dating with ¹⁴C continues to be the core of LEMA's work, where different geographical scenarios of the country and climatic conditions present very diverse analytical challenges. This work presents a basic description of the AMS system of the LEMA laboratory and describes some applications that are currently being developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]